Welcome to Dominica

After spending almost 2 months in Martinique devouring delicious pastry nearly every day, we were ready for detox. Despite mixed opinions we decided to visit Dominica, also know as Commonwealth of Dominica or Nature Island of the Carribean. We were pleasantly surprised that this “yet another British island” was the most beautiful island we had visited so far. It’s one of (if not THE) poorest British carribean islands with per capita GDP under $10k.

Dominica you is largely covered by rainforest, volcanoes, hot springs, waterfalls and 365 rivers. It has been recognized as a World Heritage Site with the second largest hot spring - Boiling Lake, and is the most mountaineous of the Lesser Antilles. It has the most live volcanoes of all Carribean islands. As a matter of fact, there are 9 live volcanoes, 7 of which are located within 10 km of the capital, Roseau.

Our first impression after mooring at Roseau mooring field with the help of a mooring field owner Marcus, was that the island was very green, mountainous and simply beautiful. All but 1 person we have met during our time in Dominica were extremely friendly and helpful.

Our first adventure took us to Champagne Reef and Scott’s Head reef. Both reefs had lots of live, but coral seemed to have been regrowing, but it was the Champagne Reef that surprised us the most with its famous bubbles.

Upon jumping into rather chilly water, we were greeted by 5 beautiful manta rays that gracefully swam with us for a little while before heading their own way. Stunned with the initial view, we went on to see the BUBBLES. We were not disappointed. We all got tickled by the bubbles while listening to dramatic humm coming from under the seabed. We felt as we were swimming in a glass of champagne.

Yay we got a car!

Equipped in 4 wheels and a steering wheel, we started our Dominica adventure by jumping into a cold water of Titou Gorge. The day was gloomy and cold, but the gorge was gorgeous and absolutely worth the shivers and purple lips.

Today was the Extreme Canyoning Adventure day.

Slightly nervous, dressed up in whole body wetsuits, helmets, life jackets and harneses, we sipped delicious cacao tea with coconut milk while practicing repelling and getting ready for the most extreme exciting adventure of our trip. Our guides Junior and Breani took us just a little down the river from Titou Gorge. We had the time of our lifes repelling off of steep rocks and jumping down the waterfalls. Boys had a blast, and screamed “energy” with every jump. Even our baby was fearless!

We spent the last day in Rousseau on collecting sea glass for our tray project, homeschooling and restocking our fridge. We love absolutely everything about this island.

The time to leave Roseau and head up north has come. After saying our goodbyes to Marcus (and receiving even more fruit), we sailed to Portsmouth (second largest town in Dominica).

Turns out every mooring field in Dominica has its Marcus. In Portsmouth, his name was Titus. He told us about the bbq on the beach and organized a trip down Indian River on the following day. We all made some new friends at the bbq, some of whom were polish: Maciek, his mom and her friend were the first polish people we met since Martinique. mom and friend were just visiting, Maciek and his girlfriend Kasia. Later we also met Piotrek, who sailed with Bartek and Ania across the Atlantic.

We took a scenic drive to Red Rocks beach near Portsmouth. This unusual and breathtaking view was created thanks to a volcano explosion. Basalt rich lava, that came out of the volcano, set into a gray slate, but with time the iron started to oxidize and eventually rust, giving the newly formed rocks the stunning orange color. The rocks felt soft and rather fragile. You could easily chip it off and squish it into powder.