Dominica …. the party is on!

Portsmouth – the land of P.A.Y.S

After we left Roseau we headed up north to Portsmouth, to the land of P.A.Y.S. Sailing along the coast we were quickly reminded of how to sail on the leeward side of an island, winds picked up from 5 to 35kn within few meters. Good that we have this uncommon habit of staring at the sea and noticed white water ahead 🙂 Always fun here! 

Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services (P.A.Y.S) is a local organization that was created to improve safety and general service to the cruisers community. A few years back Dominica was infamous and generally avoided because of safety or rather lack of it. I have to say – P.A.Y.S. is a great idea and totally works! It feels safe to be there. We were leaving our dinghy or even boat unlocked. We felt safe walking with family in the town after dark! Again – not a general Caribbean impression.

We were lucky to arrive exactly during the annual P.A.Y.S. Cruisers Appreciation Week and we started the party with the huge bucket filled with rum punch. It was a magic night – stars and anchor lights mirrored in the still waters o Prince Rupert Bay, hot*… food was local and delicious, music was local and Marleyicious and rum punch…. Maaan, this rum punch had quite a punch and by the third glass, we loved the whole wide world sooo much 🙂

* we tried to take pictures, but I guess the rum punched us sooner than we noticed and they were all blurry.

Adventourists

The next few days we went for adventourism, which stands for the perfect mix of adventure and tourism. We went early in the morning, with local guide Anthony, to explore the Indian River – the only river you can sail in on Dominica. Kids sunk in the stories about animals, especially the Boa, and were following Anthony through the jungle-like puppies (or ducklings – not sure which ones). One special adult climbed the palm tree to pick up coconuts and to feed the legends about crazy tourists told by local guides.

We went for a walk in the jungle, we ate fruits from the trees, we cut the sugar cane. We also saw the reminiscence of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie scene – the house of Calypso. That part, very nice indeed, I call comfy tourism. The guide, the boat, you don’t have to row, you see all the local animals**, you get souvenirs, you buy souvenirs, you take pictures and you enjoy the show. The adventure starts when you have to find your own way, and you don’t know what to expect. It doesn’t have to be a life-threatening experience or extreme sport. It can be ….a chocolate factory! not like it’s hidden in the jungle and you have to find a path with a machete, but you have to find a bus and sometimes it is very close to that.

I love public transport in Dominica! Once you find the bus (!), it is so easy to talk to people there. You just sit and listen to their stories. Btw… did I mention that driving is on the wrong side of the road and drivers drive crazy fast and roads are so narrow that they have to honk every 5sec to avoid a collision? No? what about cliffs on the side of the road? No? ok…, I won’t tell you then 🙂 Just add wide open windows and high volume reggae and you are sitting right with us in the bus. Enjoy!

The chocolate factory was tiny. The lady at the door was not even surprised to see us. Apparently, we were not the first ones to discover them. Can you believe that? No way! Luckily Kids had some special treatment and we could taste all the chocolate flavors they offered and eat chocolate straight from the mixer. Still warm. Me – the chocolate monster – say it was AWESOME!

**animals like hummingbirds, some parrots, banana quicks, iguanas…. oh, so cute! 🙂
– If you ask me, man, – said Anthony, our guide – if I were to choose between fish, chicken, and an iguana for a dinner? I would definitely choose iguana, man. Those things are perfect vegetarians, fed in the cleanest wild forest in the world, no plastic, no shit, maan! 😉

Party with Prime Minister of Dominica

Yep. This is how we party. Hahaha!

By the end of the week, we were invited to the closing dinner – cruisers version of black tie. Meaning: you open the locker that you don’t use much and pick the fanciest piece of clothing that you still own. In our case Marcin found out that his suit got wet and has some ugly stains – not wearable, then he tried pair of jeans – also not wearable, not to mention, way too hot to wear. Boys ended up with the last pair of long pants and a „WHITE DOG CREW” T-shirt – all black at least. I managed to get the little black dress in a reasonable state and high heels. Heels, after few seconds on my feet, I threw them back in the locker with loud – OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!!! We also did comb our hair… and that is just whole another story…

Dinner was delicious and Prime Minister was late. We met the Minister of Tourism and Urban Renewals of Dominica (Robert btw!) and we listened to some stories that we were not aware of. On how cruisers helped right after hurricane Maria hit, how money was collected, helping hands given. Whoever could – helped rebuilding what was lost. Quite emotional and beautiful to hear that there are good people with no hidden agenda or business behind them.

Dominica dear, we loved this little glimpse of you and we will be back soon to help, if we can, swim in the rivers, climb the mountains and talk to your beautiful people! Take care!