Submitted by Mallory Davis on the 2019 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography…
Monday 1/14
Today marks the second week of the program. We took an excursion to the north-west side of the island; Portsmouth, where we had a tour through the Indian River. We learned a lot about the wildlife that reside there including crabs, fish, and birds. We were amazed to find out that this was where a part of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. The water was only a couple of feet deep, but this river is the deepest one out of all the 365 rivers on the island.
Tuesday 1/15
Today, we had a guest lecturer, Katie Julien, the director of tourism on the island. We learned many important aspects of the island as well as all it has to offer including hiking, bird watching, snorkeling, scuba diving, exploring the second largest boiling lake, and experiencing the black sand beaches that surround the island. She also spoke about how Hurricane Maria decreased tourism substantially for the island and destroyed a lot of hiking trails.
Today, we also took a trip to Bubble Beach, which is located a couple of towns south of Roseau. The locals call it “Bubble Beach” because of the bubbles that rise from the ground in the water due to the volcanic activity on the island. We went on a small snorkel adventure and were able to see small reefs, sea urchins, and a plethora of fish.
Thursday 1/17
We walked to the botanical gardens today in Roseau. There is a lot of flora that persist in this area, however, Hurricane Maria destroyed a lot of its progress. The locals are in the midst of restoring a lot of the grounds, but most of the flowering trees that are there are the only ones on the island. After leaving the botanical gardens, we went on “Jack’s Walk”, a walk that is supposed to be 35 steps, but is actually closer to 200. From here, we could see a panoramic view of Roseau and some other villages farther north.
Friday 1/18
Today we drove, once again, up to the northern part of the island to view the Emerald Pool, a fresh water pool that is deposited by a waterfall overhead. To get to the Emerald Pool, we thought we had to hike through the Waitukubuli National Trail. It should have been a 20-minute hike to get to the pool, but the trail was very overgrown and was covered in elephant grass (which left us with cuts all over our arms and legs), so it took us an hour and we ended up having to turn back. Then, we decided to take the easy way out and go to the main entrance of the Emerald Pool, walk down a few steps, then jumped right into the chilly water. The water was colder than usual because of the lack of sun in the cave-like area. On the drive back to our hotel, we saw our first Jaco parrot in a tree, an endangered species on the island due to Hurricane Maria.
Sunday 1/20
Today was a day that we all were very excited for. We woke up at 7:00 am, had a quick breakfast, and set out to go snorkeling at around 8:00 am. Our tour guides took us out on the Caribbean Sea on a boat to Champagne Beach. They call it this because of the same bubbles that appear to rise from the ocean floor. We saw multiple reefs, many amazing fish species, a couple of eels, and hundreds of sea urchins. Later today, at 2:00 pm, we set out once again on the same boat to go whale watching. The tour guides said they couldn’t promise that we’d see any whales, but we were lucky enough to see five different Sperm Whales; four full grown females and one calf. This was an amazing experience since this was my first time to see a whale in person. The trip took about three and a half hours which was nice because we got to learned a lot about the different whales and dolphins that are near this part of the world and cruise around and relax as well.
