Dominica 13th March
We had a very nice sail up to Dominica, we did not get wet and the wind was behaving itself with a good 20 to 25 knots of wind all the way until we reached Roseau in the southern part of the island. The sky was so clear we could see Martinique all the way through. I love catching the first glimpse of the next island and Dominica does not disappoint. Towering green peaks of different height framed by white fluffy clouds and endless blue skies. The southern part of the island is fairly deserted. After the very developed Martinique, Dominica looks positively uninhabited. A few villages dotted around at the bottom of the slopes, no beaches to speak of and very sheer mountains falling straight into the sea. We take a mooring at Roseau, the capital, too deep to anchor. The bay is enormous and very little habitation can be seen from the shore. Further down, near the town, a cruise ship is moored up. Guess the town will be busy.
Rain, rain, rain and more rain. We need to go and check in so we set out for Roseau, only a few kilometres along the (only) road, towards the ferry terminal at the end of town. We are definitely back in the “real Caribbean”, loud music blaring, rundown buildings, less cars and chicken running everywhere. Locals are friendly, hellos shouted across the road. The port area as predicted is heaving with people. Touts are trying to fill up their jauntily painted tour vehicles and with much bantering, Quite a fun atmosphere. Bad timing… we arrived at the customs and immigration just as the ferry from Guadeloupe turns up… we have to wait until everyone has been checked up before we can get on with our paperwork. Still Ian enjoys playing with the sniffer dogs and I am just people watching, my favourite pastime. Plenty of proper hiking boots and huge rucksacks around, the most I have seen so far in our travel. Dominica is definitely a hiker’s paradise. The town is lively and full of typical colourful buildings. Not very big, it does not take long to walk all of it, from the old market place (full of tourist stuff) to the new market and its array of fruits and vegetables. We are dodging the rain all the way through our exploring. We found the cathedral…yet another one out of service. This one is particularly beat up… no roof to speak of… at least there are workmen on site, which is promising. Up the botanical garden, we find the path to the old British battery, what a view from up there…
Weather is not good though, too much rain and although there are plenty of opportunities to see the sights from Roseau, after 2 nights, we decide to move to Portsmouth where we hope it will be less busy with cruise ships and maybe drier.