LIZ AND MENNO SPEYER DO DOMINICA

(or should I say Waitukubuli) By Liz Speyer

When Menno and I told people that we were going on a dive holiday to Dominica people said “I’ve been to the Dominican Republic”.

Some people even volunteered that the diving was okay, but not great.

Dominica is NOT the Dominican Republic.

I first visited Dominica, the Nature Island of the Caribbean, in 1972. On my return visit this January 2007, not much had changed. Except for the addition of more cars and cell phones, Dominica, was still the same undeveloped tropical island.

Dominica, situated between Martinique and Guadeloupe, is virtually untouched by tourism, hence Disney’s decision to use Dominica as the site for Pirate’s of the Caribbean 2 & 3.

We flew to Dominica via Antigua in a Dash-8. There are eight potentially active volcanoes on Dominica, its mountain peaks reach 4,747 feet and its coastal water plunge to depths of 6,000 feet. What you see from the plane are incredible mountains and valleys covered with deep green rainforests. As the airplane swung around to approach the small airstrip carved out in a valley we realized why the island does not attract 747 jets.

During the hour drive across the island each new scene out of the taxi window looked more spectacular than the last one. While a few days later we did rent a car I was glad that we had a taxi from the airport to the hotel. Menno could not have driven the car and looked at the breath taking views. Let me sum up driving in Dominica.

Driving is on the left hand side. Most roads are barely two cars wide narrowing to one car width on bridges. Potholes are bone jarring. The roads twist in hairpin turns up and down the 5,000 foot or so high mountains. Not everywhere you want to go has paved roads so 4-wheel drive is a must.

We had a little Suzuki (left hand shift) which worked out well as a larger 4-wheeler we might have opted for, if they had had one, would have just taken up too much room on the roads. One addition we would have liked is to have had a horn on the passenger side because beeping your horn before rounding the 180 degree turns is a necessity and sometimes interferes with the driver avoiding the potholes.

Absolute concentration is needed to make up for the fact there are not shoulders on the roads and the drop offs on the side range from two feet of cement culvert for diverting runoff to sheer drops of hundreds of feet. Driving at night allows you to spot the headlights of an oncoming car. Unfortunately dimming your lights is not a given and not being able to see the edge of the road does have dire consequence. Playing “chicken” is the name of the game when encountering local drivers and Menno got quite good at speeding up to the narrow bridges and taking possession before the locals caught on that he was not just one of those inexperienced tourists in a rental. Road hazards include goats staked to the side of the road who have chewed though their ropes.

One road sign did ask that you avoid the crabs - whereas the numerous natives walking along the edge of the road apparently know how to take care of themselves.

Accommodations

There are only about four sandy beaches with hotels on the Caribbean side and we stayed at the Castaways Hotel on Mero beach at about the middle of the island. The only other one I would stay at might be the Picard Beach Cottages at the north end (this is where the cast and crew from Disney stayed). Do not expect luxury. Accommodations are basic though the Castaways still had hints of the great hotel era of the 60’s and 70’s. The sand was black volcanic which takes a little getting used to but the Caribbean side of the island has lovely calm waters and the beaches that are there are beautiful to swim at.

And then we became Divers...

Dominica is rated among the top ten diving destinations in the world. Menno and I had done our theory and pool dives in Montreal but had saved our open water dives for Dominica. I was apprehensive. Dominica has a number of dive operators and numerous dive sites. We chose a small Padi dive operation (East Carib Dive) near our hotel.

Monday afternoon of our first week we did an off-shore exploration dive. Harald our instructor said it was to see if we liked it – I think it was to see if he liked us. The water was rougher than usual but Doo Doo reef just off shore was beautiful. Dominica has an abundance of beautiful corals and numerous types of small fish. We even saw our first seahorse.

Tuesday was the real thing. We did our first two dives from the boat five minutes off shore at Coral Garden and Laura’s Reef. It was just Menno and I with Harold so I had all the attention I needed (which was considerable). Harald stayed right next to me making sure that I was comfortable and helping me to see all the small things I would have missed.

Wednesday we did dives three and four for our certification. We dove Nose Reef and Easy Street, again beautiful reefs just minutes off shore.

Rivers: They say there is one for every day of the year.

Dominica has the most extensive forests in the tropics and is the only island with a World Heritage site so while the diving is superb we also had to explore the incredible forests. With the high mountain peaks and many rivers come spectacular waterfalls, about 12 major ones and hundreds of smaller ones.

Syndicate Falls.

On Thursday we set off to see Syndicate Falls. We initially took the road to the tourist center, parked and followed a trail through the rainforest. But, we only got close enough to hear the falls not see them. I have to admit that I was also surprised that walking in the rainforest was extremely comfortable – not as humid as expected and no bugs. By the way Dominica does not have dangerous creatures that need avoiding. The only snakes of note are apparently boa constrictors of the size that can be of threat to chickens.

We asked a local at the Nature Center where the falls were and ended up taking a rather rough track in the car followed by a 15 minute hike into the forest to find ourselves alone at one of the most picturesque waterfalls were had ever seen. This is another reason to have your own vehicle as a tour bus or even a taxi would never have made it in to these falls.

Middleham Falls.

These falls are a must see. It is about an hour hike in and unless you are in great shape you will definitely feel your quads the next day. You will need good shoes and will get wet feet on some of the streams. In many of the steeper areas or wet areas they have laid wooden steps that are amazingly not slippery and easy to walk on. Again we were all alone which is probably the only danger in this hike. Taking a guide would be safer.

More Diving.

On Monday we dove Whale Shark Reef and Rena’s Reef. Again we were alone with Harold and his assistant. The reefs were spectacular and confirm Dominica’s west coast as a prime breeding ground for numerous small fish. We declined an offer to swim through a tunnel but Harald did again find us those rare seahorses, a moray eel, lobsters and rays amongst the incredible sponges.

Tuesday we dove Maggie’s Reef and DooDoo Reef South. All these reefs were minutes off shore in fact we could have easily swam back to our beach at the hotel from one of them.

And then there was sailing...

Dr. Fitzroy, a local medical doctor turned whale researcher takes visitors (not tourists) out on his 65 foot catamaran as he documents the movements of the whales along the Caribbean coast of Dominica. We learned that the high mountain peaks provide calm, deep leeward seas that are ideal for pregnant female whales. While sighting of whales is supposed to be 80 to 90% we did not see any whales and instead had to settle for a fantastic day of sailing and a swim with a large pod of dolphins. Again we felt that we were lucky not to be on a touristy outing but rather on an adventure with Yoli and Chris.

Renaming Dominca

When we were sailing with Dr. Fitzroy, Yoli and Chris, Menno and I decided with Dr. Fitzroy that because people constantly confuse Dominica with the Dominican Republic that Dominica should revert to its native name, Waitukubui, which means “Tall is her body”.

But after spending two weeks on this majestic island that has not really been touched by tourism and experiencing its raw beauty on land and in the water maybe it is best left as a secret.