Dominica, Wow!

Dominica is wild and amazing. It's full of rain forests and rivers and it's not very developed. We anchored off the town of Portsmouth. Fishermen go out daily, some in dug out canoes and small farms are everywhere. We had delicious fresh food while we were there.

  Our guide, Albert, visited us every day to  arrange tours and see if we needed anything. He gave us an excellent  tour of  the Indian River. Parts of Pirates of the Caribbean II were filmed in Dominica. The Indian river was used for the swamp scene. The trees called Swamp Blood Trees make it look very creepy.  

 

After not hiking much this entire trip we decided to go on the hike of all hikes, the Boiling Lake.

It is an all day trip up and down and up and down mountains and valleys. On the way we passed through the Valley of Desolation. No trees grow there and water boils out of the ground with a sulphur smell. The lake was amazing and you don't get real close because the water is 250 degrees. We were a little sore the next day, or two, but it was a special treat to see such an interesting phenomenon.

 

There were so many intersting sights in Dominica we'll include a few extra photos.

                                                The trail to the Emerald Pool.

                            A Banana Plantation, the blue bags are protection from birds and bugs.

                                                  Loading the bananas onto the boat.

                                                 A beautiful display at the market.

                                   Buying baskets on the Caribbean Indain territory.

We hated to leave but it was time to move on once again. We will keep everyone posted as we make progress towards the next destination.

Thanks again to everyone for following our trip.

All our best,

Frances and Al

 

Guadeloupe

We spent time in Guadeloupe before and after traveling to Massachusetts. You better speak some French in Guadeloupe or you will not even find the customs check in office! After learning a few French words we started having a good time. We spent time in Deshaies, Pointe a Pitre and Les Saintes. A German cruiser we met said that Guadeloupe is just like the South of France and the island does have a very European feel. The tourists are mostly from France, Germany and western Europe. We were fortunate to meet some Canadian and German cruisers who also spoke English so we could make some friends while we were there. The photo above is the anchorage and town of Les Saintes. The church bell tower is in the center and is rung every hour by hand.

In the small towns life is like it was 100 years ago. Every morning the townspeople go out to pick up bread and buy fresh produce or fish. On Les Saintes fish is sold in this open air market on the water. The fish were probably caught that morning. The market in the photo above is in Pointe A Pitre. We quickly adopted the lifestyle of picking up fresh fruits, vegetables and fish every day to cook for dinner that night.

Something we did not expect to find was that the signature fabric on Guadeloupe is Madras. They use the plaids to make everything from clothes to table cloths. We bought several yards of fabric to make something when we get home. Now Frances whishes she had bought this outfit, too!  Guadeloupe was a pleasure in many ways. 

Now we are in Dominica which is completely different. More on that in the next blog.

Thank you for all your kind e mails and calls after the loss of Al's brother last month.

All our best,  

Frances and Al