Dominica
We spent the day in perhaps the most beautiful and least developed of all the islands in the Lesser Antilles… Dominica, also called the “natural jewel of the Caribbean”. It is a high, extremely rugged volcanic island that measures 27 miles in length and enjoys 300 plus inches pre annum on the windward side, making it the wettest island in the Caribbean. Like many other islands in the Windward chain, Dominica was sighted and named by Columbus (on his second voyage), and subsequently changed hands many times between the British and the French. Native Carib Indians have survived on Dominica, largely thanks to the rugged nature of the island, to the modern day. About 3,000 Caribs live in the Carib Reserve, an Indian reservation on the northeastern shore of the island.
The Sea Cloud II entered Prince Rupert Bay just before breakfast, and we berthed at the little port of Cabrits under the guns of Fort Shirley, one of the most important fortifications in the Caribbean. The morning was devoted to exploring the Mourne de Diablo National Park when we hiked on its premier trail known as the Syndicate Nature Trail, whose construction was sponsored by Lindblad Expeditions a decade or so ago. In addition to simply enjoying the magnificence of the forest, we were searching for the famous endemic parrot species known as the imperial parrot (locally called sisserou) and the red-necked parrot (jacquot.) We were fortunate to see several jacquots. We also marveled at the huge trees with buttressed roots, incredible bromeliads, lianas, and dense foliage.
Lennox Honychurch, a local anthropologist and historian joined us on board for lunch and told us more about Dominica. A little later, he escorted us up to Fort Shirley, which he has been deeply involved with restoring. The fort was built between 1765 and the 1820s in order to guard Portsmouth, the capital of the island. However, malaria and yellow fever were so prevalent here, the capital was eventually moved farther south to Rousso. The fort was abandoned in 1854 and was reclaimed by the jungle. He took us on a tour of the site and explained what work was being done to restore it and what more was planned. There are some nice hiking trails around the Fort Shirley area, and several of us explored the interior of the surrounding hills where we found the photogenic ruins of other buildings and walls covered over with banyan trees and jungle near Douglas Bay.
Many of us also opted to explore the underwater world from a snorkel Zodiac, which we moored nearby the ship. The reef here consists of volcanic rocks and boulders and contains spotty coral, sea fans, giant sponges, black sea urchins, and lots of fish. We watched for a green flash, but were foiled by faint clouds on the horizon. Just before we sailed, Head Chef David Setzermann bought three huge tunas from a local fisherman to be eaten the following day. We cast off in the dark and made our way northwards to the nearby French Caribbean island of Terre de Haut, part of the Les Saintes Group associated with Guadeloupe. The Sea Cloud II was anchored in the harbor of Bourg, the main town on Terre de Haut, before the end of dinner and once Clearance was granted, several of us went ashore for a couple hours or so.
We spent the day in perhaps the most beautiful and least developed of all the islands in the Lesser Antilles… Dominica, also called the “natural jewel of the Caribbean”. It is a high, extremely rugged volcanic island that measures 27 miles in length and enjoys 300 plus inches pre annum on the windward side, making it the wettest island in the Caribbean. Like many other islands in the Windward chain, Dominica was sighted and named by Columbus (on his second voyage), and subsequently changed hands many times between the British and the French. Native Carib Indians have survived on Dominica, largely thanks to the rugged nature of the island, to the modern day. About 3,000 Caribs live in the Carib Reserve, an Indian reservation on the northeastern shore of the island.
The Sea Cloud II entered Prince Rupert Bay just before breakfast, and we berthed at the little port of Cabrits under the guns of Fort Shirley, one of the most important fortifications in the Caribbean. The morning was devoted to exploring the Mourne de Diablo National Park when we hiked on its premier trail known as the Syndicate Nature Trail, whose construction was sponsored by Lindblad Expeditions a decade or so ago. In addition to simply enjoying the magnificence of the forest, we were searching for the famous endemic parrot species known as the imperial parrot (locally called sisserou) and the red-necked parrot (jacquot.) We were fortunate to see several jacquots. We also marveled at the huge trees with buttressed roots, incredible bromeliads, lianas, and dense foliage.
Lennox Honychurch, a local anthropologist and historian joined us on board for lunch and told us more about Dominica. A little later, he escorted us up to Fort Shirley, which he has been deeply involved with restoring. The fort was built between 1765 and the 1820s in order to guard Portsmouth, the capital of the island. However, malaria and yellow fever were so prevalent here, the capital was eventually moved farther south to Rousso. The fort was abandoned in 1854 and was reclaimed by the jungle. He took us on a tour of the site and explained what work was being done to restore it and what more was planned. There are some nice hiking trails around the Fort Shirley area, and several of us explored the interior of the surrounding hills where we found the photogenic ruins of other buildings and walls covered over with banyan trees and jungle near Douglas Bay.
Many of us also opted to explore the underwater world from a snorkel Zodiac, which we moored nearby the ship. The reef here consists of volcanic rocks and boulders and contains spotty coral, sea fans, giant sponges, black sea urchins, and lots of fish. We watched for a green flash, but were foiled by faint clouds on the horizon. Just before we sailed, Head Chef David Setzermann bought three huge tunas from a local fisherman to be eaten the following day. We cast off in the dark and made our way northwards to the nearby French Caribbean island of Terre de Haut, part of the Les Saintes Group associated with Guadeloupe. The Sea Cloud II was anchored in the harbor of Bourg, the main town on Terre de Haut, before the end of dinner and once Clearance was granted, several of us went ashore for a couple hours or so.
