Dominica is a former British colony positioned between the french islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. It has been hit by hurricanes last year. Approaching Dominica from Martinique, the devastation of the hurricane Irma is visible – the trees are broken, lots of vegetation missing.
However, much worse picture awaits when you approach the capital of Dominica – Roseau. The roofs from the houses and buildings missing or half rebuilt, lots of debris on the shores.
We decided to stop over night in Roseau as we had some toys and sports stuff Caspar and Nina wanted to donate to a school there. We grabbed a mooring buoy with a help of Sea-Cat, who manages them and settled for the night. I was already in touch with a NGO who were happy to take all the toys and agreed to meet them at the hotel with the only jetty intact. The Sea Cat agreed to takes us on his speed boat the next morning. Once we arrived at the hotel Caspar and me were met by a rather angry hotel manager, who basically accused us of offloading a dangerous cargo on their jetty without permission. Saying it could be drugs!
Thankfully, the NGO representative arrived just then and tryied to calm the situation down. I hope she was successful as we just left quickly ( her advise!). It was really disappointing, rude and really unfriendly experience, especially for Caspar who spent lot of time getting the Lego ready.
Luckily, the rest of our stay in Dominica in a lovely Portsmouth in the north of the island was superb.
Approaching Portsmouth
Despite the devastation, we got to see lots of nice nature around Portsmouth and met lovey British family who sailed with us to Guadeloupe in a few days time.
Early in the morning we left with a guide on his boat to explore a place called Indian river - loved the trees and iguanas we got to see!
Lots of ginger lillies were in blossom too!
With our friends we explored Fort Shirley and its magnificent trees and thousand of hermit crabs.
We had a great time in Dominica - go and visit!
Maria