Part Three: Dominica, the REAL virgin island

(¯`v´¯)
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.

School bus crushed by tree

The night before we reached our first port the doctors put on a skit for us. One of them wrapped the other one up in a patented new product called the “full body condom.” They then gave us a list of “don’ts” that rhymed and were pretty funny. It went something like:

DON’T get BIT
DON’T get HIT
DON’T get LIT
DON’T do IT
DON’T eat SHIT

Meaning, avoid dogs and mosquitoes, cars, drugs, sex, and fresh fruit that we didn’t peal ourselves.

During my photo class last night the women told us to be culturally sensitive while taking photos. In some countries, they think that when Americans take photos of their children, it is because they are going to kidnap and sell them in the US.

Dominica is a strange and beautiful place. It looks very similar to other places I have been: Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, even Nassau. The major difference is the utter and complete lack of tourism. With maybe one or two exceptions, there are no gift shops, or chains, or hotels, or anything. Our tour guide pointed out a Texaco gas station with pride as one way that Dominicans are “modern.” It is the greenest place I have ever seen. they have 356 rivers and are the location of a number of scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean, including my favorite one – the one with Calipso. Dominica is very rich ecologically. Interestingly though, there isn’t a single species of poisonous plant or animal on the whole island. They have boa constrictors, but not so much as a sprig of poison ivy. The whole country is the size of a large University and it shuts down on Sundays for a day of rest. No restaurants or shops were open. As we drove around we could see families resting on the beaches. It reminded me of Shabbat in Israel. Our guide told us that 95% of the country smokes pot and they do not consider stress to be a part of their island lives. Also, drinking while driving is not illegal. Our driver was drinking beer and we navigated the canyon roads. Interestingly, Dominica is known for its longevity. A large percentage of its population is over 100 years old. They attribute it to eating locally grown food that has not been touched by pesticides or preservatives.  After my waterfall hike, river tubing, and snorkeling in Champagne Reef, a girl and I walked around the town near our port. We found a school bus that had been crushed by the trunk of a tree and just left there to decompose. We met a man with only one hand who had lived in the US for a number of years because his “white wife” brought him there. He discovered years later that she also had another husband and so his marriage was illegal and they sent him back to Dominica. What makes Dominica – pronounced Domi-nikka by the way – so beautiful besides all the green are the clouds that cling to the mountains and the colorful houses on the mountainside. None of my photographs really capture the vibrant colors. Sunsets there were out of this world.

the MV Explorer