Iguanas Dominica

Along the road heading south we came across an interesting road sign put in place to protect the iguana population. This big green guy made it safely but unfortunately we saw one of his cousins lying dead just after this sign on the edge of the road (either that or he was having a long sleep).

Road Trip Dominica Style

On Wednesday, March 23 after a strenuous day of chores (including me attempting to hand wash all our laundry) we called up the 'Silver Lining' car company and booked a hire car for the day so we could explore the jungle. Hiring a car would normally be an easy task but in the Caribbean things happen a little differently than often expected. We turned up at the yard at 8am as agreed but nobody arrived until 8:20am. When they did show up to our surprise there wasn't a booking for us. Out of 27 cars in the yard only 3 were in working order and our selection was soon narrowed down to one black 4x4 with mad tinting that you couldn't really see through while driving. The lady did a thorough inspection of the car with Ian who promptly told her it would be easier to write down the parts of the car that weren't damaged. Just as we were about to depart Ian noticed a nail in the rear tyre. The guy came along and said not to worry they are new tyres and that he would fix it. We thought he would change the tyre but instead he ripped the nail out and plugged it with some gum like substance than proceeded to show us the spare tyre in the back in case we needed to change it! When we finally got driving the brakes made a terrible squeaking noise which drove Ian mad. The only solution was to put the stereo on complete with a reggae mix and keep driving. Despite all that we had an enjoyable and incident free day out touring the sites of Dominica.

Diving in Dominica

Ian and I went diving today with a local dive operation next to the bay where we were anchored. The dive boat was actually a fishing boat and doing the backward roll was more like doing a backward free fall. Getting back on the boat also proved to be tricky with a steep climb up the ladder. Apart from that the trip was worth it for the experience and we saw some amazing corals. Unfortunately the dive sites were also in local fishing areas and we didn't see any fish of great size. We saw garden eels that weren't very shy, scorpion fish, blue shrimp and beautiful soft corals. The dive guide told me about a location under the cruise ship dock of all places where you can see Red Lipped Bat fish and Sea Horses. Of course I have booked a trip to try that dive tomorrow and let's hope that I get lucky for a change with the unusual critter spotting! When I got back to Faraway I also called up the 'whale watching' company to book a snorkelling experience with the Sperm Whales. They sadly informed me that special permission is now required at a cost of US$3,000. I think we will skip that trip and stick with the small stuff for now. Hopefully we will see some more whales from our own yacht when we start sailing offshore again.

Indian River Dominica

At 10am on Sunday, March 20 after our overnight sail from Martinique we were picked up from our yacht by a guide to clear customs and experience the Indian River tour. It was overcast but very hot and steamy for early in the morning. The guide rowed us down the river as outboard engines are banned to prevent pollution. It was pretty hard work (for him) and he told us that he does the tour 2 to 3 times per day. The guide was very knowledgable and knew where all the creatures lived and what the native plants were used for traditionally. Unfortunately the giant toad or 'mountain chicken' that once thrived in Dominica had now been eaten to extinction so we were unable to see that! I finally got to see a few green iguanas and this time I was able to photograph more than a claw.

Martinique to Dominica

We left Martinique early in the morning bound for Dominica. Ian was keen to test out the repaired dodger and lucky for us the rain stayed away as we rolled up the plastic cover with new zips installed for better vision and ventilation. We sailed past Diamond Rock which is an amazing feature of the area and also an excellent dive site by all accounts. After 5 hours of sailing we arrived in Saint Pierre and dropped anchor. It was a difficult anchorage with a steep drop-off then a shallow ledge close to shore. After 3 attempts at getting a good hold we settled down for sundowners. Halfway through our second beer around 7pm we suddenly realised that we were drifting out to sea. Ian decided to up anchor and sail through the night to Dominica as it would be difficult trying to set the anchor again in the dark. It was a bit of a shock to the system as we were already tired but we put the running lights on and motored out into the bay. We managed to get goods winds and sailed most of the night north towards Dominica. We had a close encounter with a super yacht and a cruise ship but overall it was pretty uneventful. Lucky for us we sailed on the full moon so there was plenty of natural light. When we arrived in Dominica at 5:30am in the morning we had to motor around for an hour as there was thick rain and fog hovering over the anchorage. At 6:30am we headed into Prince Rupert Bay. A boat boy came out to greet us and we arranged to clear customs with him and do the Indian River Tour later in the day instead of catching up on sleep.

Another Day at the Office

Sheryl the 'Feral' dressed and ready to go on a dive trip for the day.

Laundry

My favourite topic on this trip has to be laundry and the expense of doing it yourself in the laundromat versus a company doing it for you. We've experienced numerous methods of getting the job done but up till now I think the boat to boat service is the best. You just call sparkle laundry on channel 16 and they come to your boat for the pick up and deliver fresh clean laundry back to you the next day for around US$20 a load. Unfortunately Ian is adverse to paying this amount for clean clothes so I'm back to a dish in the sink and laundry powder for our smalls and t-shirts for now. I think it would have been a worthwhile investment having a clothes washer installed on Faraway but it's a bit late now in our travels to install.