The checkin for the boat was fairly painless although I was a bit of an idiot and didn’t pay enough attention to the instructions and so after having gone through security and passport control I had to go back out to check my bag in properly and then I went back through to the waiting area for the boat.
After boarding, the boat ride was fairly pleasant with only rolling seas on the way to Dominica via Martinique. The boat stopped for a bit in Martinique to let people off and to take on new passengers headed to Dominica.
I had booked a car to use in Dominica and when I arrived I asked a taxi to take me to the car hire place. He “helpfully” called the place and then informed me there were no cars but I could hire him as a taxi driver for the day. I was a bit annoyed and felt this was a scam so I walked away and phoned the car rental place myself. I was informed the same thing and they suggested I used the taxi driver. It really felt like the two were in on it together and was not the best start to my day there. In the end I went to the hotel to check in and to think about how I wanted to proceed.
Because I didn’t have much time to waste in Dominica I called a taxi to drive me for the rest of the day and we headed north to see the fort, some beaches and the Indian river.
I was shocked on the drive north just how dry it was there. So close to the ocean yet the grasses we all brown and there were the remnants of bush fires from the previous week and even a few small ones still burning.
We got to Fort Shirly and I went or a look around the rampart. The main part of the fort has been rebuilt. It is well enough done but not much of the fort is there to really give you the impression of what it was like. There was also a trail that I thought would go somewhere but I walked along it and there was nothing (or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough). I retuned to the car and we moved on.
Next stop was the Indian River. Apparently, it is a protected area and so they can not even use the motors on their boats after a few hundred meters up the river. There was a decent explanation on the wildlife we saw as well as the plants. Wild cane, some herons, a blue hummingbird, iguana, lots of crabs and plenty of fish. The guide did a great job because in our boat we had French speakers, English speakers and creole. It is just a shame that the young group of creole speakers just kept talking loudly while the guide tried to do the French and English explanations.
At the end of the river there was a bush bar. This felt right out of place. If this area was so protected as the guides say it is, then why is there a bar in the middle of it? Anyway, it was good to get a drink and they had some interesting flowers in the garden there.
On the way back down the river they also took us to “the witches hut from pirates of the Caribbean”. Again, this felt out of place if the area was so protected, why are they building and leaving a movie set there? I didn’t see the resemblance from the film either.
Having finished the Indian river trip, we started heading back towards Roseau. Along the way we stopped at the tourist beach of Mero. By this time, it was just looking like all the other beaches I had seen and so we didn’t stay long.
Back home and time to try and find some food as I had not eaten all day. I walked into town to where I had seen the street food earlier and found there was only one stall left open. I went to get some chicken and fried plantains with chips from her. While there I asked about why nothing seems to be open anywhere on the islands in the evenings and the women advised me that it was common that the street stalls open for lunch and shut early and that for dinner, one needs to go to sit down restaurant. Her takeaway suited me fine, so I had a beer while I waited for the chips to cook and then I took it all back with another beer to the hotel to eat on the terrace.
In the morning I got up, packed my bags and waited for the private tour that I had booked on trip advisor the previous day (https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g147281-d20374894-DG_Tours_Full_Day_Private_Tour_Experience-Dominica.html). After the booked time had passed I called the agency, and they had not received the notification from Trip Advisor but would send a car right away. I had time to go and get some water and some much needed after sun lotion for my shoulders and neck.
The driver arrived with a van and I loaded up all my luggage as I would be going straight to the port in the afternoon to get my ferry to Guadalupe.
First off we headed to Titou Gorge. At this point I was relatively happy that I had a driver as the roads were so narrow and steep it was nice to not be navigating that myself and was able to just sit back an relax. The Gorge require you to swim a short way in to get to the waterfall inside. There is a sign at the entrance advising that life jackets are required (even if you are a decent swimmer). I instead rented a swim belt and headed into the gorge. The water temperature was really nice and I got a few images with my gopro.
After this we made our way to the Trafalgar falls. There is a little walk from the carpark to get to them and I was surprise that on the walk in I saw some crabs, so far inland and so high up. Once arriving at the falls you can go to both thermal pools and to the waterfalls themselves. Both require a lot of scrambling, so good shoes are recommended. I made it over to one of the waterfalls and a friendly Irish lady who did not have the right shoes had made it as far as she could go and offered to use my camera to try and get some pics of me in the falls.
After my dip in the falls I headed back to the car and driver and we headed down to find some local food. We stopped at the River rock café and bar where I got some prawns in creole sauce. It was very good.
After lunch we headed to the “champagne beach”. It is named thus because there are vents from one of the volcanoes on the island that lets gases escape just under the surface of the water. You can see this with snorkels rented at the beach bar when you arrive. Now, me being me, at first when I went there I did not see the bubbles properly. I saw a few little bubbles coming through and though “oh wow, this does not live up to the hype”, but it was nice to go for a swim an it was interesting to see come bubbles. I swam around for a bit, chased some fish and took a few photos with the gopro. Then headed back to the beach bar to grab a couple of drinks before moving on. One of these drinks was a very strong ginger infused rum.
We then made our way to a lookout point on high to overlook the main town and while there I got a nice phone call from Vanessa and the kids, who were about to go to bed.
There was still time after this. Not enough to go to some of the other waterfalls but long enough that I decided to go back to the champagne beach. I wanted to have another try for the bubbles but also took my book to pass some time. The beach bar let me take out the same gear from earlier with no extra fee and I headed down the beach to try again. This time I really saw the bubbles proper and also got some relaxing time in the sun. Of course, when I returned the gear I was given some more rum from the bar to drink, free poured and very strong.
Now it was time to get the ferry to Guadeloupe, and what a shit show the check in for this was. There was a boat departing for Martinique just before the one to Guadalupe and the small terminal could not deal with the number of people checking in at once, having to pay departure taxes, go through security and passport control. Thankfully I was one of the first in the line for this and also one of the first to board the boat as it was totally full. I found myself sitting next to this Australian girl who lives in Guadalupe now and we chatted for some of the rough ferry, before we both caught some quick z’s. The ferry was nearly 2 hours late into Guadalupe where the final part of my journey takes place.