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To a materialistic American, there is much poverty.  We saw several occasions where people were washing their clothes in a stream.  However, as in the Dominican Republic, the people seem happy.

During the tour, we drove through the Caribe Indian reservation, a 7,000 acre tract of land given by Queen Elizabeth to the Indians.  The land is some of the steepest we saw on the island, but the people manage to plant bananas and coconuts on the hillsides and little gardens on whatever flat plateau they can find.  The chief holds title to the land so it cannot be bought or sold.  If an Indian sees a plot of land not being used, he can ask the chief for permission to use it.  The chief is elected every three years.  There are only three full-blooded Caribe Indians but 3,500 mixed.  They are unusual in that they have oriental facial features.  If a Caribe woman marries a non-Caribe man, the man does not get Indian rights, but if a Caribe man marries a non-Caribe woman, she does acquire rights.  The children of either union would acquire rights.  The Arawak Indians were in Dominica when the cannibalistic warring Caribes arrived.  We were assured that the present Caribe descendants were now civilized and would not have us for lunch.  We visited the long house, that is,  the meeting house, where the council meets and dances are held.  It was elliptical with rounded ends and had a shingled roof, the only one we've seen like that in the islands.

Crafts offered for sale at the Caribe Indian Reservation

Emerald Pool

We visited the Emerald Pool, a waterfall and pool, in one of the national parks.  For lunch at the park headquarters, Bob smelled fried fish.  There was no menu and our English was not well understood.  We ordered the fish and were each served one small flying fish cleaned, split down the middle, breaded and fried.  A tiny lunch. By the way, the flying fish really do have little wings.  They come up out of the water and fly horizontally above the surface before diving back into the water.  In addition to these airborne critters, there are other fish, ballyhoo, which come up out of the water and skip along the surface vertically on their tails, like skipping stones across the water before they launch themselves into the air and back into the water.  When 15-20 or more are dancing across the water, they look like a Charlie-the-Tuna ballet.  Actually, they are thinner and much more graceful than Charlie.  You can imagine they surface because something bigger is trying to eat them!

We drove to the other end of the island and visited Trafalgar Falls.  It was too late in the day to walk all the way to the bottom so we went along the trail to an outlook where we could view the two waterfalls.  Absolutely gorgeous. There is so much dampness that ferns grow out of rocks.  In the rain forest there are all the tropical plants I have mentioned before but in larger sizes and greater profusion.  I saw a fuchsia plant growing vine-like up a palm tree trunk.  The temperature in the rain forest is many degrees cooler than on the coast. 

After the tour, we dined out since no one wanted to cook, having just oohed and ahed for nine hours of touring.  It was an unusual dinner with people from North Carolina, New Orleans and Nashville.  Texans and New Englanders abound, but it is rare to find people from relatively close to home.

Ferns and waterfalls at Trafalgar Falls

Locals making bread

Waterfront with local boats

As we approached the southern boundary required by our insurer on July 1, we began to slow down and enjoy the sights.  Our friend Kathy on Arianna told us that Dominica has much of the natural exotic beauty that Luperon had and she was right.  It is a beautiful but slightly rough and primitive country.  The people seem happy and greet you warmly, even stopping to ask if you need directions.

We departed Plymouth Harbor on the northern end of Dominica on May 30th.  We passed Roseau, the capital city, not intending to stop but to continue across the open water to Martinique.  As we rounded the southern end of the island, we headed into the open ocean between the two islands.  The wind was just off the nose, blowing 25-30 knots with frequent gusts up to 38.  We had the  mainsail reefed and the boat was as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.  After 45 minutes, Bob noticed the speed over ground had declined to about three knots, sometimes less.  That meant that instead of the 4-5 hours we had planned, the trip was going to take 7-8 hours.  Visions of the 19 hour Gulf Stream crossing passed through our heads and we slowly turned the  boat around and headed back to Roseau Harbor.  We picked up a mooring in front of the Anchorage Hotel rather than dropping anchor because the water here is very deep almost all the way in to shore.  Some boats tie up, stern to the sea wall or to palm trees, and drop the anchor off the bow.  It was easier to pick up a mooring ball, especially in anticipation of an early morning departure for Martinique. 

Local fishermen at Roseau anchorage

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