Saturday, March 25, 2017

Dominica, The Nature Island

Dominica (pronounced Doh min eek a,  not to be confused with the Dominican Republic) bills itself as The Nature Island and as such is building a reputation for eco-tourism and adventure tourism, going beyond just the sun and the beaches. There are many hikes to go on, waterfalls to see,  volcanos to climb and reefs to dive. Along with this is the push to hire a guide for everything, even the simplest of hikes and they do not allow you to dive without a certified Dominican guide.
That being said, we rented a car for the day and took off to do some exploring on our own, ignoring the advice/pressure to hire a guide. The following pictures are from the first half of our day discovering Dominica.



We began our tour by heading to the Emerald Pool. We chose to do this first in an attempt to beat the cruise ship crowds. As we drove past the port the cruise ship was approaching the dock and there were row upon row of buses, taxis and vans waiting to carry the passengers to all the "hot spots" on the island.


We felt we made the right decision as we had the Emerald Pool all to ourselves. This parking lot would later fill with buses and vans as the crowds flocked to the pool.


The hike to the Emerald Pool was through a lush forest reminding us of a tropical version of Oregon. Bob and I used to love going on waterfall hikes there and are sometimes skeptical that touted waterfalls will meet our standards.  This hike was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed it, largely because we were the only ones there.


The pool really is emerald, and had the weather been warmer we would have jumped in.


We enjoyed climbing behind the waterfall.  I love the roots of the tree on the left and all the vines hanging down.





The same leaf, two different sides.



This highway (and these solar street lights) were a gift from China to Dominica in exchange for Dominica severing trade ties with Taiwan.

Still more on our day trip to follow...

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