We left Tres Islets, Martinique just before 6AM on December 1. Our destination was Portsmouth, Dominica, which is on the north west coast and a 75 mile sail. We arrived in the harbor at 5 PM after a smooth passage without any squalls. Fire, one of the local boats, met us coming into the harbor and we opted for a mooring to be close to shore to get the strong internet. Portsmouth has a licensed and organized fleet of men providing yacht services for visiting boats called PAYS. They arranged for a boat to pick us up at 9 AM this morning and a taxi, driven by Uncle Sam, to take us to check-in with Immigration and Customs and then to take us for a tour up to Milton Falls with a stop at the grocery on the way back. All of this was arranged while we were sipping a cocktail watching the sunset from our cockpit. Later on this afternoon, Lawrence of Arabia (another boat man), picked up our jerry cans and took them in to fill with diesel for us and then delivered them back to the boat. We tip these guys generously as they do not have a set fee for anything except the mooring which is $10 US a night. Thanks to them, our dinghy did not even have to leave the davits.

The trip to the waterfall was about a 45 minute drive and then about a 30 minute hike into the rain forest. We had to traverse a couple streams and go through quite a bit of mud but it was not so rough to be dangerous. The falls were worth it and we took lots of photos. Last spring when we toured Dominica, our camera battery went dead after our first stop, so we really wanted to get some pics of this island. It is the most undeveloped and beautiful island in the Caribbean that we have seen so it was great to get another go at it. We are pushing on to Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, tomorrow AM and hope to celebrate my birthday with a nice dinner. This is a 20 mile passage from here so it should be a relaxing day. Bon appetit!