Dominica, the nature island
Dominica is the first country on our trip that I am not entering either on our Vaquita or with Peter, as I was supporting our friend Bjerke on the night crossing on his Namai (aka Steelsund). It's somehow a strange feeling to sail on a different boat, after all I'm already so used to the movement of the boat and the handling on the Vaquita. On the other hand, it's also a great experience to sail on other boats, which doesn't happen that often. In contrast to the Vaquita, the Namai is made of steel (which, together with its home port of Stralsund, gives it the nickname Steelsund) and is therefore much heavier, although the boats are almost the same size. As a result, more wind is needed to sail with the Namai. We can still sail well between Martinique and Dominica, but as soon as we are in the wind cover of Dominica, it is no longer enough and we sail the rest under motor. Meanwhile, Peter and my parents can still sail comfortably. Bjerke and I arrive in Portsmouth Bay in the north of Dominica at around 8 o'clock in the morning and a few dolphins accompany us as the sun rises. After the anchor manoeuvre, we have breakfast before Vaquita finally comes into the bay an hour later. After a second breakfast, Bjerke, Peter and I head off to clear in. We pull up to a specially cordoned-off jetty and go into the small office. It's handy that customs and immigration are in the same building and you don't have to clear in separately if you're staying in the country for less than two weeks. On the way back, we are caught out by the first heavy rain on the island - and it won't be the last.
The day is fairly quiet, as we're not all fully rested from the night's sailing. In the evening we go out for dinner with Bjerke and Levent, Bjerke's fellow sailor, who had already spent a week hiking in Dominica. The lads discover a sailing boat that has been washed ashore not too long ago and still has a lot of expensive equipment on board. However, their plans to sell a few individual parts evaporate after a chat with the locals. The boat was washed ashore during the last Hurricane Beryl in June 2024 and the owner doesn't have enough money to salvage it, but he is doing his best to raise money for it.
The next day, the six of us go on the Indian River Tour, an absolute must in Portsmouth, as the river flows into the bay right here. With a guide and only a rowing boat, we head upstream. The banks are lined with mangroves, we hear various birds, see crabs and iguanas and try all kinds of exotic fruits that our guide has brought us. In a side arm stands the house of Calypso, the pagan sea goddess from Pirates of the Caribbean - just one of many locations in the film on Dominica. It looks just as wicked as we know it from the film. The tour ends for us at the Bush Bar in the middle of the jungle. Although it is only mid-morning, we savour the different types of rum punch there - passion fruit, coconut, peanut or classic with multivitamin juice. Then we head back again.
We actually want to go for a little exploratory walk in the afternoon, but it's raining so we prefer to stay on board.
We have hired a car for the next two days to explore the island. Our hire car is a well-maintained Suzuki, imported from Japan as a second-hand car, as Dominica drives on the left. We pick up the car in the morning and then head to Laudat as quickly as possible, as this is the starting point for a 7-hour hike to Boiling Lake. We set off shortly before 10 a.m. - according to the signs, this is also the latest possible start time for the hike. This is the first real rainforest tour for my parents and they are thrilled by the many plants, the sounds of the birds and the tall trees. We cross two rivers where we refill our water bottles.
It drizzles again and again. After a steeper section, we walk along the ridge to the highest point - Mount Nicholas. We leave my parents there, because we have to pick up the pace to get to Boiling Lake in time. The path becomes increasingly muddy and we descend steeply into Desolation Valley. After an adventurous descent on a very washed-out path, we made it to the stinking sulphur springs. But we don't have time for a break and continue along the river towards Boiling Lake.
After another three quarters of an hour through a wide variety of terrain, we've made it. Boiling Lake is below us and also under a cloud of mist. As the name suggests, it is boiling here in one of Dominica's volcanic craters and when the wind briefly disperses the fog, we can finally watch the spectacle. We don't stay long, however, as time is running out and it starts to rain again. We make our way back to Desolation Valley, where we take a break. Well equipped, thanks to Levent's tip, who has already done the tour, we have a pot, ramen noodles from the packet and raw eggs with us, because you can cook perfectly in the hot springs. After 10 minutes, the ramen and eggs are ready and taste particularly good after the unique preparation and physical exercise.
Well strengthened, we make our way back up the almost 200 metres in altitude on the steep, washed-out path. No-one comes to meet us, and at this pace we are sure to arrive before dusk. After just over 7 hours, we have made it and are back at the starting point.There is also a great attraction there, Titou Gorge, a canyon where you can swim a good distance into the clear water. My parents have already moved again and are the last ones there. We quickly organise life jackets (you're not allowed to go in without them) and head into the cool water. At first, we don't know what to expect, but then we shimmy into the canyon up to the waterfall using the lines attached to the rock faces.
Unfortunately, the light is no longer the best, but it is still impressive how high the black, partly overgrown, lush green rock faces rise to the left and right. It was a day full of natural spectacles that we had never seen before. Back in Portsmouth, we go for a bite to eat in the town. It's just the end of the carnival parade and so we eat chicken burgers with chips while one lorry with stacked jukeboxes after another drives past us on the main street. There are no parade groups as such and the music is not what we had imagined. What's more, it's so loud that our whole bodies vibrate.
The tourist programme continues the next day. Our first stop is Mero Beach, where we don't stay too long due to the rainy weather. We continue to the Sulphur Springs at Wotten Waven. After 2 minutes, a small path leads to the sulphur springs, which are visible from a small vantage point but not particularly impressive. We return to the road and order small grilled sandwiches from a stall on the road - similar to mini flatbreads, which are served with or without a cheese filling. We order some more straight away because they are so good, along with some chicken knuckles and grilled plantains. The young woman grills everything on an old wheel rim on some charcoal and an old barbecue grill. It's very authentic and we have fun with her. Down the road on foot is Screw's Sulfur Spas and we decide to have a good time there. So we put on our swimsuits and jump into the first sulphur pool. There are three different ones with different temperatures, with the coolest one being the most pleasant and the hottest one being really hot, even for me. It rains a little every now and then, but that doesn't bother us in the warm pools. In between, we also have a mud bath before we wash everything off again under the waterfall.
After the spa, we make our way to the most famous waterfalls on the island, the Trafalger Falls. As with the Sulfur Spa, we manage to arrive in time with the cruise tourists, as everyone is leaving just as we arrive and so we are almost alone again.
A paved path leads us through the rainforest for about 15 minutes before we reach Trafalgar Falls. The view of the double waterfalls is impressive.To the left and right of a high green rock face, the two waterfalls plunge into the depths. The higher one is affectionately known as ‘Dad’ and the smaller one as ‘Mum’.We enjoy the view alone and are impressed by nature.Back at the starting point, we learn that the appearance of the waterfalls is constantly changing, as the masses of water can also carry many stones with them after heavy rainfall. The third waterfall is channelled into a power station to generate electricity.
Via a mountain road, which later becomes the Dr Nicholas Highway, we drive through the Central Forest Reserve in the incessant rain to the north-east of the island. Here we watch the Atlantic waves crashing incessantly against the coast. We are glad that we are protected on the Caribbean Sea on the other side of the island. We continue through the villages in the north and back to Portsmouth via an adventurous road.
As we make our way back to the boat in the dinghy, Bjerke and Levent invite us to dinner on the Namai. We're glad we don't have to cook and just want to get changed quickly. Unfortunately, when we get out of the dinghy, my dad's mobile phone slips out of his normally zipped-up trouser pocket and into the sea. As it's already dark, we can't do anything for the time being other than mark the spot with a man-overboard pin on our electronic nautical chart so that we know roughly where we can dive tomorrow. With our mood somewhat dampened, we board the Stahlsund, where Levent and Bjerke have conjured up a delicious menu: bruschetta, followed by fish from the market with rice, chips and plantains and a pineapple for dessert. We have a fun evening with them.
The next morning, the sea is pretty calm and my dad actually discovers his mobile phone in the water. Peter is able to surface it at a depth of around 8 metres with the help of his barrier fish fins. After a freshwater shower, we put it in a tin with rice, where it stays until the end of my parents' trip.
It's time for us to say goodbye to Dominica again as we continue on to Guadeloupe, more precisely to the Iles des Saintes, a small group of islands in the south of Guadeloupe. We weigh anchor and hoist the sails. With a good half-wind and few waves, we sail comfortably to the north-west. We try our luck at fishing, but unfortunately nothing bites. When we enter the Saintes, it gets rough again as the wind picks up again between the islands. After hauling in the sails, we look for a free mooring buoy off Terre de Haut, but they are all occupied. So we drop anchor in Anse Galet and have a manoeuvre sip.
Useful tips:
The geographically interested reader will have noticed that we travelled directly to the north of Dominica without a stopover. Dominica is particularly interesting inland (hiking, nature) and probably also underwater (unfortunately we didn't go diving), but not for its beautiful anchorages. For excursions of any kind, it is easiest to drive to Portsmouth, anchor there or moor at a buoy and explore the rest by land.
Clearing in and out was very easy in Portsmouth, you drive to the extra jetty and pay a small fee for the guarding of the dinghy. Then you go to the office next door where, if you are staying for less than 2 weeks, you can also clear out straight away; in other words, you can continue your journey at any time without having to visit the authorities again.
For the Indian River Tour, we chose one of the service providers who cruise around the bay on their boats. We opted for Titus, who we simply arranged everything with via WhatsApp and who drives past the boat several times a day anyway. Titus also organises all sorts of other things for a small fee. The Indian River Tour cost us 80 EC per person. Our friends from Steelsund were able to negotiate this down a little to 70 EC. The tour prices are generally always per person, so it often pays to negotiate as a group. It is almost impossible to miss Titus in Portsmouth, but here is his number: +1 767 265 3233
As mentioned above, the tours are usually priced per person and are not exactly cheap. With a hire car, you can easily do many things yourself for much less money. If you have less money and more time, you can also get relatively far with the minibus taxis. The hikes we chose are all close to Roseau and the journey from Portsmouth by minibus taxi takes a relatively long time because you always have to change buses in Roseau. We therefore hired a car from one of the many car hire companies for 180 EC (special price because AC wasn't working, normally 210 EC) per day. We also had to pay another 30 EC for the local driving licence. We used it to drive to the hiking spots and went on a road trip on the 2nd day of the hire. Car hire company Dannis: +1 767 612 8379
The Boiling Lake hike was still possible without a guide at the time. Apparently this will soon change and become compulsory. The guides + transport from Portsmouth costs around 100 US dollars per person for the hike. It is advisable to be there early, around 8-9 am, to have enough time. If you want to cook in Desolation Valley, don't forget your pot and lid, because the sulphur water doesn't taste very good ;) The hike is rather challenging, but doable on your own if you are fit. Not recommended in the rain, as some of the paths are extremely muddy and steep and can quickly turn into a stream bed. Don't forget your dirty clothes.
Many of the easily accessible tourist destinations (Trafalgar Falls, Sulfur Spring, the canyon at the start of the Boiling Lake hike) are heavily frequented by cruise ship visitors. It is therefore worth having a quick look in Roseau to see if there are any here at the moment. Otherwise, from 15:00 onwards, you usually have the attractions to yourself again.