The Famous Four's Adventures in Dominica

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We have all had great fun with Tom and Wendy staying. They settled quickly into island life but this could be because of their relaxed French lifestyle at home. We recently received an email from them entitled “we are in love with Dominica” which says it all.

So what did we do? Well Tom (Kate’s big brother) and Wendy didn’t want to do lots of tourist things and dash about to see the whole island, they were happy to hang-out and absorb the island life. So - we went for swims in the bay - hiked across Cabrits national park - went to the cold water sulphur springs in the “drive through volcano” - walked to Spanny falls - worked in the garden - did the Syndicate trail - beach-combed on the other side of the island - had lunches all over the place - shopped at the Portsmouth fruit and veg market - visited the capital - were rowed up Indian River - had Sunday brunch deep in the rainforest - and, while at home, built and upholstered a new sofa. Just a relaxing time really.

Syndicate Trail

The Syndicate trail is a well maintained walk through high altitude rainforest where the indigenous parrots live. We went in the late afternoon when they are most active and were continuously bombarded with their squawking. You had to keep an eye out but several times we saw them flying at the top of the canopy.

The Rum Shop

On a few days we walked down to the bay and went for a swim - what the locals call a “sea bath”. Afterwards we wandered into Angela’s “rum shop” for a beer or two, always Kubuli. Here, Tom and Wendy met the locals and chatted with our village neighbours.

Our Caribbean Couch

We had been planning to make some furniture this spring, seats that could become beds for Tom and Ollie at Easter. I (Andrew) drew up some plans from a sketch I made of a bench seen in a bar in Greece. We borrowed a circular saw from Casso next-door and in a couple of days of ripping, cutting and screwing, had the bench. Kate had the thankless job of applying 3 coats of paint then designing the cushion covers and cutting out the canvas. Then our two willing volunteers stepped up to sew the cushions. Kate’s tiny sewing machine coped well with the canvas and after one particularly rainy day it was all finished. We were all very pleased with ourselves.

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Comments

[Wendy and Tom]

All True and Great Fun
We had a fabulous time and when you see everything listed, we did an amazing amount. You are great hosts, thanks. Love....Wendy and Tom

[helen]

ahhhhh, life is looking so good in the sunshine. enjoying skiing here, though Chris is taking on too much architecture work (good thing, but less skiing for him, but he's enjoying it) Keep having fun. xx