We left the Saints a little before we were ready because we were anxious to catch up with some friends we had met in St. Thomas, S/V Yolo ( Karen and Jason Trautz). We have a great time with them and knew they were in our next port for only a short time, so we hustled on to Dominica. Yes, we enjoyed a nice visit with Karen and Jason before they took off for the next town, Roseau. We, however, are staying a little because we like Dominica and haven't had much of a chance to explore what looks like a beautiful, interesting island.
Dominica is British and uses the EC dollar, so it's a bit more value than what we get on the French islands where the exchange rate has jumped from $1.50 per euro to $1.63 per euro. There are lush green mountains all around with beautiful trees and flowers. We were going to take a bus ride to the countryside today, but because it was Palm Sunday, we learned things were very quiet. Tomorrow we hope to go to the Chaudiere pool several miles away.
We are finding the Dominicans friendly and have run into boat boys for the first time while on Jus' Now. These men wait in colorfully painted dinghies to greet arriving boats with the idea that they will be your contact when you anchor. They will do things like take you to customs, arrange for tours, pick up fruit or vegetables or collect your laundry--all for a fee, of course. They are usually very nice and polite-- if persistent. Once you name one as your "man", the others don't come around.
One of the things we have also noticed is that since Montserrat, there is no more fresh milk available. All milk is sold as boxed with a shelf life. Even the large stores in large cities don't carry fresh milk. The box milk is not too satisfying to us, unfortunately. However, we have found some delicious locally produced juices, like guava or mango.
One of the things we're not keen on in this anchorage is the music that blares through the anchorage sometimes all night. Although we like the West Indies music, when it repeats over and over at very high volume all night long, it gets old.
We are struck by the fact that there are a lot of rusted old vehicles--boats, trucks, etc.-- on this island. In the French islands, one does not see this. Those islands for the most part are modern, up-to-date, and well-cared for. In the second picture above, you see the truck just abandoned in the center of town. On the top of the truck's windshield is its nickname--Best in Fleet. Almost all vehicles have a name painted across the top of the windshield and are amusing. For example, while trying to hitch a ride this morning, a pickup named, Time Served, passed us. We weren't sure that had he stopped, we would have wanted to ride with him.
More pictures: Next are two of at least four rusted out ships no doubt destroyed in a hurricane, but left to decay right at the water's edge. The fourth picture is of a most unusual house we found on one of the back streets. And lastly, just a scene in the town of Portsmouth.
On Friday, March 21, we decided to take the Indian River tour with one of the local guides. One can only go up the river with a guide--it's a national park and they're trying to preserve it. The boat boys who run around the anchorage in colorful skiffs with names like Providence, Cobra, Spaghetti, Ravioli Lover and Lawrence of Arabia will take two to six or even eight people up the river, but rowing their boats, not using their outboards. Our guide, Martin on Providence, was exceptional. A well-mannered, intelligent fellow, Martin carefully arranged a time to pick us up from our boat. He came back a couple of times to update us on the time of pick-up and appeared right on schedule. One other couple joined us from an Island Packet, Boundless. Martin told us the history of the area and pointed out the bloodwood tree, pictured above, with huge gnarled roots. They are over 400 years old. He also pointed out hummingbirds, iguanas, tiny lizards and crabs that were very difficult to see as their coloring tends to make them blend with their surroundings. We heard lots of parrots at one point, but they too blended with their surroundings and we couldn't pick them out. At the end of the river was a very nice outdoor bar. Many of the guides stop their allowing their clients to have a drink. Not Martin. He proceeded to take us on a little hike into the dense forest chopping away the brush with his machete as we went. There we had a "coconut moment." Martin took his machete to a coconut that he found along the way. We drank the sweet water then ate chunks of coconut. Around the outside of the coconut underneath its hard shell is brush-like orangey/brown mass which makes good sponges for washing dishes. So we each got some new dish scrubbers. Along the route back, Martin picked some wild bay leaves for our kitchens. After 2 1/2 hours, Martin returned us to our boats. Above are some of the scenes from the Indian River. 
