Dominica

Middleham falls

See pictures of Alixe
in Dominica

Dominica
From April 27th to May 4th 2008

See colorful houses
of Dominica

Dominica! Not Dominican Republic! This is the first thing I have to clarify to people when they ask me where we've just been. This tiny island is located between Martinique & Guadeloupe (see map). From St-Maarten we flew to Antigua and then to Dominica, which has probably the tiniest and ugliest airport I have ever seen… Two small rooms of 20m X 30m, unfinished walls made of old construction wood, and some broken windows where cardboard is now doing the job… Nevertheless, the airport is effective as only few small island hopper aircrafts get here every day.

The negative being mentioned above, I have to say that Dominica is probably the nicest island I have seen in my life. Where some islands made the bad decision to overdevelop with big resorts and poor environment management (St-Maarten being the best example), Dominica made the decision to say NO to mass tourism and implement strict policies to preserve species and limit development.

The result is absolutely fantastic. National parks, where you will not see anyone on the hiking trails, phenomenal waterfalls, beautiful lakes where you can swim and natural hot springs where you can bathe. Add some iguanas, parrots, snakes, orchids, hundreds of hummingbirds, and you are close to paradise…

I will repeat what I have read many times before going to Dominica: many Caribbean destinations offer casinos, shopping, beaches and good night life. Dominica offers nature. (And lot’s of it).

Seven days in Dominica were not enough for us. Everyday, we hiked to a different attraction…
Day 1: Traffalgar falls
Day 2: Titou gorge: An amazing path that really reminds me the gorge at Petra (Jordan),but filled with crystal clear water.
Day 3: Emerald pool & part of the hike to Morne Trois Pitons. An easy 30 min walk (return) to an emrald pool. Refreshing
Day 4: Boeri Lake & freshwater lake. A two hours hike (return). A little bit more strenuous, especially when you are carrying a 26 lbs baby on your back! (+ water and food!)
Day 5: Wotten Waven. Relaxing hot springs!
Day 6: Middleham falls. A 70m tall waterfall. Peaceful and quiet.
Day 7: Home…

I would like to go back to explore the underwater world, which is known as the best place in the world for underwater photography. Finally, I really enjoyed Roseau, capital of the island. Authentic, poor, but colorful.
In 7 days, I can count on my fingers the number of white tourists I saw wondering the streets of Roseau. It was truly Black Country, and amazing. (It reminded me Trinidad or Guyana). Small wooden colorful houses, waiting to be destroyed by the next hurricane…
Several beggars, but nothing fighting.

Our trip would have been perfect, if it was not of LIAT, the worst airline in the Caribbean. If you want to be late and arrive at your destination with no luggage, FLY LIAT!. In the last 3 months, we flew 10 times with LIAT and 9 of our 10 flights were delayed!!!
We got to Dominica with no luggage (and no help) and return to St-Marten with over 6 hours of delay (and no help). SEE the complaint letter I wrote to LIAT.

Nevertheless, it was an awesome trip and I hope I will get back there soon. If you ever have the chance to experience the true Caribbean, visit Dominica. You will not be disappointed, even if it is 50 years from now. Nature will still be there waiting for you

See colorful houses
of Dominica

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See colorful houses
of Dominica

Other visited Caribean islands

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