We spent about a week in Le Marin in Martinique. It was very calm there and the water was surprisingly clean and clear. There were quite a few boats anchored near but we found a nice spot. Access to the town was made easy by numerous dingy docks. Emily got an eye exam and 2 new pairs of glasses with detachable magnetic sunglasses for less than $200 US. Tom refilled some more prescription drugs and all they needed to see was an old Rx bottle. It should be this easy in the USA!
From there
we headed overnight to the north of Dominica and dropped the hook in the harbor
of Portsmouth. There we enjoyed a hike
up to Fort Shirley. This English
colonial fort overlooks the harbor and is among the ruins found at the Cabrits
Historical and Marine Park. It was fun hiking with the other kid boats.
Moana Roa
were die-hard hikers and they organized for us to hike segment 12 of the Waitukubuli
Trail.
What was advertised as a 3 hour hike
turned into a 6 hour slog up some pretty steep and muddy trails. Several sections were so overgrown that it
was hard to determine where the trail was and we were reminded of some of the “death
march” hikes we did with Lovina. Kim slipped and fell at one point and stretched
a tendon in her knee that would slow her down for several weeks.
We did, however, get some nice views along
the way and saw some land crabs. Most
surprising was the “elephant” we saw on the trail!
In Dominica,
we also organized a guided van tour with 9 other cruisers and kids and did an
inland trip. We first hiked about an
hour deep in the forest to see the Chaudière
Pool. The fast flowing waterfall had
carved a deep pit in the rocks that allowed diving the 20 feet into the pool
below. Everyone had a chance and the
cool clear fresh water felt good after the hike.
After a
decent restaurant lunch, we visited the descendants of the Caribs, the first
inhabitants of Dominica, or Waitukubuli, as they called it. We visited a bakery where we bought warm
coconut and ginger cassava bread and had a chance to buy more of the baskets
that they weave here. The Caribs live in
eight villages in this reservation.
Along the
roads our guide stopped several times to shows us cinnamon, bay leaf,
grapefruit and orange trees and we picked great bunches of samples as well as
lemon grass to make tea. Many of the
beaches were all fine black sand from the volcanic activity.
We also spent
some time exploring the unique Red Rocks, a caved landscape in Calibishie,
which also offered a great view of some neighboring French islands and the
beautiful north-east coast of Dominica.
After about
a week but too soon, the group decided to move north to Guadeloupe and visit
the Saints. Come along with us.
Tom
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