Discovering the Verdant Wonders of the Caribbean and Beyond
I wonder how many people have arrived here in error? As I filed through immigration at the basic, boxy, pink concrete building known as Douglas-Charles International Airport, I couldn’t help but ponder this question. You see, I’m in Dominica – an entirely different destination to the similarly named Dominican Republic, also located in the Caribbean. But I’m glad I ended up here. Dominica is a beautiful, lush, green, and mountainous place where you can watch whales or sit in warm water under cascading waterfalls. It’s rightly promoted as the ‘nature island’, and you experience that as soon as your flight lands.
Dominica offers unspoiled beauty mixed with real communities. They’re not all pretty, but you won’t find the tacky tourist attractions that have sprung up elsewhere in the Caribbean. As I drove from the airport to my accommodation, the 50km journey took a full 75 minutes, passing rum shacks and roadside vegetable stalls. There’s no overtaking as the narrow road winds through dense rainforest. Daylight appears to have a green filter, and you twist and turn past banks of flowers, thick foliage, and fast-flowing brooks. Some of the concrete bridges are washed out, their tarmac surfaces sliding into the water as you drive past them over replacement bailey bridges. There are said to be 365 rivers on the island, and most burst their banks during Cyclone Erica in 2015.
My home for the stay was the Anchorage Hotel, just a few miles south of the capital, Roseau. It has 31 simple but spotless en-suite rooms built around a large and enticing pool. They describe the rooms as ‘island style’ with the red tiled floors and bright bedding adding primary Caribbean color to the spaces. I liked the room key fob – a wooden carving of a whale’s tail. A nice touch. The hotel is built alongside the ocean and the wharf from which it takes its name – Anchorage. This isn’t a faceless chain hotel, but a family-run guesthouse that opened in the 1960s, offering accommodation for yachties. The Armour family used to dive and snorkel from the guesthouse and quickly became interested in the whales that swam past, starting the whale-watching tours that soon became the driver of the business.
Whale Watching in Dominica
The next morning, with a surprisingly clear head from the ocean breezes, I climbed the steps to the hotel’s raised restaurant area. The decking provided a perfect place from which to watch all the activity on the waters – from fishing charters to cruise ships berthing near the capital a few kilometers up the coast. As I tucked into a delicious local breakfast of salted codfish with the part-fried Caribbean Johnny cakes, I looked down at the 75-foot catamaran alongside the jetty. This boat was set to provide the highlight of my trip – whale watching.
The Armour family takes marine life seriously. This isn’t a novelty boat tour; they’ve studied whales and dolphins for generations, and there’s a mini-museum filled with display boards and information on marine mammals beneath the restaurant. Passengers waiting to board the boat in the departure area can even view a sperm whale skeleton.
I was told there would be a 95% chance of seeing whales. Once on board, Janice’s grandson, 26-year-old Beyenne Armour-Shillingford, explained how the crew would find the whales – by using two hydrophones. The sensors are dipped into the water, with one picking up whale sounds within a 5-mile radius and the second directional sensor working out the whale’s location within a 15-degree arc. It’s mostly sperm whales around the island, so there was a lot of excitement on board when the ‘singing’ sound of a humpback came over a loudspeaker.
“It’s just like something out of Finding Nemo,” Beyenne told me. “The movie offers the perfect representation of what they sound like.” He thought the whale was close to Scott’s Head Bay. As the trip went on, I was impressed by Beyenne’s understanding of the whales. Following a brief sighting, he declared that he knew which whale it was. “It’s either Pinchy or Quasimodo within the group of seven,” he told me. The Dive Centre has compiled a family tree that displays the different relations between the local whales. “They have friendships. Some are closer to each other, which helps you identify them when they’re in pairs,” he explained.
The crew can also identify whales as ‘local’ by their clicking. “They have colloquialisms,” Beyenne told me. It was extraordinary. The crew also correctly predicted when the tracked whale would surface. “Whales are generally underwater for between 45 minutes and an hour,” Beyenne explained. “They make a special movement underwater before they dive, so we know when they will resurface,” he told me. Beyenne told the trippers to get their cameras ready – just before the whale’s tail flicked into view. The incredible sight was met with gasps of delight on board.
I was surprised that the whales didn’t appear bothered by the whale-watching boat. Beyenne explained that the whales have spent their entire life around the island and know the sound of the seven boats that continuously watch them. “Other boats, like sailing boats from different islands, tend to scare them off. They know our boat poses no threat,” he added. The trips are offered year-round, but the autumn to spring period is considered high season for sightings. Humpbacks generally visit Dominica between January and April.
Exploring Dominica’s Lush Interior
Back on land, I noticed a large frog sculpture in the hotel lobby. The Armour-Shillingfords clearly had an interest in land-based conservation too. One of the reception team, Carlyn Valmond, explained that it was known as a ‘mountain chicken’ because of its taste. The amphibians are threatened, and Carlyn has been volunteering with a local conservation group. “I remember finding some in my grandmother’s fridge and being horrified,” she told me.
Dominica’s wildlife and natural beauty don’t stop at the shore. Another family member, Dafar Armour-Shillingford, took me for a trip into the mountainous area that dominates the island, away from the coast. Like his brother, Dafar was highly knowledgeable about the island’s wildlife and clearly proud about UNESCO’s recognition that the Morne Trois Pitons National Park has the richest biodiversity in the Lesser Antilles. As we strolled through the shade of the thick, tropical foliage, I glimpsed the occasional distinctive green and blue flash of a passing parrot. “The sisserou is our national bird,” Dafar explained. “It’s only found here, and it’s illegal to hunt them and capture them.” But they’ve become a nuisance for citrus plantation owners recently.
The landscape is dominated by the 1,342m high volcano Morne Trois Pitons, one of five on the island. One day, geothermal power could provide an economic boost, but for now, it offers a tourism draw. There’s a beach not far from the Anchorage Hotel where it looks like someone’s using a soda stream in the sea. The bubbles come up from the reef, emitted by undersea vents. Rather descriptively, it’s called Champagne Beach.
If you can spare six hours, you can trek to the Inland Boiling Lake. For locals, it’s a rite of passage, and all school kids have to do it. As Dafar drove us along the highest point in the road – at 2,790 feet above sea level – it got really wet and drizzly. All that rainwater has to go somewhere, and many visitors head to the island’s waterfalls. At Trafalgar Falls, there are two waterfalls, and they’ve been assigned genders. “The one to the left, the taller and more slender waterfall, is generally considered the male. The shorter, more substantial fall is referred to as female,” Dafar laughed. Both waterfalls are cold, but near the base of the male waterfall, there is a hot spring, so the pools and streams are lukewarm. If you get to the source of the hot water, there are some pools that are extremely hot.
The Kalinago People of Dominica
My tour with Dafar continued to the island’s more isolated East Coast. This area is home to the Kalinago people, the first island settlers, who originally came from the Orinoco area of South America. The tribe was granted a small territory by the British in the 1950s but wants true recognition.
Louis Patrick Hill, a Kalinago native, was born and bred on the island and, following a US Army career, served as an American Senator. He told me that it was always his intention to come home. He wants to create an economic opportunity for the people of the territory, an area with very little employment or economic activity. He’s building an eco-retreat in the woods overlooking the coastline. The accommodation is green and sustainable, built traditionally with thatched, wooden, A-frame cottages.
Louis’ idea of tourism is a reciprocal arrangement. He’d like to encourage visitors who will be able to give something back to the community – writers, musicians, or artists who can teach in local schools. In return, visitors could learn about the herbs and medicinal plants that the tribe has used for hundreds of years. As we sat on a deck overlooking the ocean, the waves pounding on the rocks below, Louis expressed his concerns. “It surprises me that people spend so much time protecting wildlife but here we have a tribe of human beings who have been oppressed and exploited for over 500 years. We are an endangered species,” he told me. “We have an amazing ancestry. This territory exists because of the courage of our people who stood up against European colonists.”
The Kalinago have a reputation as craftspeople and are famed for their woodwork and woven mats and baskets. They also produce cassava bread and flour. Smart west coast islanders drive into the territory to get better-priced and higher-quality fruit and vegetables, including sweet potatoes, yams, pineapples, or avocados. I had been told that the Kalinago have a close affinity to nature, and it’s true that you’ll see some beautiful floral displays in their gardens.
At the Kalinago Barana Aute cultural village, Christie Frederick explained, “It explains the culture, lifestyle, and clothing of our people.” A walkway is decorated with dozens of carved heads on poles that look similar to the famous Easter Island statues. They represent past chiefs. “Columbus said we were cannibals. That’s where the word ‘Carib’ comes from. If that was true, I’d be fierce, a warrior. I am not that person,” Christie told me. Sadly, the Kalinago language has been pretty much extinguished, but a few words are still used, like ‘mabrika,’ which means ‘welcome.’
As I explored Dominica, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the island’s natural wonders and the resilience of its indigenous people. From the towering waterfalls to the lush green forests, Dominica is a true gem in the Caribbean, offering a unique blend of adventure, culture, and environmental preservation. Whether you’re whale watching, hiking through the rainforest, or immersing yourself in the Kalinago way of life, this island will leave a lasting impression. It’s a destination that truly embodies the essence of ABC Home & Garden’s values – a celebration of the great outdoors and a deep appreciation for sustainable living.
