We were anchored outside of Portsmouth for 2 nights and 3 days. We got in around dinner time on Wednesday and left yesterday morning! Thursday and Friday we toured the island all day and yesterday (Saturday) we also started our morning out with a tour. It was really fun!
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Dominica is the most mountainous of all the islands, (or at least the ones that I've seen). It is also the greenest, most lush! It is absolutely beautiful in that sense, but it doesn't have the best beaches. Portions of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 where filmed there. I haven't seen those movies since they came out, so I could hardly remember the scenes that were filmed in the locations we visited! On Thursday we went to Number One Beach. There was a large river there that flowed out into the ocean. It was definitely picturesque! The kids had a great time swimming and playing there. Our tour guide, Kenny, was also a gem. He showed us how to break open coconuts to access the water and meat inside! So yummy!
We ended up talking to a guy who works as a security guard at the beach. He was so sweet and friendly! He mentioned to us that he used to travel between the islands, making money by peeling coconuts with his TEETH. So of course I had to see it! I took a video, but unfortunately I don't think it will upload! So you'll have to settle with a picture of his chompers! I can't believe how healthy they look! Ha ha. (I must admit I have a natural obsession with teeth, but I also worked in a dental office for a brief, hell-ish 7 months when I first lived in DC.) This guy has gotta be brushin!
We followed our stop at Number One Beach with Red Rock Haven. Beautiful, yet again!
Lastly, we visited a model Carib village. (The Caribbean was obviously named for after the Carib people.) I wasn't super impressed with the tour - I would have LOVED to visit actual Carib territory! One of my personal projects in Africa over the summer was to teach the Maasai people proper health practices. I went to my friend, Elias', village a couple of times, so I feel like nothing can really compare to that experience! Our guide for the tour was also incredibly soft-spoken! I almost had to laugh, because trying to listen to her and interpret what she was saying was like something out of a comedy. Goodness sakes! I feel like I didn't learn very much. Buuuut...here are some pictures!
Friday was one of my favorite days of this adventure so far! We started out our day hiking to Middleham Falls. It took us a little less than an hour to get to the waterfall. It was a pretty good hike and all of the kids did a great job! There were lots of ups and downs and climbing over roots, as you can tell by the picture below. The waterfall was huge! I couldn't capture it all in one picture from anywhere I stood. It was quite windy and there was a lot of spray! I knew it would be cold, but I forced myself to go in up to my shoulders. You'd think I would have done some swimming around, but I got out pretty quick! (We're talking super cold here.) David got in (I think socks, shoes and all) and Jenn did too! They rock! Calvin stayed in about as long as I did and the rest of the kids stayed away.
Our next stop was Titou Gorge. It was amazing! I sat with the two youngest kids first while Jenn and David took the four oldest in. Luckily, Calvin came along for a second round so I wouldn't have to go with our creepy tour guide alone! I have never hiked The Narrows or been to a slot canyon, but I imagine Titou Gorge is very similar. And (I can't even believe I'm going to bring this up again), but for those of you who watched this last season of The Bachelor, it was pretty similar to Juan Pablo and Andi's one on one! Ha ha. Oh my...I HAVE GOT to stop watching that show. I am ridiculous!
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| {The entrance to Titou Gorge} |
Anyways, we swam through a short tunnel-like thing and ended up in a cave-like thing. The water was so clear and blue! Our guide made us wear life jackets, because there was a bit of a current inside of the cave. We climbed up the first waterfall you can see in the picture below and entered into another cave with another waterfall, only we weren't allowed to swim in that one! The picture of Calvin and I above is in the second cave. After we were done checking it out we jumped from the first waterfall into the water and swam back out. LOVED it!
Our last stop that day was Trafalgar Falls, but I had been there before. It was an excursion stop on last year's cruise. Baby Alex was asleep, so I stayed in the car with him and snoozed a bit too. I can't lie, I was happy to have a little break. (Who wants to guess how many times I've heard the Veggie Tales theme song in the last 40 days?! Ah? Anybody?)
Today I was taking a look at our pamphlets and realized that a couple (possibly all) of the parks in Dominica are part of a program funded by USAID! Remember my last post when I said I always like seeing the sign for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints? I also get super, super excited when I see USAID's logo. It makes me feel so proud, even though I don't work there anymore! Ha ha.
Before leaving yesterday we were up bright and early at 5:30 am for a tour of the Indian River. It was beautiful, of course, but also very peaceful and quiet at that time of day! No motors are allowed on the river, so our tour guide rowed all 9 of us around! Poor guy!
I definitely enjoyed Dominica! We're currently in Le Saints - the islands are part of Guadeloupe. I'm not sure how long we are going to be here. This is our second night and if we don't leave tomorrow I'm guessing we'll only stay one more. I am absolutely loving it here though! It is so beautiful, calm, and relaxing. There are a couple of small beaches and the snorkeling has been great! I even got to swim with a wild dolphin today, in case you didn't already see my picture on Facebook or Instagram. Ah... dream come true! Anyways, more to come! Almost halfway through!
XOXO
Wow...this looks amazing! It looks like the kids had a great time!
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