Torben admiring falling water.

Dominica has a reputation from some cruisers as being rough and unsafe. Earlier in the season, there were warnings to give Dominica a wide berth when passing due to robberies following hurricane Maria. Torben and I were sadden to hear this because Dominica was on our list of islands to visit this year. So when we heard there was a "Cruisers Appreciation rally" to Prince Rupert Bay we jumped on the opportunity to join in.

The mission was clear, you can stay on a mooring for free for a week and in turn, you spend as much money as you can to help support the poverty stricken locals. We took advantage of several guided and not so guided inland tours being offered by PAYS, Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services. This association is made up of fishermen, who during the sailing season, offers mooring balls, tours, or just about any yacht service including a weekly Sunday BBQ. We found them to be super helpful and professional.

Our tours inland revealed a still beautiful island even in the aftermath of the hurricane. Many waterfalls could easily be seen and accessed due to the stripped follage of the once jungle like terrain. It made for excellent hiking and waterfall exploration.

But it wasn't just the jungle that had been stripped. Torben and I witnessed the most devastation due to the hurricane we have seen.
Most people of Dominica died during hurricane Maria due to mud slides that came on so quickly that it trapped them in their houses. We saw UNICIF tents pitched next to houses in rubble, or houses full, almost to the ceiling, with mud. They reported roughly 200 deaths....

Through all the tragedy, the people were proud of their strength and determination to over come the devastation that nature bestowed on them. They were grateful for us coming to visit and we were grateful they were so willing to share their island!

Some highlights to over shadow this some what depressing post.

We collected our rum from the Australian 62 footer that we rescued from drifting away in Nevis when he chafed through his mooring line. (mentioned in last blog post). We rented a van together to tour the island or should I say vans. Simon was our designated driver and after an hour of torturing this old Nissan van, he successfully broke it, we returned it, got another, and he did his best to brake that one as well. To his credit,he did managed to back road us to a spectacular waterfall which was the highlight of the day. We were happy we made it back before dark unscathed. (Simon drives like he ties knots!)

One more highlight was the Sunday BBQ. If you didn't have enough to eat, you could make up for it with the free rum! Punch is operative word. We didn't do much the next day....

The final highlight was when John Caletti on board Clarity. Opened the van door and threatened to jump out if the tour guide wouldn't take us to Trafalgar Falls!

That's it for now. Heading to Deshaie tomorrow.