We are Atlantic bound! Or actually probably already on the Atlantic, since the west side of Dominica is the Caribbean and the east side is the Atlantic and it really doesn't take all that long to sail from Roseau to the southern point. I still don't think it's hit me that we are actually sailing the entire world. I was so sad to say goodbye to this unbelievable island as we boarded the ship, and it took me a moment to comprehend that the trip doesn't end here; I'm not going home just yet.
Enough about that and more on "The Nature Island." I woke up early again this morning to have breakfast and hopefully make it to the dive shop by 0810. I knew I wanted to dive today, and my dive buddy found me in passing yesterday as I was leaving for the organic farm and managed to give me some brochure with the dive they had already booked. I spent last night trying to book it but couldn't figure out how to with no internet or phone. So I figured I would just wing it and show up and hope that a spot was still open. Luckily as I was leaving the dining area to get off the ship, I ran into Sean and another girl named Alexa. So the three of us set off for the dive shop aboard a bus/taxi that we managed to haggle down to $5 apiece.
The dive ended up being another unexpected bargain as all of the rental equipment was included in the price. And then once we were equipped with all of our gear we walked out of the little shack of a shop (it was part of a hotel so it was legit). We found ourselves facing this massive catamaran. I've really only been diving in two places before this: Mexico and Bahamans. in Mexico we were in this standard little motor boat. In the Bahamas I thought the two-decker dive boats that could fit parties of 20 or 30 were huge. But nothing compared to this catamaran; it was absolutely incredible. And better still, there were only two other divers with us so we basically had the entire thing to ourselves.
We sat on the edge of the boat with our feet dangling over the edge and just watched the shoreline of Dominica as we sailed around it. I still can't get over the natural, and unreal beauty of Dominica. There are no white sand beaches since it is a volcanic island, but there are brightly painted shacks lining the rocky shores, and immediately in their backyards is just dense, rainforest-covered mountains. No words or even pictures could describe the scene, you would just have to see it for yourself.
Our first dive was at a spot called The Abyss (or actually the French name for abyss which I have already forgotten). This is because it is a giant reef wall, that drops down indefinitely (not really, but close enough). The reef was just thriving with life and color. Dominica is actually considered one of the top five dive sites in the world. And the water is so warm that our dive instructor wouldn't even let us wear wetsuits. The beauty was unimaginable. But the highlight of the dive was finding this sea turtle swimming along. I swam along with it for a while, close enough to touch it, and then stared heading back when I was getting too far from the wall, and to my delight the turtle followed me back. I swear the thing was playing with us; and he literally looked like he was smiling and laughing at us. I love that turtle.
Our second dive was at Champagne Reef, the reef that Dominica is famous for, although more for snorkeling than for diving. Due to the volcanic activity on the island, this particular reef is mostly dead, but there are bubbles rising up from the rocks, giving it the appearance of champagne and thus the name. I must say that these dives were even more spectacular in the Bahamas if that is possible. I know went on and on about how amazing my dives there were, and here I have written hardly anything, but I have simply run out of words that could ever do justice to what I experienced.
I was really excited too because our dive instructor saw my dive camera and said he had three of them at home. I explained that I had no idea how to use the settings properly and he helped me adjust the speed and focus to where they should be. Maybe some of these pictures will actually turn out!
After our two dives we decided to have lunch at the hotel. At this point our bus/taxi driver found us and asked if we were ready to go back to the ship yet. I should probably mention the public transportation situation here. There are taxis, that rip you off and quote you prices way too high, and there are busses, that charge a normal bus fare, but they don't have routes and will take you wherever you want to go, and so in that way they really are just the same as taxis. So you can go into town by taxi for $15 (or some other outrageous price) like we did yesterday, or you can take the bus for $2 apiece, which is really the exact same thing for a fraction the price. If you run into a driver though, they are very insistent about taking you where you want to go and making sure they get your money for the return trip as well. Yesterday, when we payed $15, our taxi driver, Justin, kept following us around the city and asking if we were ready to go back to the ship yet. This morning when we were looking for a way to get to the dive shop, the driver we ended up using quoted us some ridiculous price and only lowered it to the price of the bus fare when we told him we were taking the bus instead. So there we were, having lunch, and he kept coming to find us to see if we were ready to return yet. We kept brushing him off and never made any implication that we would be returning to the ship. So when we finally left lunch and started walking back, he flew into a rage about how we had made him wait and he was going to call the police. Thank goodness Alexa lived in Cairo once and all kinds of other places with similar transportation issues and knew exactly how to deal with the guy. As soon as he was out of site we waved down a real bus (busses and taxis are all minivans here and look exactly the same) and rode back to town.
It was only about 1500 by this time and so we thought we would inquire around to see how far Emerald Pool was, and perhaps pay a quick visit before we had to be on the bus at 1800. Our bus driver said it was about a 45 minute drive and he would take us there and back to the ship afterwards for $10 apiece. At our uncertainty he reassured us multiple times that he would have us back to the ship in time. This guy was actually really sweet and tried to help us out by explaining how taxi drivers only want your money and how to avoid the numerous scams that we have been running into. I have realized that there a two kinds of people on this island: those who want your money, and those who want to help you out as much as they possibly can. There is no overlap.
The Emerald Pool was spectacular, like everything else here. We hiked a small path up through the rainforest, and came out at an observation deck where you could see the two waterfalls emerging out of the surrounding jungle. Then there was a short hike down the other side that ended at a natural hot spring. And when I say hot spring, I don't mean a manmade pool filled with natural water flowing from a mountain somewhere; everything about it was completely natural to the point that you had to watch where you stepped because the rocky bottom was still the uneven side of the mountain. These pools were everywhere, with jungle breaking them up. There were tunnels in the rock leading downhill to more pools, and then a stream leading to yet another, and just beyond a clump of dense trees and plants there would be more pools. The water felt like you were soaking in a hot tub. It was simply unreal. I keep saying that about everything I see and experience in Dominica: It's just unreal.
After sitting in one of the pools for not nearly enough time, we hiked the short trail back, and before long our bus driver came back for us. He really was a great guy. On the way back he pulled by the side of the road, rolled down the window, and simply reached out to pick these humungous hibiscus-type flowers that he gave to me and Alexa. Further down the road he pulled over again and pointed out the coffee bean trees, picked a few of the beans, and showed us how to peel them and eat them raw. I've never experienced raw coffee bean. They are red on the outside, which is the part you peel away, and then white on the inside, and have a consistency similar to soy beans.
He dropped us of at the ship, true to his word, and just like that we said goodbye to our first port.
A funny note about customs though: they check us as we are boarding the ship to ensure that we are not bringing on any prohibited items. Yesterday when we were dropped off at that view overlooking Roseau, we found a couple trees with all sorts of initials and names carved into them, and decided to carve SAS S12 into the trunk. I kept the rock that I engraved this with and the customs man found it in the bottom of my bag and pulled it out and asked if I needed it. I panicked for a moment, thinking he must be thinking that it wasn't actually a rock, but some drug in disguise, and said no, I definitely didn't need it. "Are you sure? Because you can keep it." "Oh, ok, well then I'll keep it." I have no idea what that was all about.
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