Dominica in a Day

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. Today I will take you to one of our favorite islands from our recent two-weeks cruise, exploring the Eastern part of the Caribbean- Dominica. The Commonwealth of Dominica is a mountainous island famous among nature lovers for its volcanoes, hot springs and variety of birds and animals. Actually it is the most heavily forested island of the Lesser Antilles. We are not typical nature lovers, however the day we spent on the island was an unforgettable experience. In the lines below you can find out why we would love to visit the island again.

The article for Dominica is part of the series of posts about the islands we visited during the two-week long cruise across the Lesser Antilles. We try to give you tips on what to see and do “in a day”. The other islands we visited were:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Barbados
• British Virgin Islands
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• St Kitts & Nevis
• St Maarten
• Saint Lucia
• St Vincent & The Grenadines
• Trinidad & Tobago

In order to read our recommendations for each island, just follow the links. We also shared our overall cruise experience and tips when going on a cruise for the first time.

Leaving the ship for exploring Dominica

Dominica

Originating back in 1493, its name comes from the mountain range around Barcelona, hosting the monastery of Montserrat. Whether you arrive in Dominica by sea or by air, your first impression will likely be one of awe at the sheer dramatic majesty of the place. When our ship arrived at the harbor at the northern end of Roseau (Dominica’s capital), we could immediately notice that an exciting day was ahead of us. It was clear from first sight why the island has the nickname ‘the nature island‘- it was extraordinary green with different types of trees covering the surrounding hills.

What to do in Dominica in a day?

• Rosau 

Upon arriving at Roseau, we decided to walk through the city instead of taking a taxi. Roseau (rose-oh) is Dominica’s noisy but vibrant capital. It is situated on the southwest coast along the Roseau River. In 2017 there was a devastating Hurricane (Maria) which destroyed a big part of the town including houses, roads and bridges. When walking across the city and further south we could still see destroyed houses waiting for their renovation.  

Our first point of interest was Morne Bruce. Just after strolling for a couple of hundred meters, we realized that maybe it was not such a good idea to walk through the city. The locals were looking strangely at us – probably it isn’t common to see tourists wandering the streets by foot.

Streets of Roseau

Compared to the previous islands we visited, we could easily notice that here the standard of living was lower. Although the houses were still colorful and pretty, the surroundings reminded a bit of Africa rather than the Caribbean.

Given the fact that we were the only tourists around and that there were no taxis nearby, we sped up the pace in order to get to the entrance of the Botanical Gardens as soon as possible. Thankfully, after half an hour walk we got to the Botanical Garden’s entrance. Although we did not intend to enter, we found out that the way to Morne Bruce was passing through the Gardens. And surprisingly, the entrance was free of charge. On the way up we saw two interesting things. 

• David the Goliath 

An African baobab tree was blown down, crushing a bus during Hurricane David in 1979. Fortunately the bus was empty at this time. Today, the main stem of the tree is 6.4 meters in circumference and the two large parts of the tree are ten and three in girth. Back then the strong winds of the hurricane (241km/h) destroyed many other trees in the Botanical Garden. Later on we learnt that every now and then Dominica suffers from the power of nature. This is one of the reasons that people are generally poorer- one day you have a house in which you have invested all your money and on the next day it is blown away by the hurricane. 

• Spiny Bamboo House

The second interesting thing on our way was a small hut-like formation, made of bamboo trees. It had a circular shape and the bamboo stems formed the “walls” of this “house”. The locals use the place for weddings, anniversaries and other celebrations. 

We could only see a couple of the trees and plants in the Botanical Garden. Although we have seen many such places around the world, we would loved exploring further the wildness of the Roseau Garden. However, time wasn’t enough. This is one of the downsides when you are on a cruise- you cannot see everything and you have to prioritize. Our priority were the beaches, so we continued our way up the hill.

•  Jack’s Walk

A short trek (of another half an hour) led us to the top. The name of the path was Jack’s Walk. It was a shortcut for the British soldiers going to and from Roseau and their barracks on the Morne Bruce Garrison. The name comes from the British flag, the flag of the United Kingdom, The Union Jack, which flew from a large flagpole on this site. The huge flag could be seen from way out to sea and along the coast and it declared to all sailors and military forces that this was the colonial power currently in charge of the island. 

Jack’s Walk trail

To enter the Morne Bruce Garrison from the side, a soldier would “walk past the Jack”, hence the name of the path, Jack’s Walk. Today, the path is a popular trail for fitness exercise and it is an extension of the Botanic Gardens. 

Some of the plants and the inhabitants of the Botanic Gardens in Roseau

The first viewpoint we got to was the Shrine. 

• The Shrine

In the beginning of the 20th century the British Colonial Government gave permission to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Roseau, Bishop James Morris, to build a large concrete crucifix with supporting buttresses looking over the island’s capital and out to the sea. It symbolized the protection of the town and the harbor beyond and it is linked to the name of the Roseau Cathedral: Notre Dame de Bon Port. “The Shrine”, as it became known, was one of the earliest structures in Dominica that was built using cast concrete. Ever since its construction, it has been a site of religious pilgrimages.

The Shrine and the amazing view to Roseau

On our way to the top and also at the Shrine viewpoint, we were completely alone. This made our experience private and unique. The majority of the other tourists had chosen to reach the top via a bus- i.e. the lazy way 🙂

• Morne Bruce

Dominica became a British colony in 1763. To keep the island under its rule, Britain had to defend it from the French. That is why the British started building small forts. They gave military engineers a commission to produce plans for the defense of the colony. Captain James Bruce, Royal Engineer, was head of that project. In 1770 he dispatched a report to London giving his proposals, maps and designs for major fortifications needed for the island.

Initially the name of the fortification of this site was Guye’s Hill. It was a place where French settlers had installed guns before the British came. The British decided that this would be the main garrison on the island.  Later, they changed the name to Morne Bruce in honor of the engineer himself. The cliffs and steep slopes on the three sides provided natural security for the defense of Roseau. 

Nowadays, most people go there to admire the spectacular view to Dominica’s capital and the sea. There are some street vendors selling different stuff, but that’s it. There weren’t any taxis which we could take to bring us to the beach we were heading to. 

We were a bit exhausted by the trail and that is why when we saw a small “Bar” sign, we decided to follow it. It was not straightforward to find it- thankfully there were some people who we could ask for advice with the direction. When we got to the “Bar”, it was rather a small cafe. On the day before when we were at St Maarten, we met an American couple. They had actually recommended us to go to this cafe. It happened by chance that we found it, but this turned to be the highlight of the day. 

• Top Bar

Once we arrived at the cafe, we were not the only visitors. The cafe was really small, literally two- three tables and one of them was occupied by two men and a lady. At the beginning, we did not pay any attention to them. We were glad that we could get some refreshments and there was a bonus- there was free wi-fi. Coming from the cruise ship with no Internet, this was like a blessing for us. There was nice music as well and together with the amazing view, this made us stay longer than planned. 

The entrance and the interior of the tiny Top Bar

The owner of the cafe, a French middle-aged lady named Corine, started a conversation with us. The arrogant behavior of the previous customers, who were complaining about everything, disappointed her. They found the drinks expensive (they were times cheaper than those on the cruise ship by the way). She also tried to show them her own iguanas, her cotton tree and other interesting stuff, but they were totally ignorant. This is how we started a long conversation with Corine. We learnt that she left France when she was 20 as she did not agree with the capitalism concept for the world. She found Caribbean (as she lived on other islands as well) more natural and genuine. 

Private experience

We totally appreciated Corine’s attention and all the things she showed us in her garden. Corine was so welcoming- she brought some interesting fruits from her garden, so that we could try them. The lady also had a small AirBnB apartment which together with this cafe was her source of income. We haven’t seen such a clean restroom as hers during the whole cruise. Everything was perfect. 

I wouldn’t mind staying in an apartment with such a view

Time was flying and we still wanted to go to the Champagne beach. One of the friends in our group noticed a sign that she is a certified driver. Then we asked her whether she could drive us. We also thought that we could go to another sightseeing point as it was not far from the beach. She agreed to be our guide. The price for the whole ride- to the most southern point in Dominica, Scott’s Head, and then back to Champagne beach was $40. 

Cotton tree and its fruits

• Scott’s Head

On the way to Scott’s Head which is the most southern part of Dominica, Corine told us many things about Dominica.

We learnt that Dominica has the Caribbean’s first long-distance hiking trail- you can walk through the amazing nature for 14 days. The island is 46 km long, but it has a lot of mountains as said in the beginning. 

Scott’s Head is a fishing village on the southwest coast of Dominica. It overlooks Soufrière Bay, which is protected as the Soufrière Scott’s Head Marine Reserve.

It is also a popular snorkeling and diving site. At the time we were there, there was literally no-one. Ah, sorry, there were two American couples who obviously just like us came for the amazing photos. 

Where Atantic ocean meets Caribbean sea

The Carib name of the peninsula is Cachacrou, meaning a “hat which is being eaten”. This most probably is a reference to its location- on one side it has the Caribbean Sea and on the other- the Atlantic Ocean.

Soufriere Bay

You can immediately see the difference between the two- the first being calm with turquoise colors and the other-  rough and bumpy. 

• Champagne beach 

Our last stop and the point Corine left us was Champagne beach. She had warned us that there would be people who would ask for an entrance/guide fee. However, guides aren’t obligatory and she advised us not to pay. We had to go to the very end of the beach which was also the closest point to the bubbles in the water. 

The entrance to the Champagne beach. No bars or restaurants, just some small stands

Champagne beach is one of Dominica’s most popular underwater playgrounds where you can snorkel amid volcanic bubbles emerging from vents beneath the sea floor and rising up as drops of liquid crystal. The whole feeling is as if you’re swimming in a giant glass of champagne. Best of all, you can snorkel right off the beach. Beware that the beach is really rocky which makes walking difficult. 

Snorkeling above an active volcano

The visibility in the water on this day wasn’t perfect, so we could not see interesting types of fish and corals. But still we could see all the bubbles. The place where you can see the bubble is not far from the shore. You can get there even if you are not very good swimmer. Just make sure you do not step on any underwater rocks or corals. Firstly because it is a protected nature reserve and secondly, because there are sea urchins. 

During the time we were there- around two hours, there were some boats coming with people from the ship. So obviously there is such a possibility- that you book a boat tour to the Champagne beach. Still, we recommend a similar program to ours as you can enjoy the beach and the experience on your own without crowds of people around. 

Corine had advised us that it would be easy to catch either a local bus (by simply waving at them) or a taxi for the way back to Roseau. Once we headed back to the main road, we found some other tourists with a minivan going back to the main city. The driver agreed to take us for $5 per person. Having in mind the short distance, this was a lot, but we did not have much time to the ship departure, so we accepted the offer. 

• Old Market

We got off the minivan at Roseau main port (there was another ship there, ours was two kilometers down the road). We wanted to have a drink somewhere in the city. However, we did not find any bar or cafe. On our way, we passed by the Old market, which was located right in front of the other cruise ship (and was closed at this time of the day). This cobblestone plaza has been the center of action in Roseau for more than 300 years. It’s been the site of political meetings, farmers markets and, more ominously, public executions and a slave market. Nowadays, it’s got craft and souvenir stalls that get plenty of attention from cruise-ship passengers when the big ships are in port.

The End

As we found neither a bar or a cafe to have a drink, nor a souvenir shop, we decided to head back to our ship. Passing by the houses which in the morning looked quite scary, now we knew that locals are actually very nice people. Luckily, there were some souvenir stands right in front of the ship. We spent some time there, promising that we will come back once again to explore the beautiful nature of Dominica. 

We hope you enjoyed traveling with us. Do not miss the stories about the other islands from the cruise route.

They are all coming soon in the section Caribbean.