Dominica Reset

​Most people have never been to or heard of Dominica.  It’s been a tough 5 years for the little island in the southern part of the Caribbean.  Hurricane Maria, a category 5 hurricane, decimated the island in September 2017.  Then COVID hit putting a stop to any tourist travel to the island as it was just starting to get back on its feet.  Known as the Nature Island, Dominica appeals to nature lovers due to the mountainous, lush terrain that has numerous hiking trails, waterfalls, and lakes inland.  There are only a handful of resorts on the island and very little commercialism.
 
We had never heard of Dominica either.  It had been a tough five years for us as well and seemed fitting to celebrate a new phase in our lives that promised to be more carefree by taking a scuba diving trip (our first) to Dominica.  We decided to learn how to scuba dive at Gypsy Divers and found the trip listed on their website.  The timing was right and we barely hesitated to sign up for the much-deserved vacation without the kids.  We couldn’t have picked a better place to relax and reset.  We stayed at the Fort Young Hotel in downtown Roseau, the capital of Dominica.  It was a lovely hotel that was right on the water and every morning our Dive Dominica boat would pick us up for a morning of scuba diving.  It also allowed us to easily walk into town and enjoy all the restaurants and small businesses that were there to enjoy.
​
 
The water near Dominica is warm and inviting.  We rarely had to worry about currents and each dive site offered a peek into all the small and beautiful sea life that is typical of Dominica.  Our favorite spot on the trip was a dive site know as Swiss Cheese.  It was so colorful and filled with beautiful fish and coral and had a fantastic archway to swim through that made it extra special.  The dive crew from Dive Dominica were so wonderful and friendly.  They even prepared the lionfish that some of the other divers on our trip speared, making us fried fish one day and ceviche on another.  Most of the group was also from North Carolina, but we had one woman from Argentina and another from Fort Lauderdale.  It was a friendly bunch who were a mix of ages and dive experience.  We saw lots of colorful coral and plant life, beautiful schools of fish and uniquely patterned fish of all shapes and sizes as wells as eels, sea cucumbers and sea urchins.  My husband went on a night dive and saw a whole different cast of characters including lobsters, octopus and sea turtles.  We were also fortunate to have some dolphins swim alongside our boat. 

Our dive trip each day started at 8 am and was usually back to the hotel by 1 pm.  Then we had the afternoon to enjoy ourselves with other activities on the island.  Gypsy Divers had a few excursions planned with the trip including some hikes and canyoning.  We skipped the canyoning, but went on a challenging hike to Middleham Falls and also to Ti Tou Gorge and Trafalgar Falls with the Gypsy Divers crew.  We met a really nice driver named Martin, who took us to Soufriere and Champagne Reef on the first day and then also up to the other “big” town in Dominica, Portsmouth, so that we could enjoy a boat ride down the Indian River.  Ti Tou Gorge was really amazing as was the hike to and swim in Middleham Falls.  The boat ride down the Indian River where Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed was a special adventure too.  We were rowed to the Bush Bar where we enjoyed the drink Dominica is known for, rum punch.  The Indian River is filled with iguanas, crabs and lovely birds and our late afternoon trip was incredibly peaceful and relaxing.  The drive there allowed us to see a good portion of the island and Martin filled us in on interesting details about the island.
 
The hotel had an extensive menu that included dishes from all over the globe.  We had breakfast every morning there and also tried a couple of meals for dinner.  Mostly, we found restaurants in town which offered simple fare that usually consisted of one or two choices of meat along with root vegetables and other sides.  One of my favorite restaurants in Roseau was called the Old Stone Bar and Grill.  There was also a lovely juice bar we went to several times for lunch called Elsa’s Juice Bar and Café.  My favorite meal of the whole trip was at the River Rock Café and bar. I had a delightful creole shrimp dish.  The cafe is known to have the best rum punch on the island and the seating offers a beautiful view of Trafalgar Falls.  
​
We went to Dominica with the mindset of getting out of the country to relax and unwind, but also to have a little bit of adventure and we got just that.  We were there the first week of September which is the start of hurricane season.  We were fortunate that the weather was delightful all week and there were very few tourists on the island other than us.  It was a true gift that offered a wonderful escape to a magical place.
Some Resources if you are interested in traveling to the island include:
Bradt Travel Guide by Paul Crask
Dominica Traveller
Paul Crask Website
Discover Dominica