The Pages of The Gray Wizard

Dominica

The island of Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic - different place, was surely the most beautiful island we visited. Almost untouched, much of the dense rain forests remains unexplored. "The Nature Island" it's called with 365 rivers (one for every day), waterfalls, hot springs and boiling lakes. Columbus landed here and it is said that were he to return today he would still recognize it. English is the official language, but a French patois is widely spoken. The Caribs, the indigenous people of the Caribbean, still live here in the mountainous Northeast.

Here we took a 4 hour tour deep into the rain forests. We left dockside at the Bayfront Harbor in Roseau, capital city of Dominica, heading into the rain forests to Trois Piton National Park, home of the Emerald Pool. Along the way, the road passed through vast banana plantations and beautiful wild flowers. Arriving at the park, we got out of our bus and trekked up a trail leading to the pool. The trail was rugged and the forest was dense and humid. The pool is fed by a cascade of water which plunges off a fern covered cliff. Next stop the village of Trafalgar where we trekked up another rugged trail to a viewpoint above the river and a grand view of the twin Trafalgar Falls. Leaving Trafalgar we headed for the Cane Field Estates, stopping at the Springfield Plantation for a cool drink of tangerine punch. Then down the Imperial Road en route to our ship. We got a lot of exercise on this tour, but it was the most beautiful of them all.

A View of Roseau

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Here's a view of the capital city of Roseau as seen from the ship before we disembarked

The Emerald Pool

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The Emerald Pool from above.	Marlis beside the falls that feeds the pool
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Marlis frolicking in the pool. Any excuse to take her shoes off.

Trafalgar Falls

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Deep in the rain forest, the beautiful twin falls of Trafalgar were breathtaking

Springfield Plantation

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Marlis and I stopping for a brief rest and enjoying tangerine punch at the Springfield Plantation in the Cane Field Estates

Returning to the Ship

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Stopping for a photo opportunity. The woman in the red shirt was our tour guide and the best one we had on the cruise. She was friendly, informative and made everyone on the bus feel like part of one big family. I think Marlis was trying to find a way to invite her home for dinner.	Our tour bus driver. The Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Douglas had died the day before our visit and our driver took the opportunity to acquaint us with his view of Dominican politics.
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This one's a little dark, but we don't have too many together so I decided to include it anyway.	Getting back on board for another evening of wine, women and song... well wine and song anyway.