Day Four (we’re just getting started)

It seemed we must have seen all Dominica had to offer after our whirlwind tour with Eddison and Ken G.  We spent the next morning recovering and doing schoolwork while the guys on all three boats donned SCUBA gear and cleaned the bottoms of the boats.  This is not an easy chore.  It is tough on your arms and pretty gross, considering the muck that is getting swiped off the bottom into the water, which you are swimming in…

 

Portsmouth Lagoon house

Wendy and I had admired the wood work boats so much that the PAYS guys suggested we walk to town and visit Guy, the boatbuilder.  Jeffrey, one of the PAYS guys, was having a new boat made, so we could see it under construction.  This is another one of those “unofficial tours” we seem to make up as we go along.  Our favorite moments happen when we meet someone, have a lovely conversation, learn something interesting about their island, and then create an opportunity to see people in action, living their regular lives.  We followed the directions we were given: make a right when you get to the street off the beach, go over the bridge, and make a left.  Look for the house with sailcloth hanging over the front.

We had no trouble finding Guy’s house, which is also his workshop.  On the way, we stopped in at a local grocery to look around (you never know when you are going to find something amazing, like milk.  Or Ginger Beer!).  In the back corner, they had farm tools, and, see?  What did I tell you?  They had a whole display of machetes!  You never know what you will find in a food store.  Our anniversary was coming up, so I kept in it mind…  We bought flavored ices for the kids, which were made in fold-over plastic bags.  They were only 25 cents EC, which is about 8 cents US!  The kids just have to bite off the bottom corner and suck the ice out.  It became their new favorite treat when we told them that we would buy them as many ices as they wanted, the whole time we were in Dominica.

Guy was at his shop, hanging out with two buddies.  Not a whole lot of work was going on.  He seemed surprised to see two women and six kids piling into his tiny space, even when he told us that the PAYS guys had called to warn him that we were coming.  We gave him the two second speech, since he didn’t seem like the kind of man who minced words: “We’re two families from the US living on our sailboats for a year.  We heard you are the man responsible for all the amazing wood boats in Dominica.  Can we look at the boat you are building?”

He sort of pointed at the boat, which was about three inches from us.  I realized we would have to be our own tour guides.  Wendy and I started firing questions at the poor man to see if we could get some “social studies lesson”-worthy information out of Guy.  Eventually he warmed up to us and explained the different types of woods he uses and how long it takes to build a boat from start to finish.  His workmanship was excellent.  He endeared himself to us further by pointing out the wood he was saving to build a boat for himself.  The whole kit and caboodle took about 10 minutes, but it was a special treat to see into the life of a Dominican boat builder.

Next, we walked to St. John’s Elementary School.  We hoped to make an appointment to visit the school and meet the children.  We met with the principal and ended up chatting with her for about an hour while the kids played Red Light-Green Light with some of the students.  We learned a lot about the educational system in Dominica and planned a visit for early the next week.

We headed back to Lagoon (pronounced Laa Go by the locals, which is why it took me until our second trip to Dominica to figure out what the heck they were saying.  What’s that?  You didn’t realize we went to Dominica twice?  You are worried that the rest of your free internet time this decade will be filled trying to read my damn posts about Dominica?  Deal with it.  It’s worth it!), which is the name of the area where our boat is anchored.  The kids decided to play at the beach and ended up playing for hours with some of the local kids, many of whom are Eddison’s nieces and nephews.  The PAYS guys taught them to collect these tiny little clams and that kept them busy for hours.  They came back to the boat with a small bucket full of them along with directions on how to cook them up for dinner!  Bryson took charge and made a fantastic appetizer that all the kids tried.

Back at the boat, Chris was still in the water and saw some lionfish below our boat.  Remember lionfish?  The invasive species of fish that are destroying the coral reefs and terrorizing all the fish in the sea?  There is a Caribbean-wide goal to attempt to eradicate them, so even in protected waters, spearfishing for lionfish is allowed (well, overlooked at least).  Of course, Chris hadn’t actually tried his speargun yet, so we all amused ourselves trying to load it without spearing each other.

He didn’t catch them, but he got some good practice using the speargun.

At the end of the day, we watched the sun setting and thought about what an incredibly full, pure, and complete day it had been.  We had met some wonderful, inviting people.  The kids were playing with local children.  We were eating from the sea and spent half the day in the water.  We didn’t realize it yet, but all of our Dominican days would be this wonderful…

 

Alright.  I’m ready to get started.  Are you ready to experience Dominica?

Day Two: We do school work and Chris gets some boat projects completed.  No matter where we are and how interesting it is, these two activities fill most of our mornings.  Before lunch, I sent Chris off to get our National Park passes, which would give us access to many of the places we planned on visiting.  In the afternoon, Titus picked us up and took us snorkeling in the Cabrits National Park area.

That didn’t start off well.  I forgot to bring Porter’s life jacket, so he was petrified about getting in the water, even though I promised to hold him.  The water in the first spot was a little cloudy, so we didn’t see much.  We were also skeptical about paying to go snorkeling, but the park rules do not allow dinghies to anchor or tie up to the moorings.  Titus dropped us off and then followed us around until we were done.  Then we all got back in the boat and he would bring us to a different spot.

In the end, we realized how Titus’ local knowledge allowed us to get several days worth of great snorkeling into 2 hours.  We saw several lion fish (a beautiful fish that is not indigenous and is creating a real threat to the Caribbean waters, fish, and coral reefs.).  We also viewed many tropical fish along a coral wall that dropped off to about 60 feet.  When Porter tired, he sat in the boat and chatted with Titus, which freed Chris and I up to enjoy ourselves.  Reese had a great time, as she is probably the most enthusiastic snorkeler of us all.  She can spot fish easily and is learning all their names.

On the way back, Titus pointed out the villages that we passed as well as the hills that he used to climb as a child.  He told us stories about being a kid on the island and a few tales about getting in a bit of trouble as well.  Porter loved how fast the boat went.  Eddison’s boat has a 40 horsepower engine and there is something about the design of the boat that makes it not only beautiful, but also a surprisingly smooth ride.

Day Three: We woke up early for our “half-day” tour (keep that little tidbit in mind).  Eddison picked us up at 0730 and we collected Anything Goes and Viriginia Dare.  We sped off across the harbor to the entrance of the Indian River, where Eddison cut the engine.  To protect the river and its ecosystem, no engines are allowed.  I took one look at tall, thin Eddison, and wondered how he was going to ROW this heavy wood boat, loaded with 13 people and all our cameras, snacks, bug spray, water, towels, chapstick, babywipes, and suntan lotion.

Well, row he did.  And he told us so many facts about the river that we decided we would make a boatschooling quiz to test the kids afterwards.  We never did, but I’ll bet they remember many interesting facts.  For one, Dominica has 365 rivers: “One for every day of the year.”  They also have four types of snakes and 196 types of ferns.  Up ahead, we saw the spot where the crazy woman from Pirates of the Caribbean II lived.  Much of that movie was filmed on Dominica and we would see several spots over the weeks where scenes were filmed.

I noticed that we seemed to be getting quite an in-depth tour, while other boats were zipping in and out on the ten-cent tour.  Eddison just kept on rowing and kept on telling us all about the flora and fauna of the river.  He answered all of our many questions: “Eddison, what’s that red flower?”  “Eddison, what kind of crab is that?” “Eddison, are dwarf coconut palms native to the island?”  The next thing we knew, we were pulling up to a bar deep inside the river.  We all got out, bringing our cameras with us.  Several boats had arrived right before us, but it was a little early to start drinking, even for our crowd.  It wasn’t yet 9am!

Eddison told us that, if we didn’t mind a short walk, he would take us to his friend’s farm and show us some of the things that he grows.  We thought that sounded awesome, so we followed and listened as he named every darned plant and tree in the woods, giving both its common and Latin name as well as listing its nutritional and medicinal uses.  Bush medicine is a common practice here, and children are brought up learning how to use the plants in their backyard as remedies for every common ailment.  (BTW, we learned later that Eddison only takes super special guests to the farm.  We still feel very honored that he chose to take us.)

A few minutes later, off he went into a field of deep grass.  “Wait here,” he instructed, as if we were going to forge on ahead into the wilderness without him.  We watched as he deftly cut several grapefruit from a tree.  He returned and peeled them for us, sectioning them into quarters so we could eat them island-style, like we eat oranges in the US.  Holy oh my freaking craziness.  It was the best grapefruit I had ever tasted.  We had juice running down our chins and hands kept shooting out toward Eddison for more.  A few yards more and he spotted a star fruit tree.  We all ate the star fruit and marveled at its new and unusual taste: sweet and mouth-puckering at the same time.  I was impressed that Bryson, Reese, and Porter were all game for trying this new and unusual fruit.

Next up, we found a cinnamon tree.  Eddison pulled out his knife and carved off a few pieces of bark for us to take with us.  It smelled like heaven.  It smelled like what all Cinnamon wished it could smell like.  It was divine, I tell you.  The Universe done did a good job on that one.  The 20 minute walk, which was 40 minutes long, went on like that: guava, lemon, “Sensitive Plants” (cool plants whose leaves close up when you touch them), breadfruit, cacao, papaya, coconut, bananas, plantain, sorrel, okra, and more.

 

“Just crush these leaves up, put them in hot water.  Add some spice (what they call cinnamon) and drink like tea.  It’s good for stomach ache.”  Eddison rattled off a dozen or so recipes like this while passing out leaves, bark, and flowers.  I tried to keep them all straight for future ailments.  Our pockets were stuffed with bayleaf, cinnamon, and other treasures by the time we got to Lesley’s farm.

 

 

 

The farms on Dominica are not what we picture when we think of a good ol’ Midwestern American farm.  They don’t have acres of flat clear land here with swaying wheat as far as the eye can see and a cute white farmhouse with a wraparound porch.  (Can you tell that I’ve only been to Midwestern farms in my LittleHouseOnThePrairie imagination?)  The plants and trees here are grown all over the hillsides and are planted in and amongst each other.  It’s basically my worst nightmare: completely unorganized.  But it works.  If there is a tiny speck of land to grow dasheen, they grow it.  And since they grow everything everywhere, they don’t have to worry about crop rotation.  Win-Win.  Oh.  And they don’t have cute little farmhouses.  Which explains why you often see men and women walking down the road swinging a machete.  They are walking to their farm, which may be miles from their home.

 

Eddison walked us up to a pile of coconuts and showed us a special tool they invented to crack them open.  He prefers to do it the old-fashioned way: with a machete.  We all watched in awe as he quickly opened up several coconuts for us to drink and eat.  This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill cruise ship excursion.  We were deep in the “bush” learning authentic farm practices from people who do it every day.  We then went into Lesley’s bar to say hello.  It might seem strange to have a bar on your farm, which was a 20 minute walk from the end of a river, but we didn’t bat an eye.  I guess we’ve officially been in the Caribbean long enough.  We wouldn’t think twice about a bar located in a pediatric dentist’s office at this point.

Lesley is a quiet, unassuming man.  We learned later that he inherited the farm, which encompasses quite a bit of land, from his father.  He served up several rounds of his homemade rum punch: coconut, passion fruit, and one called Dynamite (don’t ask).  We seemed to have forgotten that it was only about 9:30am and we each quickly claimed a favorite variety.  We purchased several bottles and Lesley threw in some plantains as a bonus.

When we asked about a drink we’d heard about made with sorrel, he took us out back, cut us off a bunch of it, and gave it to us with a full description of how to make it.  He offered us these treasures with no charge and a truly generous and open heart.  It felt lovely to receive such gifts from him.  I will never forget how delicious his foods tasted, grown with love and care and pride in his land.

While the adults were drinking breakfast, the kids were running amok on the farm.  Reese and Kate were playing in the dirt, Porter and Olivia were getting suspiciously close to the coconut spike, and Bryson and Maggie were off exploring.  Eddison made origami animals for each of the kids using the fronds from a palm tree.  Bryson, who loves origami, set himself up at a table and tried to teach himself how to do it.

 

We could have hung out chatting with Lesley and Eddison all day and the kids were happy to be exploring.  But we had a lot left to do on our “half-day” tour.  We bid Lesley farewell and headed back to Eddison’s boat.  After rowing back to the harbor, Eddison dropped us off at the dock and we loaded into his van.  He was kind enough to take our leaves, branches, bags of fruit, and bottles of bootlegged rum punch back to our boats for us.  He introduced us to Ken G, who would be our guide, and we were on our way to explore by land.

 

Ken G is a VERY tall, thin, clean cut man with a permanent smile and a pair of Ray Bans that make him look a little like a police officer.  He wore a red shirt most of the times I saw him during our two weeks on Dominca.  He also wore a pair of gold earrings in the shape of star fruit.  He, maybe more so than anyone we met, is extremely proud of his island country and has worked hard to know everything there is to know about its history, landscape, and landmarks.

Ken G is well traveled and fluent in French.  He is also a proud single father of four adorable boys.  As we drove through a number of villages, he told us interesting facts about all of the places, from the American medical school to the IGA Supermarket.  Every once in a while, he would pull the van over to the side of the road with a screech and reach his long arms out to grab a leaf or a fruit off of a tree.  He told us all about it with the same level of knowledge as Eddison.  We were all very impressed and learned that all tour guides on the island are licensed by the government and undergo extensive training and testing.  Additional study is done by individuals to specialize in a certain area, such as plants, the rainforest, or the river system.  He spied a coffee tree and we all piled out of the van on the side of the road.  He told us all about how coffee beans are grown, harvested, and processed.  He cut one open for us and showed us the bean, which is bright white when still on the tree.  I thought about our friend Rob, who is a coffee connoisseur, and how much he would have enjoyed the demonstration.

 We drove on the steep, narrow, winding roads on our way to the Syndicate Rainforest.  As we got closer, the trees and plants outside started to noticeably change.  Everything was getting fuller, greener, and more lush.  The temperature was getting cooler by the minute and there was a palpable moisture in the air.  I was getting excited at the prospect of feeling chilly for the first time in months.  Ken pointed out the national tree of Dominica for us, which is the Giant Fern.  I must have said, “Oh my god!” about ten times in a row.  It is the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen.  I need one.  But since there is no way I’m going to grow one in New Jersey, I took about a hundred pictures of them every time we saw them the rest of the day.

When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we took a short walk through the visitor’s center and learned a bit about the various layers of the rainforest, the history of the island, and the animals and birds that might be seen at this altitude.  Ken was excited to help us see the Dominican national bird., which is the Sisserou Parrot.

 

in the Syndicate Rainforest

We headed into the forest and I expected a typical hike.  Instead, I was filled with the same awe and amazement that I had when I walked through the redwood forests in California.  It was like stepping through the back of a wardrobe and finding yourself in a magical world that you didn’t know existed.  The forest had an eerie silence to it.  Everything was wet and cold and smelled like the earth.  The trees were giant monoliths that stretched toward the sky.  The ground beneath our feet was springy and soft.  Everything outside the forest drifted away into memory…

When we came to a clearing, we saw the full valley beneath us which made me understand the immensity of the forest.  Ken G heard a parrot and got excited, but we didn’t see it.  On the way back, we learned about the Gommier tree, which was used by the Carib Indians to make canoes that could hold 50 men.  By the way, the word “canoe” comes from the Carib word “kenu”.  Also, the Caribs invented the hammock.  Other than that, they were a pretty fearsome bunch, from what we understand.

Once back in the parking lot, Ken G thought he heard the parrots again.  He threw some grapefruits at a bunch of trees to try to get the parrots to fly so we could see them.  He has an incredible arm and it worked!

 

Our next stop was the Milton Falls.  We drove and drove on bumpy, narrow dirt roads that had deep drainage ditches on either side for rainwater.  If you drove into one of those ditches, I’m not sure you could get your car out.  We passed many homes where farmers lived.  It is a subsistence life in parts of Dominica and we tried to figure out what to make of the tiny shacks with no running water that were built on the side of the road.  (It took a few weeks in Dominica to start to imagine what it would be like to live in a home that is so modest.  By that time, we were so enamored with life on this island that we found ourselves able to picture living here.  And yes, we were here for weeks.  And yes, we are still on Day 3).

I was sitting in the front seat of the van, on the left side, which is the passenger side.  It was hard to get used to just sitting there and looking at the scenery when I kept feeling like I should be steering.  At one point, I was engrossed in conversation with Ken G, who had been telling me about his time living in France.  I started telling him the story about trying to get crepes in Guadeloupe.

I got to the part where I ask the man, “Where can we get some crepes?” and Ken G looks confused.  “Crepes?” he asks.  “Yes.  We wanted to eat crepes,” I replied, a little annoyed that the tempo of my story had been disrupted.  But Ken G clearly has no idea what I’m talking about.  So Chris pipes up from the back, “The man didn’t understand her because she wasn’t pronouncing it correctly.”  And Ken G’s eyes light up with complete understanding as he yells, “Oh!!!!  Crrrrrrrrrrrrreps!!!!!!!”  Which is exactly what the man from Guadeloupe said.  I swear you have never heard 12 people laugh so hard.  We filled Ken G in on the joke and he gave us some French lessons, as if we ever planned on visiting another French speaking country.

We stopped when the road couldn’t take us any farther and Ken G told us to follow him.  We walked on a trail that crossed a river several times.  Ken G rolled up his jeans and stood on rocks in the river to help the little ones across.  It was a beautiful hike and we knew that something special must be waiting for us deep in the woods.  There would be no tour bus pulled up to a metal railing here.  Even with a detailed guide map, one could never find this place without local knowledge.  Once again, we realized how incredibly worth it it was to take a tour with our new friends.

 

 

 

Once we arrived, the waterfall took our breath away.  It was just as tall as the ones Chris and I enjoyed in Ithaca when we were at Cornell.  We took off our clothes and jumped into the cool water.  I instantly felt a rush of energy from the power of the waterfall.  A permanent spray of water was in the air and as I got closer, I almost couldn’t breathe due to the rush of air coming from the falls.  I dipped below the surface in order to get behind the falls.  It was a total rush to swim behind the waterfall and feel its power (let’s see how many more times I can say “rush” and “power”).  It wasn’t comfortable, because the spray was getting in my eyes and I couldn’t breathe, but it was awesome nonetheless.  The kids were brave to try it as well and we all felt incredibly refreshed afterwards.

It was a wonderful way to end our “half-day” tour, which ended when Ken G dumped us out of the van by the dock at 5pm!  We thanked Ken G and hoped to see him again (we would).  Eddison was waiting to take us back to our boats and was happy to hear that we had a great time.

 

happy birthday bob!

After our whirlwind day, we all got together to help Bob (s/v Virginia Dare) celebrate his birthday.  It was a lovely night with friends, but it wasn’t quite over yet.  After putting the kids to bed, we rallied for the long-awaited Reggae Night at Big Papa’s.  Big Papa’s is an open air restaurant/bar on the waterfront.  The floor is the beach.  There are a few picnic tables here and there and a dark dance floor next to the bar.  Strings of lights hang from the ceiling.

We waited as long as we could, and in we went at 11pm, even though it doesn’t really get started until around 12:30.  The gang enjoyed the music as they drank their beers, but I couldn’t convince anyone to dance.  The night ended too early for me, but I wasn’t leaving Dominica until I danced me some reggae.  And since I managed to get crepes out of the French, I was sure I could get some reggae out of the Dominicans…