Caribbean - Dominica

Oct 12, 2010 Dominica - Today was hands-down one of the most exciting days of our lives. We knew that we would be seeing some amazing things but had no clue just how fascinating of a time we'd have. We got up at 8:30am after another great night of sleep (I am loving our inside cabin because it stays pitch-black). Showered and ate a quick breakfast, then grabbed our snorkel gear and ran downstairs toward the gangway. Came to a screeching halt when we saw the line to disembark. People were lined up two stories waiting to exit. It’s NEVER like that! We looked at the clock and were certain that we'd miss our guide. Luckily the line started moving and we met our guide with about two minutes to spare.

Months ago, through my research, I came across a tour company called Bumpiing Tours and they seemed right up our alley. Chris contacted them and got us booked for the "Roseau Valley's Best Hike". A nice family from Tennessee (parents and two teenage sons) was grouped with us. Our driver took us to Middleham Falls first, which at almost 300 feet is one of the tallest waterfalls on the island. The hike was very strenuous and almost two miles each way. The scenery was simply amazing. Lush, green, and gorgeous. The weather was warm and humid and every now and then it would rain a little because after all, we were in a rainforest. The challenging hike was so worth it. About 45 minutes later we approached a viewing platform and admired the waterfall. Chris looked at the pool way down below and asked if we could go in. Our guide said it was safe, so off we went! The climb down was tough and rocky but we were well-equipped with our water/hiking shoes. Jumped into the cool water and swam for 15 minutes. Chris and I climbed up into a cave and jumped back into the pool. I was surprised at the amount of wind that was created from the falling water.

The picture above is misleading and makes the waterfall look much smaller than it actually is. I had to take four pictures and splice them together to get the entire thing. You can see the cave (left of the falls, just above the pool) that Chris and I climbed into and were able to stand up in. So that helps describe the scale and just how tall the waterfall is.

We climbed out, dried off and hiked back to our vehicle. Next, we drove to the Titou Gorge (where I guess a few scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean 2 were filmed). We got into the water and swam up a narrow gorge until we reached a 5-foot waterfall. Our guide helped us climb it and then we jumped back in to the pool below. It was dark in there because of the black rocks, but when you looked up you could see light and lush foliage above. After getting out, we sampled some fresh coconut, oranges, and bananas.

Below is a picture from the gorge we swam through. The only light came from the narrow opening above us and from the waterfall behind me. Our next stop was the Trafalgar Falls, which consisted of two large waterfalls (named Mother and Father). We walked to the view point and took a few pictures, then we hiked down toward the water. There was a hot mineral spring that we swam through for several minutes. We climbed up over some more rocks and jumped into a cooler pool and swam for a little while longer.

Finally, we were able to squeeze in a trip to the Champagne Reef for a little bit of snorkeling. Chris and I could have stayed here for an entire day. The snorkeling was so unique and excellent. Volcanic activity creates thousands of little bubbles that come from the rocks. It was like swimming in a fish tank. There were so many fish and so many neat rock and lava formations. I wish we'd had more time there.

Dominica was great. It’s mountainous and green, and small villages are scattered about. The streets are narrow and steep with sharp corners. The beaches are not sandy but rocky. We seriously loved it there.

We boarded the ship and exchanged email addresses with our new friends, the Tennessee family. Showered and had dinner. One of my knees is bugging me but it doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about. Before bed, we plugged our activities into Chris’ phone and found we each burned about 2000 calories. A tough but wonderful day!

Side note: The Middleham Falls hike put us at Celebrity Status back on the ship. Everyone we talked to reacted similar to the following way: "Whoa, you guys did that hike? We thought about it but backed out. It looked too strenuous." Hey, what can I say? We're tough :)