The sail across the Martinique Sea to Dominica was great fun! We no sooner turned the headland from the anchorage when the wind hit us at 20 knots from the east. Trilogy relished the conditions in the quartering sea and all the crew took turns in the 5 hour sail to take the helm and to experience the exilaration. No cups of tea on this sail! Then some even greater excitement! Paul had a fish on the line and it was a beauty, but the trick is in the landing.....firstly, slow Trilogy down as much as possible and then reel the fish in, utilising guile and strength. Was it weed, was it a monster fish, was it a turtle, we pondered. The fisherman had prepared himself for loss as it seemed to have gone deep and did not surface until very close to the boat. Jubilation returned as it was indeed a blue fin tuna, around 5 kgs! Successfully gaffed, sashimi for lunch was assured, and we even had wasabi to accompany it! Before Trilogy picked up speed again, the skipper decided we should experience 'hove to', which showed us all how comfortable Trilogy could be when stopped completely in the water, the main and head sails counterbalancing the effect of the wind as we rode the waves. Towards the southern end of Dominica Island in the wind acceleration zone that exists around the northern and southern aspects of all the islands, the main sail was dropped to the third reef as we got blasted by up to 35 knot bullets from the mountains nearby.
Our destination was Roseau, Dominica's vibrant and compact capital. We took up the offer of a mooring in deep water off the Anchorage Hotel, in the company of several yachts, a couple of kms from the main town. Garth and Peter went off to complete customs formalities, while the rest of us tucked into delicious sashimi. Before we knew it, the sun was setting, pina coladas were being served courtesy of Deb and Paul, and with another round of tuna sashimi we retired well pleased with our day.
Next morning we were up and ready for a day trip around the island, courtesy of Octavius, a self appointed ambassador of Domenica. It seems Octavius knows everyone on this island which has a population of 71,700. He has been described as the guy with the Everready battery! We first drove through Roseau, the street's lined with historic stone and wooden buildings, in various states of preservation/delapidation. Octavius pointed out the elegant white mansion, Prime Minister's Residence, which has been beautifully restored by the Chinese government. When questioned why the Chinese, he explained it used to be the Taiwanese government that gave generous assistance to Domenica, but with time the Chinese gave better offers and then the Taiwanese backed away. Mmmmm, what could be the political motivations behind these gifts? Is it something to do with votes in the UN? We later learnt that the Chinese had also contributed better quality roads and a new sports stadium in Roseau.
As we headed up into the mountainous region of the lush green hinterland, leaving the drier, hotter west coast behind, we learnt that Dominica has 365 rivers and water is therefore the most bountiful resource. The island's economy is undergoing adjustments as the traditional agricultural stables of banana plantations, sugar cane and coconut crop exports have all declined. Colgate Palmolive bought out the largest and oldest distillery from the locals, but that is no longer operational and only coconut oil products are being produced in the factory. Dominica currently relies on export of root crops to the neighbouring Caribbean nations.
The much cooler air of the highlands was wonderful, as was the adventure of discovery that Octavius provided, as he introduced us to an abundant range of tropical produce hidden in the dense vegetation. He combined his many talents by suddenly stopping the van and leaping into the dense jungle to retrieve grapefruit from abandoned orchards, coffee beans, cinnamon bark, nutmeg fruit which when split open had soft cerise coloured mace wrapped around the nutmeg kurnel, tamarind pods, custard apples, fresh bay leaves and native basil. Octavius, whose nickname is Sea Cat (Octavious means octopus in Creole) produced his machete style knife to prepare and cut up each of these items and we got to taste and smell the delights of the gourmet bounty. In addition, Octavius called out to a huge number of his friends along the way, checking to see if they had additional offerings for us to enjoy. These stops included tasting a very salty smoked fish straight from the smoke house, chocolate that was prepared by mixing milk and sugar with cacao from the pods, and coconut milk and flesh prepared from coconuts sourced from the palms trees as we watched. We passed through the Carib (original local Indians) region of Dominica, located high up in the hills and here we learnt that the people are slowly adapting to building concrete houses and discarding the traditional techniques of open timber houses with palm frond roofing, much to Octoavius' dissatisfaction. At a roadside stop with magnificent views down to the west coast, we purchased some small items from the Carib women who made high quality basket ware, bracelets, necklaces and coconut shell carvings. In this area Octavius also stopped to talk to a Canadian guy who was half way along the 120 mile Waitukubuli Nature Trail which passes through the centre of Dominicus. It takes 2 weeks to complete and each night's accommodation is in a village.
Lunch was at the Sea Breeze Inn, located on a sublimely beautiful, palm tree lined black sand beach. There was one dish on the menu ( 'it is what it is' to quote Octavius) roast chicken, vegetable flavoured noodles and shredded cabbage/cucumber salad. Served with beer, it was truly delicious. Octavius ate a fish head and bit of body with the same accompaniments.
The afternoon tour took us to two waterfalls and geothermal springs. Deep in the tropical vegetation, we bathed in the refreshing mountain water at Emerald Pool Waterfall. Octavius invited Paul to swing on a sturdy jungle vine and to our delight Paul became Tarzan of the Jungle! At the Trafalgar Falls, two waterfalls cascaded over large boulders which in the wet season would be spectacular. At the thermal springs, we observed the ever bubbling mud and steam vents that accompany the sulphur gases. People were living in and around this geothermal activity, which had us all a bit puzzled!
Back in Roseau on sunset, we drove to a high point to get a view over the town, watching far below a Silversea cruise ship cast off and the golden ray's of the sun disappear. More pina coladas on board with a tuna steak dinner and we were all ready for bed, after a wonderful day with Octavious.