Dateline Dominica
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Fri 21 Jan 2011 11:47
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We've moved on from St Lucia, leapfrogged
Martinique and are now in the independent Commonwealth of Dominica, population
c70 000 (they have a national census on 14 May so we'll know a more exact figure
then!). Amazing that many UK politicians use the small size of the populations
of Wales and Scotland (population 3m and 5m respectively) to justify
centralised political control and to decry the possibility of independence when
the UK was quite happy to let the handful Dominicans go it on their own.
Expediency I guess, then and now.
We came to Dominica, which has five active
volcanoes and uniquely in the Caribbean retains more than 60% of its native
vegetation cover (said to be the only island that Columbus would recognise!),
for the walking and the wildlife. There are two endemic parrots and a giant frog
called the Mountain Chicken (and the same size as a real chicken), and the
world's second largest boiling lake (the biggest is in New
Zealand).
Unfortunately Tom still can't walk far, and neither
can Alison because of her knee. The parrots and the boiling lake both
require a long walk in difficult terrain, and tragically the frog is on the
verge of extinction in the wild due to a fungal infection; it is no longer to be
seen on the island. To see it you need to go to London Zoo where it hangs on by
a thread. So not much doing there. Today we're off to see some waterfalls and
bath in the hot springs.
Tom's girlfriend has brought out a new camera to
replace the one lost overboard, so pictures will reappear on the blog
soon.
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