Dominica, WI

Dominica is called the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" because of its mountainous rainforests and rare flora and fauna. Unlike the previous two islands (Bermuda and Antigua) we visited, Dominica has abundant water in the form of rivers and springs.  

Today we boarded an open-air Mercedes-Benz 4x4 vehicle at the dock so we could travel high up the island's volcanic mountain into the rainforest.  After leaving town, the road ascended at a steep 15 to 20% grade causing us to brace ourselves and hang on fearful of sliding off the back of the truck!

From a vista a few hundred feet up we enjoyed a panoramic view of Roseau, the capital city of Dominica.  Our trusty ship, the Viking Sun can be seen at the cruise terminal.

From the vista we walked across the street into a bamboo thicket forming a "cave".   Two-years ago, the category 5 hurricane Maria devastated Dominica flattening most of the islands vegetation.   It is now just beginning to recover.

The unique palm tree above resembles a fan.  It is known as a traveler's palm because its structure aligns itself in an east-west orientation and can be used as a compass.

We continued winding our way up the mountainous road toward the renowned  Trafalgar Falls.  

After a short walk through the rainforest we reached Trafalgar Falls, one of the most spectacular sites on the island. The falls consists of twin waterfalls known as the mother and father or the Mama and the Papa.  The Papa fall is on the left (tall and slender) and the Mama fall is on the right (shorter and ...).

The water supply for Dominica originates from the lakes located at 3,000 to 4,000 foot elevation.  This is one of the water lines serving the capital city Roseau.  Notice that it is made of wood.

Our last stop of the day was at the picturesque Ti Tou Gorge, a natural crevice used as a film location for "Pirates of the Caribbean; Dead Man's Chest."  Here a few brave souls from our tour group decided to walk/swim up the gorge.  (Jan and I...not!)

Nautical Term of the Day -- Groggy

In 1740, British Admiral Vernon (whose nickname was "Old Grogram"  for the cloak of grogram which he wore) ordered that the sailors' daily ration of rum be diluted with water.  The men called the mixture "grog."  A sailor who drank too much grog was "groggy."