Submitted by Sara Dooley on the 2019 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography…
Sunday January 20th
Today, we had our ocean experience and I have to say, so far it has been my favorite day. We arrived at the boat company and boarded the boat. As we cruised along the water, we saw a double rainbow and watched the island fly by. When we arrived at Champagne Reef, where we would be snorkeling, we got a safety and instruction talk from our captain and then we were off! We had two guides in the water that were there to teach us about the reef and its inhabitants and answer any questions we might’ve had. A few of us deflated our vests just enough so that we could free dive down to the deeper parts of the reef and observe the aquatic life. It was absolutely stunning! The water was crystal clear and the perfect temperature for us to be in there for as long as we were. We then boarded the boat and headed back to the dock where we ate lunch and waited for our whale watching tour to begin. When it was our time, we boarded the ship with other groups and started our way miles off shore. Our crew taught us about all the whales and dolphins and other animals we might see. They also taught us about their migratory and breeding patterns while in Dominica. When we were just about five miles off shore we saw our first whale! It was a single sperm whale, but it was very large. We waited and watched it for a while before it disappeared into the ocean depths. We continued on until, we found two more sperm whales and then they did a deep dive. After a little while longer, we found another two sperm whales and we actually got close enough to get some amazing pictures of their tails during their dive. Over all, today was a dream come true for this environmental and marine science major!
Monday January 21st
Today was MLK Jr Day and we didn’t have class so we went to Mero Beach again. It was so hot out, but we enjoyed the sun and swimming in the water.
We noticed that people are starting to accept us more and see us more as locals. As we’ve stayed here longer, people are treating us differently, they are charging us less, asking us questions about what we have done so far and they have stopped staring at us as if we were tourists.
Tuesday January 22nd
Today, we took a van to Scotts Head and hiked up to the top. It was absolutely gorgeous weather so it was a breathtaking view. The wind was very strong, but it kept us cool on our hike. Scotts Head is a peninsula on the southern end of the island that has the Caribbean Ocean on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. We were shocked to see the differences between the coasts. The Atlantic side had rough water, rocky shores and loud noise from the waves pulling and pushing the rocks against each other. The Caribbean side was much calmer water, sand with small rocks and very peaceful. After Scotts Head, we went to the Sulfur Spring and waded through the water.
Wednesday January 23rd
This morning we had a guest lecturer in class. Our lecturer taught us about many different topics such as Dominica’s conservation laws, the variety of wildlife, invasive species, flora and fauna, and protected areas on the island. It was a very long lecture, but we learned so much about the island.
Thursday January 24th
Today’s lecture was absolutely amazing! We had two lecturers and their names were Machel Sulton & Jeanelle Brisbane. They work for the Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division and they went very in depth about the invasive species on the island. Jeanelle and Machel are iguana specialists and they actually brought two invasive green iguanas to class for us to hold and observe. Normally, when they catch these iguanas they measure and examine them for research purposes and then they are put down. One of the iguanas they had brought, had not been examined or measured yet, so Jeanelle allowed us to observe her and a few of our group members as they completed the measurements. She measured the head and body length, she drew blood, determined it was female and took detailed photos of it. It was such a surreal experience and we all truly enjoyed it!
Later that night Machel and Jeanelle asked our group to come with them into the woods and catch Cuban Tree Frogs (another invasive species). Sadly I was sick, so I could not go, but the rest of our group enjoyed the experience and now we plan to go out another night to volunteer.
Friday January 25th
Today we woke up prepared to hike up Morne Diablotin but when we arrived at the national park Professor Seraphin informed us that instead we would be doing Segment 11 of the Waitukubuli National Trail. The beginning of this hike was a flat trail through the very densely wooded mountain. The path had some fallen trees in our path that we had to climb over or under. There was also many birds, bugs and even snakes (which a few of us really did not enjoy). The trail seemed to sense that we were getting bored with how easy it was, because it was time for us to descend down the mountain. At first the decent was a slightly downhill but then it started to get muddy and steeper. There were a few minor injuries, but overall everyone was fine. We complained as we were climbing down, but the views were amazing and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Saturday January 26th
Today we were all exhausted from the hike, but we headed to the northern end of the island to visit Fort Shirley. Fort Shirley sits on a peninsula right outside the City of Portsmouth. We toured some of the old ruins like the barracks, the commandant quarters and more. Even though the buildings are ruins now, we could still tell just how impressive those buildings were. Our tour guide told us about how they are trying to restore the sites as much as possible, but they do not have enough funding, which is sad because it would be even more beautiful if the sites were restored.
One of my favorite parts of the day was looking out at the bay and Portsmouth from the peninsula and seeing all the boats floating peacefully on the water. It was an absolutely gorgeous day.
Sunday January 27th
This week has been extremely taxing on us and we were all exhausted so we all decided we would just relax today and do some work to get ready for spring semester. So, a few of us spent the day at the pool at Fort Young and the rest of us just spent the day at the hotel playing games and talking about our weeks.
