Author: Elizabeth
Day: 147
Google Earth Position: 15 33.253N, 61 27.825W
Picture: Dominican Spa

After almost three weeks of alone time on our 38-foot boat, we were ready for some fresh faces. Cari and Aaron Hudy traveled from Southern California to Dominica to spend a week with us and we were happy to see them arrive and sad to see them go. They were great sports about everything: they brought with them a case of amazing wine & a ton of stuff from America we needed, kept a smile on their faces when their first few hours on the island included a stomach churning cab ride around windy, hazardous roads and a trip to the local police station to recover a bag they left in before mention "cab from hell" and they did not even mind their new nick names based upon my title of Sea Slave: Sea Scum (Aaron) and Soap Scum (Cari).

Almost immediately Aaron developed a true passion for sailing, studying my intro to sailing book, asking lots of questions and helping Seth & I sail the boat. It was a nice break for me (Sea Slave) thus the nick names began. Snorkeling quickly became our favorite hobby. Right off our boat the first day, we saw numerous interesting fish, including 2 balloon fish, a sea caterpillar, and the extremely rare scorpion fish.

Seth and I usually do not go on formal tours of any of the islands but part of the charm of Dominica is their entrepreneur tour guide businesses. On the north side of the island by the town of Portsmith, we went on the Indian River Tour with a man named Albert. He was very knowledgeable about the island, the river, the animals and the movie that was filmed there (Pirates of the Caribbean II). At the end of the river was a very unusual river bar operated by "Snakeman" who not only collected boa constrictors and giant crabs (we are still hoping that Martin, the crab, is alive and well) but he served a mean "dynamite" rum drink and was ready to rent you a tree house if you wanted to stay over night in the rainforest. All in all, a very interesting tour.

Next we sailed down to the capital city of Roseau and watched the Super Bowl in the sports bar of a hotel. Several Americans were there watching the game but the locals were not really interested. It was an exciting game and Seth & I really enjoyed the dose of Americana that football, cheeseburgers and beer can provide. We were thankful to find the game on at all on the island and the fact that they had American fare was all the better.

The next morning we set out on the Boiling Lake Hike, through the rainforest of Dominica to (as the name implies) a boiling lake. The expected duration was anywhere from 5-8 hours and some of the gang was more excited about going than others. According to the guidebook it was by far the best but most difficult hike and the book was correct on both accounts. We had a terrific guide, Poncho, who has a true zest for life and a great sense of humor. We really needed all that Poncho had to offer because the hike was grueling. Against all rational thought it was all up hill both there and back. In fact on the way back, some of us were pushing our thighs with our arms to get them to carry us up to the next step. But we made it and the boiling lake was an amazing sight. About halfway up, we stopped at sulfur springs to apply a masque (we joked that Poncho could sell it for millions). After the hike, which we barely survived but most importantly we beat the French team that was with us, we drank a beer and went and checked out a huge waterfall. Lastly, we soaked in the natural hot springs of the area in a local bathing/ soaking spot. All in all the day was amazing.

The rest of the Hudy Holiday was low-key relaxation. We drank the fabulous wine they brought, played dominoes, relaxed in the sun, sailed and read. It was a fantastic visit and even though we almost killed them on the hike, I am pretty sure they had a great time!

Click here for some video highlights!