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Published: March 30th 2007
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Roseau
The capital of Dominica - Roseau. As seen from the sea 30c, Mainly fine with isolated thunder storms
‘The Natural Island’ - that’s the tourism slogan for Dominica and it fits perfectly. This is not the Dominican Republic, this is Dominica where tourism is still a buzz word and the main international airport is called ‘Cane field’. There are no direct flights from anywhere outside the Caribbean and it remains the regions poorest and least visited destination.
I arrived via catamaran from Guadeloupe without a CARICOM (Caribbean Community) visa. The website said I’d be turned away or fined, but I figured little Dominica would have a simple answer for me… and they did. “No problem sir, enjoy your stay in Dominica and the Caribbean” - I was in!! but not before a customs official wearing a Bob Marley shirt asked if I had any weed in bag. Kinda ironic and I wondered whether he was short a spliff or actually searching for drugs. I loved Dominica already, mostly because the word ‘no problems’ and ‘mate’ were included in almost every sentence.
My Dutch buddies rented a jeep and I went Dutch (haha.. had to make that lame pun!). We drove through Roseau and it was like steeping back in
Trafalgar Falls
Relaxing at the base of Trafalgar Falls.. massive!! time. This was the Caribbean in days gone by, a bustling port filled with colonial houses and cobbled streets. You’d figure that a country poorer than Indonesia would present the same problems - beggars, mass homeless, rip off merchants etc.. But anything was further than the truth, the morning we arrived Dominicans were proudly sweeping down their section of the footpath and beaming with pride. Dominica was poor, but only in western values and I couldn’t have found a more welcoming city. Did I mention they are cricket MAD?? Actually.. make that INSANE! Australia was beating the West Indies when we arrived and everyone was glued to their TV sets. Dominica was too small to host a game and didn’t have a big enough airport, but that didn’t stop the constant cricket fever because the world cup was in their backyard. Luckily their was no ill feeling because I was an Australian, but their was lots of cricket conversation. I looked dumb, I know very little about cricket and the people of this proud nation knew every statistic about Australia imaginable. I’m sorry fellow Australians.. I should have known more! I apologise.
We fumbled our way through the mountain
Driving in Roseau
One of the poorest areas in the Caribbean.. but nowhere near dangerous. Proud residents hose and sweep the pavements every morning. roads and along the rugged coast to Rosalie. The Dutch couple had found an eco lodge, nestled in the middle of the rainforest and completely eco friendly. I was sold - picture perfect creeks and waterfalls sounded good to me. The Three Rivers Eco lodge was set up by a British guy and everything was eco friendly ‘to the max’ (sorry to have a nineties flashback!). The car ran on used cooking oil from the kitchen, which ran on solar power and was backed up by hydro power. The ingredients came from the local garden, which in turn employed locals and trained them how to be eco friendly. Getting the drift here?? EVERYTHING was friendly to the environment… it made me look bad for getting a warm fuzzy feeling every time I put my 6 beer bottles out for recycling. The double rooms were awesome, with a great view of the river and a veranda perfect for watching the sunset or sunrise (if you could be bothered). However, I wasn’t in a double room - I was in the ‘eco friendly’ 6 person ‘lodge’. My view of eco friendly doesn’t involve letting mosquitoes bite me or sleeping in a room
Fresh Water Lake
The creatively named 'Fresh Water Lake'.. lived true to it's name and was a great spot for lunch almost COMPLETELY open to the environment. I was disappointed my US $25 (big money in Dominica) bought me a shitty kids bunk bed in a room that could only be described as a disrepaired shack made of palm leaves and with a concrete floor. When I suggested to the owner that maybe I was “getting killed by mosquitoes and I hadn’t even gone to sleep yet” he was unsympathetic. Maybe I could beg for a bug net?!? Nup.. all the other rooms had them but I was denied. I stayed the night but left with a bitter taste in my mouth. The location was beautiful, my swim in the creek AWESOME but my accommodation horrible. I woke up with bites everywhere and constant itching. I’m all for eco tourism but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve ‘not doing harm to mosquitoes’.
I relayed my sad story to my Dutch friends and they were very upbeat about the situation… until they saw my room. “Wow it’s a bit different” and “25 dollars for this??” were comments that got uttered and couldn’t agree more. I packed up my gear and took one last swim in the pristine creek, disappointed that the
Driving in the country
On the road to Rosalie in the jeep standards between accommodations were so varied at the lodge. We all piled in the jeep and thus began the mass exploration of Dominica. I sware I saw every waterfall or hot springs on the island that day. We drove EVERYWHERE - it was awesome. Even the major tourist attraction Trafalgar Falls was anything but… there was hardly anyone around! It was so relaxing to sit next to the falls and enjoy the view. Dominica is the definition of the natural island and I hope it stayed that way. After the falls we continued to ‘Fresh Water Lake’ - that’s what it was and that’s what it’s called! The mist over the make made it look spooky and reminded me of the old ‘Jason’ horror movies, where the mist comes and so does the hockey mask.. Luckily there were no deaths by Fresh Water Lake that day….
We continued to Sulphur Creek (another aptly named attraction!) where hot water spat from the ground. Stupid me walked above the Sulphur outlet and got a lung full of..well.. sulphur!! I asked Ajurn and Chantelle whether it could kill you - apparently not. Phew! It didn’t stop my head from smelling like rotten egg
Going Dutch
Travel buddies Arjun & Chantelle from the Netherlands (derrr) the whole afternoon (.. ‘nothing changes’ as Marg would say!! Hehehe).
After a long day of exploring and travelling I said goodbye to my Dutch friends. They were headed back to their Eco friendly clean cabin and damned if I was going to ‘be at one’ with mosquitoes. I had no accommodation booked and wandered aimlessly around the capital Roseau late at night. Normally I’d try and avoid this kind of caper, but in Roseau it was fine. I found the Cherry Lodge and was taken aback when the owner suggested the city was booked full, but the good news was they had a late cancellation and I could have a private double for $US 10. Jackpot!!! No bugs, no crappy accommodation.. but unfortunately no great surroundings or company. Ahhh.. you win some / lose some. I enjoyed a Ti-Punch (local drink with lime / sugar / rum) at a local bar before hitting the sack for the night. And NO Leigh-anne, I don’t drink EVERY night but it’s very rare that I’m drunk. Besides I’m on holidays!!! Jealousy is a curse… haha
I left Roseau the next morning knowing there would be little chance I’d ever return.
Arjun and the aussie
Arjun and myself above Rosalie after my mossie ridden night from hell (well.. kinda) The island is so hard to access it’s almost in-accessible; especially for this travel mad Aussie. I was a little disappointed I’d had just under 3 days to relax in Dominica and almost bitter that I had to continue to the more upscale St Lucia. I hoped that maybe one day there would be the remote possibility I’d return to Dominica with Marg. Even if remotely.. The spirit of the island stuck with me as I was given a lift to airport by a taxi driver. When I asked how much I was told “no problem mate.. was going that way anyway, enjoy your travels”. Wow.. maybe taxi drivers weren’t bad everywhere.
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kristy
non-member comment
very impressive
this story was good and was very impressive.