We arrived in Roseau, Dominica around 8 a.m., after traveling through the night from St. Lucia. We intended to pull up to the dock, pick up the generator, take on fuel and water (the water in Dominica is excellent as are the fuel prices), and sail away. The dock was torn apart so we had to launch the dinghy and paddle in. The generator was not at the store but still in customs. We sat on the boat under our quarantine flag and at 2:30 p.m. went back to the store to see if the generator had arrived. Customs advised they were almost finished with the paperwork. We rode with Alex from the Dominica Marine Store to the customs dock. It was now just before 4 p.m.. When we got to the dock we were advised the dock was closing and to come back tomorrow. We were not happy and began pleading our case. To their credit they agreed to release the generator as well as open the office to get us a clearance for Martinique, without charging us overtime. We returned to the boat, Bill manhandled the 100 lb. generator from the vehicle to the dinghy while I settled up with the marine store. Once onboard, we unpacked the generator and it worked perfectly. We prepared a quick dinner and went to bed, setting the alarm for 3 a.m. By 3:30 we were heading off to Martinique. It had been quite an adventure.

We had ordered a new generator while in Dominica but left suddenly when Dean was headed our way. We ended up hunkering down in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia and the storm passed right between St. Lucia and Martinique. We tried in vain to find ways of getting the generator delivered to St. Lucia and decided to head back and get it ourselves. We did an overnight passage, arriving around 8 a.m. in Dominica, expecting to pick up the generator from the dock and sail away. It didn't quite materialize the way we'd hoped.

We arrived on Cruise Ship day, which is only once a week during the summer.

This is what constant wind off the Atlantic does to trees as they are all slanted in the direction of the trades, which blow 24/7 off the Atlantic.

We finally arrived at Marigot Bay. On Saturdays many businesses close at noon and bus service diminished significantly. We decided we'd better catch a bus back to Roseau right away. So there we stood, beside the airport, waiting and waiting and waiting. None of the buses that went by were going to Roseau. Finally one bus stopped and said we'd have more success if we went to Portsmouth and caught a bus back to Roseau from there. That meant traveling through the northern end of the island to the west coast. After some deliberation, we caught a bus heading to Portsmouth.

We were so pleased we'd made that decision as the views were spectacular and the interior lush and beautiful. We would never had taken that route if we hadn't been stuck at the airport in Marigot, it seemed like forever.

Once we got to Portsmouth we hopped on a bus immediately that was heading to Roseau.

Along the way we came upon an accident where an SUV with two women and two children had gone off the road, lodging their vehicle under a parked transport trailer. One woman appeared to have a broken shoulder, one with a gash on her arm, two children had undetermined injuries, but they looked serious as they were semi-conscious. The vehicle was a total loss. Our bus driver stopped and offered immediate help and stayed controlling traffic around the accident scene until the children and women had been evacuated to a nearby hospital. Apparently a car had side-swiped them, careening them off the narrow road.

We finally arrived in Roseau after a long, long day of adventure.

It was a cloudy day when we visited the Emerald Pond and the photos did not turn out. The hike through the jungle was lush and spectacular. After we left Emerald Pond we planned to catch a bus to Castle Bruce. We waited and waited for a bus, but only one full bus went by. Eventually we started a long hike, believing Castle Bruce was about 8 miles away. We had showers along the way and took refuge under large trees. We seemed to walk forever and at about the halfway point a car with two men and two children stopped and offered us a ride. We thankfully accepted. The driver said if we wanted to help cover the fuel cost that would be appreciated. We were more than willing to help for the comfort of riding the rest of the way.

At Castle Bruce we waited for another bus that would take us through Carib Territory and eventually to Marigot Bay. We thought we might stop in Carib Territory but there wasn't much to see. A number of homes were built on stilts and had full exposure to the Atlantic Ocean. The views were very dramatic along the eastern coastline.

This sign was on the highway where there is a fork in the road with four branches, one of them leading to Emerald Pond. It is evidence of where Dominica's priorities are. I think this is why we enjoy our time in these islands so much. The people are, for the most part, living examples of their faith.

This market was very inviting with its fresh fruit and vegetables. We were going exploring today and didn't have time to stop.

We caught a bus near the market. Their destinations were not posted so we initially said we wanted a bus to Castle Bruce (Lonely Planet's recommendation). Then we said we were going to Emerald Pond. The driver assured us he went to the turnoff for Emerald Pond, so on we got.

The buses are actually minivans and are designed so there is a drop down seat along the isle, ensuring every square inch is occupied. When someone in the back needs to get off, everyone in the isle seats have to get off and let them off.

On this trip, a man in the back row needed a 1-gallon jug filled with gasoline for work so he asked the driver to stop at a service station, which he did. The station was out of gasoline so the man asked if the driver could backtrack to a station we had passed. The driver turned around and headed back. This station had gasoline. The driver then got out, took the jug through the back window, got it filled and returned with the jug and the man's change. Bill announced to a couple of people sitting nearby, "that would never happen in Canada". This is just the way it is in these islands, full service (with a smile).

We left the city and went some distance along the windy, mountainous roads. We eventually came to a fork in the road and the driver said it was our stop. Yes, he did go to the turnoff to Emerald Pond but the Castle Bruce bus would have gone right by the entrance. We set off for a long hike but after about 20 minutes a minivan stopped and gave us a ride. It was an employee from Emerald Pond who figured that was our destination. He accepted an average local bus fare and took us right to the entrance. It would have taken us at least another 25 minutes to hike in.

This is an ingenious way to keep your boat on shore and not worry about the waves taking it away.

We've had some challenges with our dinghy getting trapped under docks. On one occasioin we returned to find our dinghy tied up on the opposite side of the dock. We have it chained and locked when we leave it, but the lock had been cut with bolt cutters. Apparently it had gotten trapped under the dock and whoever noticed it had to cut the lock to free it. We parked at a different dock the next time we went exploring and came back to find our Yamaha motor gear shifter broken off and evidence that, once again, it had been trapped under the dock. It was tied up differently than we left it, so once again someone had rescued it for us.

We appreciate all the efforts taken on our behalf and only wish we knew who to thank. These were acts of kindness that we greatly appreciated.

What we discovered is traditionally you leave the dinghy with extra chain so other dinghies can share the space. However, if there isn't a lot of dinghy traffic, it helps to tie two lines (front and back) to prevent the dinghy from traveling.

We'd be pretty claustraphobic living in this community. The houses are so crowded that it is difficult to see where one ends and another begins. Fishing seems to be the only industry.

While we were wandering through the town a man called us over to give us a "gift" (an avacado). The ploy was for us to give him a gift in return. Bill only had large bills so he offered him all the change in his wallet. When Bill showed him his dilemma the man took one of the bills and said he'd be right back. Sure enough, he went and got change from somewhere so Bill could give him a decent gift.

These boys begged me to take their photo and then acted up for it. Then they called out for their money. Despite the fact that this is not a tourist destination, the children are learning the tricks to grab the tourists' money. This was the only time this happened on Dominica so it isn't a problem. Maybe they are related to the avacado man who offer an avacado as a gift and then asked for a gift in return.

The town of Scotts Head is located on the edge of a volcanic cone. The roundness of it is the interior of the volcanic cone while the hills are the upper lip of the cone.

This is the view of the Caribbean and Atlantic together. There is a spit of land that juts out where a fort was strategically located.

The Caribbean and the Atlantic are both visible from this town at the south end of Dominica. It is interesting to view them together. Most developments are on the calmer, leeward side of the islands, where they are protected from the wind and waves.

Fishing is the main industry here as it is not a tourist destination.

We were told to wait for a bus back to Roseau here so we bought a cold drink and visited with the locals. The shop owner asked where we were from and very sincerely said it was a real pleasure to have us visiting their country. She was a little surprised when I photographed her sign but we told her we were amazed at how open the islanders were in expressing their faith. She said you have to be bold and she was making her statement loud and clear.

From Trafalgar Falls we hiked about 2 kms. to the sulphur hotsprings. We were escorted into the main pool by a local gentleman with many interesting stories to tell about life in Dominica. He told us a story about a hurricane that hit the island 20 years previous. He said 95% of the homes in his area were destroyed. He rescued his wife and child from under walls that had fallen on them. There were serious injuries, and some loss of life, but his family survived. He told us that every tree was stipped bare exposing a barren mountainside. Apparently the hurricane gets trapped in the mountains and stips everything in its path.

There are many interesting creatures living in the jungle where you least expect to see them. This crab thought he was well hidden but stopped long enough to have his photo taken. We haven't been too successful in snagging any fish but just bought the perfect lure for tuna (according to the experts). We'll be sure to report on our first catch.

We keep recognizing why we have this lifestyle at this stage in life. We are not spring chickens any longer. It is a very physical lifestyle. Some of the treks we undertake and mountains we hike are for the fit and limber. Some days we feel like neither but we get out and do it anyway.

Bev checked the temperature of the stream near the falls and it is hot. There are volcanic vents with surfuric pools in the area, heating the water. Not a place for a refreshing dip.

We caught a bus to Trafalgar Falls and for a few extra $ the driver took us right to the entrance. The drivers allow themselves to be flexible to accommodate their passengers' needs. The ride through the country was beautiful and very steep.

The local bus drivers are very skilled as the roads are narrow, windy and steep and they often have to honk their horn to alert drivers coming the other way. They get to know the passengers on their route and it is not uncommon for the driver to ask "are you going home?" when a passenger gets close to their usual stop. Usually the passengers just call out "Bus driver, stop" and he stops at the most appropriate place. The drivers are very perceptive and conscientious.

We hiked to the falls (a short 15-minute hike) through the lush jungle to see the falls cascading from the mountain into rushing streams below. It was beautiful and a popular destination for cruise ship passengers. Fortunately there were none there that day.

The streets come alive when the cruise ship comes to town with street vendors popping out of the woodwork. We walked these same streets the day before and it was like a ghost town.

We do everything by public bus so we were getting information on where to go and how to get there. We love traveling with the locals and it is very economical.

The buses are privately-owned minivans and they line up and take turns collecting passengers. When the locals get on the bus they greet everyone already seated with a "Good morning". Even children and teenagers greet people as they get on. We are constantly greeted on the street as well so have to be sensitive that we aren't daydreaming as we don't want to offend anyone. This happened one day in Scotts Head and I responded to a local's greeting but Bill wasn't paying attention and didn't respond. The man actually came over and said to Bill, "Your wife said hello but you didn't. Why is that?" Bill was a little embarrassed because it certainly wasn't deliberate. He doesn't always hear things and missed this gentleman's greeting. When Bill told the man of his hearing deficiency, the man accepted his explanation, shook hands and left. We appreciated the gentleman for making a point because we appreciate these islander so much and certainly do not want to offend anyone.

I guess by now you've figured out I love sunsets. There are no obstructions from our position in Roseau, Dominica, so every night we're treated to an amazing sunset. The camera goes crazy trying to capture the beauty.

We're spending at least another week in Dominica as our generator failed and we had to order a new one. It is coming from Puerto Rico and deliveries by freighter are once a week. We can't think of a more beautiful island to wait on.

When the sky turned black from 3 directions, it felt like we were being swallowed by a whale (or big fish). We couldn't help but think how Jonah from the Bible must have felt. We battoned down the hatches and readied ourselves for a big dump of rain, but the clouds dumped their load elsewhere. Within half an hour the sky lightened up and we were once again in awe of our unique surroundings.

One of our favorite places to hike in B.C. was in Illecilliwaet, near Revelstoke. It is incredibly beautiful there and we have very fond memories of our experiences. Somehow Dominica is bringing back some of those feelings with its lofty mountain peaks, clouds drifting across the peaks and brilliant blue sky in the background. The interior of Dominica is a hiker's paradise with cascading waterfalls and emerald pools.

Enya sings of the Caribbean blue and we are enjoying it almost daily. It is a magnificent color of blue and contrasts with the sky and surrounding tropical vistas. I tried to capture it in this photo. The song has a mystical tone to it and suits the Caribbean blue perfectly.

She also sings a song called Orinoco Flow and we use it as a theme song. When we remember we turn it on just as we're sailing away as the lyrics include "sail away, sail away, sail away". We're intending to travel on the Orinoco River when we leave Trinidad.

It is easy to see why songwriters are inspired in these amazing settings. We are still in awe each day of our magnificent surroundings.

The sunsets from our moorage in Roseau are magnificent. We keep waiting for the Green Flash but so far we haven't seen it. Apparently there is a fluorescent green flash in the sky just as the sun passes over the horizon. The skies have to be perfectly clear.

When we arrived in Roseau we followed the guide to a location where mooring balls are available. Pancho, one of the boat helpers, agreed to our hooking up to one of his mooring balls. One night after we had gone to bed we heard huge gusts of wind. Later we heard a thud on our hull and presumed it was the dinghy. However, this thud didn't have a familiar ring so at 1 a.m. Bill went to check it out. He was on the deck for several minutes and then called me to come check it out. He couldn't figure out where we were because the landmarks seemed to have changed. The night is black and the lights on the buildings at night take on a different appearance. We discovered we had drifted 1 nautical mile from shore dragging the mooring ball. We fired up the engine, pushed up the rpms and tried to power back to shore, dragging the mooring ball. No go. We didn't have enough power for the task. Eventually we freed ourselves from the mooring ball and it dropped into 1,000 ft. of water.

Now we have the challenge of getting back to shore and finding another mooring ball to hook onto. Bill stood on the bow and we headed toward the cruise ship dock where we had seen several unoccupied mooring balls. As we got closer Bill suddenly yelled at me to turn as we were heading toward a concrete mooring station used by the cruise ships when they are in dock. It was so dark and visibility was so poor, I didn't see it. We finally eased up to one of the balls and hooked on for the night. We didn't sleep too soundly after that. In the morning we realized we couldn't get internet from that location so headed back to Pancho's mooring area. We were concerned about Pancho's reaction when he discovered one of his mooring balls had disappeared. He was more concerned about our safety and our reaction to the incident than losing the ball. We were fine and everything turned out great. Pancho is a good guy.

We passed these fishermen sorting their catch as we were sailing from Portsmouth to Roseau. We have not seen many fishermen in these waters and fresh fish are hard to find. You need a license to fish in Dominica so you would think fish would be in abundance. We expected we'd be eating fresh fish several times a week but this hasn't been the case.

This unrestored former Commander's House was set quite some distance from the rest of the fort and looked like it had been a splendid residence in its day. According to the information on billboards at the fort, officers had separate quarters and their wives could live their with them. They were served high quality food on fine china. I can just imagine the treatment the Commander received. There was a separate residence nearby that we figured probably belonged to the people who served the Commander and his family. Seems like they lived a pampered life at the fort.

This tree, covered with razor-sharp spikes, is called Sand Box. There wouldn't be any children (or even cats) using this forbidding sand box. We have never seen a tree like this in our travels and there were a number on the site of the fort.

The interior has been renovated and could be used for conferences or weddings. At present there is a small museum inside.

This old British fort, dating from the 18th century, is located in the Cabrits National Park and has been partially restored.

Faith in action... It is not uncommon for people to profess their faith on their vehicles or businesses. There are obviously no laws restricting them because, even in the Customs office, praise music was boldly playing in the background. People in the lineup were humming and getting into the music. It is so refreshing for us to experience and we wish Canadians had the same boldness as these islanders.

As we explored and hiked around the rest spot our guide busied himself fashioning a bird from a palm front from the Royal Palm. When he finished he presented it to me as a gift. He chuckled when I told him we would keep the bird flying in the boat and he would see lots of action. It was a delightful souvenir from a delightful trip on the Indian River.

As usual these trips try to capitalize on tourist revenue from a captive clientele. This rest stop found a man working on handcarvings (from coconuts) while another man arrived shortly after us to set up a bar with refreshments and snacks. Unfortunately we weren't interested in either but there were more boats on their way with a school group from St. Vincent, so no doubt business picked up.

This river trip is quite spectacular. We have been in the jungle a lot but not on a river trip. The knarled trees and vines winding their way up other trees, as if smothering them, was most interesting.

A portion of Pirates of the Caribbean, Part 2, was filmed here. We understand it was the part where a witch is visited. It surely felt like a witch's den as we passed through.

Probably the most popular tour in Portsmouth is the Indian River trip. Numerous guides are trained and licensed to take passengers in their boats (no motors allowed) on this 2-hour trip into the jungle. The cost is $15 US per person with a $2 EC site fee (paid to the government). Each boat holds about 9 passengers but we were the only passengers on this trip.

Chris Doyle names the guides and their boats in his Cruising Guide so we went with one he recommended called Seabird. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. The winds were strong when we started out but subsided once we were in the thick of the jungle.

Chris Doyle, in his "Cruising Guide for the Leeward Islands", says there are so many wrecks on the beach in Portsmouth it looks like they were trying to check into the country without leaving their boat. There are about 6 unsightly wrecks along the beach, signs of violent storms from the past.

We named our boat El Shaddai, which is one of God's names meaning Almighty, all powerful, all sufficient.

These islands are bold in proclaiming their faith so it is no surprise to find El Shaddai on fishing boats, taxis, (even a hotdog stand in the Bahamas), and, in this instance, written on the sidewalk in front of a business that is no longer operating.

Dominica is singled out as the most beautiful island and we can't help but agree. However, its beauty is not in its variety of beaches as we were told that this is the largest and most populated beach on the island. On Emancipation Day (August 4 this year) people from around the island flock here with their families. Most of the island is steep to so the beauty is in the cascading waterfalls and interior lakes which is a hiker's dream.

We were moored next to this beach, that was always alive with swimmers and beach games, during our stay in Portsmouth.

We stopped for a cold drink at this seaside restaurant called "Sea View". This wreck landed here about 10 years ago and certainly changed the sea view of "Sea View". How disappointing it must be for the owners as there has been no attempt to remove this, and several other wrecks from the beach.

It is difficult to capture wild weather at sea because we are too busy hanging on and protecting the camera from sea water. When it gets rough we wear our lifejackets and harness ourselves in the cockpit. We aren't too keen on a rescue at sea, especially with a canoe hull. We might be able to get back to the boat, but getting back on would be another challenge.

Our Tayana Vancouver is a very strong and solidly built boat and we have not regretted choosing an offshore boat for travel. It gives us confidence that she will take care of us in all types of weather. Regardless, we still choose our weather windows for travel carefully.