Dominica

        If you’re reading this and you are not in a location that you could randomly start talking to your computer, promise me you will do this later. I want you to just simply say the name of the most amazing island in the Carribbean out loud. Dominica. Dom- in- NEE- ca. Not Duh- min- Ih- ca as I have been calling it since I first looked at the itinerary for this voyage. The sound of the name itself is just a taste of the beauty that Dominica possesses. It is such a beautiful name for such a beautiful place. In just two days, I have already formed attachments. I have never gotten such an energy from a place. Every glance off the deck at the mountains or trek into the little village of Roseau resulted in this sort of charge that coursed through every fiber of my being. It sounds dorky but it is so completely true. I am dreading the moment Dominica slowly fades under the horizon as we hit the open ocean. Seriously. I have never felt this way about any other location. It is just breathtaking. The mountains are covered base-to-peak in the most lush, green vegetation, their summits shrouded in wispy clouds. There are tiny villages built into the greenery, peeking through the palms and jungle. Both days we have been here have begun with a light shower giving way to double rainbows that start in the mountains and end in the ocean. Yesterday, the morning showers were all the precipitation we saw until later that evening. Today was another story but rain or no rain it’s hard to put a damper on any time spent in Dominica. 
        Day  1 involved some stressful searching for my already misplaced camera (which happened to be tucked in a pocket of my backpack that I didn’t even know existed), canyoning (repelling down waterfalls and cliff-jumping) through the jungle, wandering the streets of Dominica, and sampling the nightlife that opened just for us (due to it being Sunday and no places usually being open).
        Canyoning was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Apparently canyoning in Dominica is on National Geographic’s top 20 things to do in the world and I totally see why. We did it through this company called Extreme Dominica (definitely recommend them if my entry is enough to convince you to book a trip to Dominica). The tour begins at their headquarters that sit up some winding roads with spectacular views, at this treehouse-type dwelling called Cocoa Cottage. It’s called ‘cocoa’ for a reason. They make their own chocolate. I spent $10 for a small bag of chocolate with coconut shavings on top but it was worth every dollar. It literally was the richest, creamiest, most flavorful chocolate I have ever tasted. I wish I could have brought some back to the ship with me but it melted in the carribbean sun almost instantly.
        The cottage was storybook. It was built into the mountain. The entire back wall of the house just didn’t exist, completely open to nature. There was a little walkway just outside the open side of the house and beyond was a pretty good sized drop to the next landing in the mountain. I’d like to thing the dense jungle would ease the fall a little bit.
        Our training session for a bunch of first-time canyoners consisted of repelling down this 8-foot ledge next to the cottage. Hardly a taste of what was to come. When we were all deemed ‘trained,’ we loaded ourselves back into the vans that took us 2000 meters above sea level to begin the repel. The first repel was a good 30 feet tall, complete with gushing waterfall. It was amazing being completely surrounded by moss-covered canyon walls and the sky peeking through the trees way up above us.  The key to canyoning is trusting the ropes and the guys at both ends of the ropes. You literally approach the cliff backward, grip the rope and throw all your weight into the little diaper-like thing that holds the caribiner (sp?) attached to the rope as you descend, like you’re sitting in a chair whose legs are attached to the wall. One minute your standing vertical, the next your staring at the sky as water rushes down on all sides. We were able to repel at 6 different sites until we finally descended the entire stretch of canyons. Then, to all of our surprise (it shouldn’t have been but it was) we had to hike back up the mountain. What a workout!  Along the way we snagged a grapefruit off of a tree and passed it along, each of us taking a wedge. We also tasted these coffee berries. They sort of look like cherries but inside there are two coffee beans that you’re supposed to suck the sweet covering off of. Dominica is known for its coffee. I bought a café mocha at one of the downtown cafes. Delicious!
Back at cocoa cottage, there were hummus and cucumber sandwiches and fresh papaya juice waiting for us. I’m not really a fan of hummus but the ingredients were so fresh that I actually enjoyed it. What a change from the processed junk they serve on the ship. We also were able to taste a cocoa bean. It pretty much tasted like the darkest chocolate you can imagine.
        This all happened on Sunday. So when we were dropped back off at sea level, the town was dead. Channel the movie 2012 now. No one was out. The only sign of life all day was the sound of the church choir as we waited for the vans to cocoa cottage. Nonetheless, one of the guides from our tour had a brother who owned one of the local bars. We let him know there were about 600 college kids in town looking for something to do that night, he made a call, and our plans were made. We even started a chain reaction. A few other bars opened up shop as well. The most memorable moment of the night was dancing at one of the bars, named RJ’s, and looking up to find no ceiling. Just stars and the moon until suddenly those skies clouded up and let loose a downpour. I was completely soaked.
        Day 2 began with a snorkeling trip to Champagne Reef and Souffriere Preserve. I’ve only been snorkeling a few times and haven’t been a huge fan of it but now I get it. I get why snorkeling has such a following. The number of different fish and coral that I saw was innumerable. My favorite was the spotlight parrot fish. Look it up. It literally glowed an omniscient blue in the water. The crazy thing was, this snorkeling trip was a field trip for one of my classes. At one point, as I was slipping on my flipper, I had to stop and ask the girl next to me, “Am I really at school right now?”  That is one question that has already been asked many, many times in the five days we’ve been out to sea and in port. It’s just so entirely unbelievable. Thank god out of all of the many activities I could have signed up for on this day, I was snorkeling, an activity that worked rain or shine. This day brought rain, waves of intense downpours that at one point made me question whether rain or sleet was falling on me. We would see the next band of rain off in the distance as the once-clearly visible mountains became hazy and then 5 minutes later we would be drenched. The first snorkeling site was called Champagne because little pockets of hot water flowed out of the ocean floor and bubbled to the surface. It looked like I was swimming in a glass of champagne. The second site, Souffriere was even better. The diversity of the fish and the coral was better and we were right near the location where the Pirates of the Caribbean films were shot. If it hadn’t of rained, we would have missed out on the multiple double rainbows that kept popping up all day long. I have about 50 pictures of rainbows beginning in the misty mountains and ending in the open ocean. It never got old.
        I could write a book on my two days in Dominica. I can’t even imagine how I am going to capture the week-long port stays in one entry. Moral of the story: Go canyoning, have a city open up their closed shops just for you, taste a freshly picked grapefruit, snorkel through a coral reef that bubbles like a glass of champagne, wander through the streets of the friendliest town on earth, and experience multiple double rainbows in one day. A.K.A. Go to Dominica. Or if money’s an issue just wait until I move here someday and crash in my tree house. And I will move here one day. I’ve fallen in love with this place.