Our last full day on the island, we went to Cabrits National Park on the northern part of the island. At the tip of a small peninsula, the British fort was meant to guard Portsmouth, the most accessible port city and previous capitol. Abandoned in the 19th century, the fort lay to ruins mainly due to rainforest trees and strangler roots taking over. The dryest part of the island, the area around Cabrits definitely reminded me much more of home than the other forests. Luckily, the author of our textbook The Dominica Story, Lennox Honychurch, is heading up a project to restore the fort into a tourist-friendly environment. One of the completed buildings has a bar and serves as a great spot for wedding receptions and conferences. The outdoor terraces are beautifully manicured with more work continually making the estate a wonderful place for outdoor weddings and gatherings.
We went on a short hike up to one of the cannons and found a plum tree along the way, most likely due to a tourist dropping a plum and then it sprouted. We also saw lots of land crabs and little hermit crabs, as well as two grove snakes. When we went back down to the fort area, we found out that Dr. Honychurch was on-site. After a few minutes, he came up to meet us for a few minutes before he gave tour to another group. In the meantime, we walked over to some more ruins of fort buildings where trees and vines were taking over in a more rain-forest type habitat. There were golfball-sized bullet things used in cannons (one would stuff about 20 into the barrel like a buck-shot) still in their storage room. We walked over to the other side of the peninsula and saw a more open bay that other cannons guarded.
When we returned to the main buildings and battery, Dr. Honychurch was ready to tell us about the history of Dominica. In 45 minutes to an hour, he gave us a captivating lecture and synopsis of his book as we looked out over the bay and to the mountains. Dr. Honychurch explained that Dominica receives a good bit of international aid from foreign powers who compete for their support in the UN, because a small country such as Dominica has just as much voting power as the United States. The Chinese, who initially came over by practically purchasing passports/citizenship, came to do certain skilled work. This is particularly evident in their civil engineering capabilities as the Chinese people renovate road systems and make places on the island more accessible. Venezuelans provide financial aid, although I do not recall what work they are most famous for. Just outside of Cabrits, the King of Moracco is building a resort complex, which we sincerely hope withstands hurricanes and other incidents. The European Union is significantly helping to finance the restoration of Cabrits. Unfortunately, I understand that the US is doing little more than send the Peace Corps down here, which is so small compared to all of these other countries.
Upon returning to the welcome center, I bought a table-top doily from a lady who was crochetting at a picnic table and Diane became friends with Earl the Pearl, a sweet older man full of smiles. I had Dr. Honychurch sign my copy of his book, which my grandmother wants to read in a few months. Then we went to lunch at the food court by Ross University, which was a narrow street of small shops selling different types of food to cater to the tastes of the medical students there. There was smoothie shop, juice bar, local favorites, Indian food, Hispanic food, pizza, pasta, and a coffee shop. There was no place to sit except some picnic shelters inside the fence of Ross. We were able to mostly finish our meal before someone asked us to leave; apparently it was for Ross students only.
Next we went to Sunset Beach hotel to go snorkelling at the reef there. I opened my bag to change clothes and realized I left my swimsuit at the station. Luckily, Diane had brought her swimsuit but only planned to sit on the beach and enjoy the sun and shade. I borrowed her top and wore my quick-dry shorts and I was good to go. This second snorkelling expedition was not as eventful as the one at Champagne Reef, but it was still pretty fun. There were several large schools of fish and I enjoyed swimming through them and chasing them a little. I felt like a little kid in a swarm of butterflies.
Once we showered off and dried some, we went back towards Canefield in our last attempt to see the Green Flash. We were on the other side of a long shipping dock (it wasn't far above the water so I won't call it a pier), but we still had a decent view of the sunset. I found a sea-urchin shell and some bone-looking things, but they could have been fossilized coral. The sky looked clear and then the sun began to touch the horizon. We would have seen the green flash just after the sun went under the horizon, but there was a haze just above the water in the distance that prevented us from seeing it. It was still a pretty sunset.
We went on a short hike up to one of the cannons and found a plum tree along the way, most likely due to a tourist dropping a plum and then it sprouted. We also saw lots of land crabs and little hermit crabs, as well as two grove snakes. When we went back down to the fort area, we found out that Dr. Honychurch was on-site. After a few minutes, he came up to meet us for a few minutes before he gave tour to another group. In the meantime, we walked over to some more ruins of fort buildings where trees and vines were taking over in a more rain-forest type habitat. There were golfball-sized bullet things used in cannons (one would stuff about 20 into the barrel like a buck-shot) still in their storage room. We walked over to the other side of the peninsula and saw a more open bay that other cannons guarded.
When we returned to the main buildings and battery, Dr. Honychurch was ready to tell us about the history of Dominica. In 45 minutes to an hour, he gave us a captivating lecture and synopsis of his book as we looked out over the bay and to the mountains. Dr. Honychurch explained that Dominica receives a good bit of international aid from foreign powers who compete for their support in the UN, because a small country such as Dominica has just as much voting power as the United States. The Chinese, who initially came over by practically purchasing passports/citizenship, came to do certain skilled work. This is particularly evident in their civil engineering capabilities as the Chinese people renovate road systems and make places on the island more accessible. Venezuelans provide financial aid, although I do not recall what work they are most famous for. Just outside of Cabrits, the King of Moracco is building a resort complex, which we sincerely hope withstands hurricanes and other incidents. The European Union is significantly helping to finance the restoration of Cabrits. Unfortunately, I understand that the US is doing little more than send the Peace Corps down here, which is so small compared to all of these other countries.
Upon returning to the welcome center, I bought a table-top doily from a lady who was crochetting at a picnic table and Diane became friends with Earl the Pearl, a sweet older man full of smiles. I had Dr. Honychurch sign my copy of his book, which my grandmother wants to read in a few months. Then we went to lunch at the food court by Ross University, which was a narrow street of small shops selling different types of food to cater to the tastes of the medical students there. There was smoothie shop, juice bar, local favorites, Indian food, Hispanic food, pizza, pasta, and a coffee shop. There was no place to sit except some picnic shelters inside the fence of Ross. We were able to mostly finish our meal before someone asked us to leave; apparently it was for Ross students only.
Next we went to Sunset Beach hotel to go snorkelling at the reef there. I opened my bag to change clothes and realized I left my swimsuit at the station. Luckily, Diane had brought her swimsuit but only planned to sit on the beach and enjoy the sun and shade. I borrowed her top and wore my quick-dry shorts and I was good to go. This second snorkelling expedition was not as eventful as the one at Champagne Reef, but it was still pretty fun. There were several large schools of fish and I enjoyed swimming through them and chasing them a little. I felt like a little kid in a swarm of butterflies.
Once we showered off and dried some, we went back towards Canefield in our last attempt to see the Green Flash. We were on the other side of a long shipping dock (it wasn't far above the water so I won't call it a pier), but we still had a decent view of the sunset. I found a sea-urchin shell and some bone-looking things, but they could have been fossilized coral. The sky looked clear and then the sun began to touch the horizon. We would have seen the green flash just after the sun went under the horizon, but there was a haze just above the water in the distance that prevented us from seeing it. It was still a pretty sunset.
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