Blogs from Toucarie, Dominica, Central America Caribbean

It's been 2 months since the last post and we have no excuses. Just having a good time! Although we have a house here, Dominica is usually an adventure, often a surprise and always beautiful. So that's why we continue the travel blog, because this is a different world... We have been getting on with a great deal of gardening (mostly Kate) and quite a bit of project work (mostly Andy). But it's the walks in the rainforest, the trip to Chaudiere pool, the evenings at Taco Tuesdays, the boat trips, the beach trips and the fun with friends that are the most memorable. Thanks to you all for making Dominica even more wonderful. The pictures below tell the story (well part of the story anyway)...... read more

Sorry we haven't posted any photos for a while - we've been having too much fun!!. Here are a few and we'll sort out a proper update soon... The garden is still coming along nicely. Everything grows so quickly we had to cut back a lot of stuff. It's hard to be drastic but necessary - looks a bit like a bad hair day in parts though!!. Mangos have just finished Arrgghh! but we're still eating our own bananas. We had a day sail with Susie on her sleek modern classic yacht, Spirited Lady. Smiled so much my face ached! We still go snorkelling in the bay. I love searching out the reef fish and getting more images with the little compact camera. Toucarie is just the perfect place to be. We've had a couple of ... read more

This is a video of the underwater sights in Toucarie Bay. It was all taken snorkelling and free diving just a short swim from the beach using a very unsuitable camera (a 170° wide-angle GoPro Hero). Every day we swam we saw the volcanic bubbles and an abundance of grunts and surgeon fish, plus several angel fish, butterfly fish, rock beauties, parrot fish, trunk fish, damsel fish etc. But then there was always a surprise too - the reef squid, an eel, the big lump of a white spotted file fish, the elegant spotted drum, a blue tang straight from Finding Nemo, a sea horse, that bright orange frog fish or the wonderful sight of a turtle. We enjoyed them all and couldn't wait to swim out the next day. Who needs to go diving when ... read more

For a couple of weeks, Richard and Jill joined us in the Lesser Antilles. They jumped ship for a few days in Guadeloupe but spent most of their time relaxing or adventuring with us. Here is what they said... Highlights of the holiday (in no particular order) were: Early morning tea with that fab view across coconut palms to the bay Early evening pina coladas on the amazingly comfortable works of art that are the sofas, with a fab view across coconut palms, now gently swaying in the breeze, to the bay. Beers at Angela's after a refreshing swim. Home-made everything for breakfast - especially the yoghurt! Jazz in the jungle - good food, wine, sounds of the river, live music and our very own Kate Preston on vocals. Playing cards in pyjamas. Having a shower ... read more

We arrived safely in Dominica after 2 days travelling (which should have been one day) and with no luggage - thanks to LIAT, the Caribbean airline (either Leave Island Any Time or Luggage In Any Town). But we did have our beautiful home, a fridge for cocktails and a view of the Caribbean sea to die for. Five days later we had both our bags, a car, a fridge full of food and drink, and we were ready for the arrival of our guests. The ferry was late arriving due to a whale sighting en-route from Guadeloupe, so the skipper slowed down and drove in circles to let everyone see - only in the Caribbean. Val and Craig squeezed into our little car and we got them back and settled into Mango Lodge. For a week ... read more