I always love changing countries by boat. We had a nice 25-mile sail from Martinique to Dominica. With 20 knot trade winds, we did it in a few hours … with the only downside was we went a little too fast to catch a fish. To pass the time, we had a sandwhich-making contest with a fresh baguette we grabbed before we left. By the late afternoon we had arrived in Roseau – the capital of Dominica – anchoring just off the Prime Minister’s residence. No invite for sundowners unfortunately. ;(
While Dominica lacks beaches, it makes up for it with towering mountains and pristine rainforest. I when I say rainforest, I mean RAIN forest. The place rains everyday … but not for long – after 10 minutes it stops, then 20 minutes later its back on again. We took a couple of guided hikes to see what it was all about. One day we went up in to the hills and then swam through this narrow gorge to a waterfall. The water was freezing … but luckily their were some hot springs nearby where we warmed up, relaxing in these old english baths they had set up. On another day, we hiked up to the famous boiling lake. Its actually the crater of a semi active volcano where hot gases pop out of the ground everywhere and actually boil up a small lake in the centre of the crater. The hike to the boiling lake was also super special, with natural hot springs in the national forest along the hike, and amazing beauty in parts on the trail such as “The Valley of Desolation.”
It may sound cliche, but the people of Dominica were the nicest part of our experience on the island. Everyone we met was both super friendly and also very proud of their country. Both our hiking guides took a real pride in educating us about the rain forest plants and animals – from pointing out colourful land crabs to finding us forest foods to try. And the bar closest to our boat quickly became our daily home for sundowners. The people are also strangely international. Over a quarter of people who hold Dominican citizenship have lived or are living abroad, so there is always a shared experience or understanding about another place, which can make connecting easy. So, if you get the chance, get to know a Dominican!