Cabrits, Dominica
Curtains of rain shifted across the steep forested mountains of Dominica as Sea Cloud II approached the twin hills of the Cabrits National Park which was our destination on this ‘the Nature Island’ of the Caribbean. Stepping right into the national park we boarded a convoy of mini vans and made our way through three vegetation zones and up 2000 feet into the Morne Diablotin National Park. Knowledgeable local guides took our groups through the magnificent tropical rain forest with its wonderful trees rising to a canopy some eighty feet above us. Parrots called overhead and humming birds darted between the slim trees, palms and tree ferns of the forest’s understory. We learned about the endangered Amazona parrots found nowhere else in the world and the efforts being made to preserve them by ensuring that their habitat is protected through a system of national parks and forest reserves.
Back down on the coast at the Cabrits National Park we entered a rather different type of forest, The Dry Scrub Woodland, which did not seem all that dry this particular afternoon as we were in the last month of the rainy season. Lennox took us up to the Fort that he is currently restoring, explaining that it was built by the British in the 1770s to defend the harbour and the north of Dominica. Once hostilities between the French and British were over in the 19th century the large garrison that once covered this headland was closed down and left to the forest. In 1983 restoration of the main fort, Fort Shirley, was started and this has been a stop and start affair as and when funds became available. From the ramparts we got a beautiful view of Sea Cloud II alongside the small dock below the fort.
Meanwhile snorkelers were enjoying the marine part of the National Park as they swam among the volcanic boulders and saw some of the best stands of live coral to be seen on the voyage. By 4:00pm we were off again, crossing just 23 miles to the French islands of Les Saintes which we could see on the horizon. We were sailing in historic waters as Lennox explained in his lecture in the lounge, for this was the site of the greatest sea battle in the Caribbean, The Battle of the Saintes, fought between the French and British fleets. As the sun set we gathered on deck to see our ship enter the five island archipelago and anchor in front of the charming little town of Bourg on the main island of Terre de Haut.
