Today I tried room service to not have to queue in the buffet since I had a time to adhere to, 8 o’clock in the main theatre for the excursion. I had the alarm at 7, and had booked the time slot 7-7:30, so just before seven the phone rang, and they gave me a few minutes’ heads up, breakfast inbound! A cautious knock on the door, and there a woman stood and handed over a tray. I guess it’s even nicer if you have a balcony to eat it on. Anyway, it saved me some time and was sufficient.
A few minutes before 8, I walked into the Coral Theatre and was told to go to the front, to the stage, to check in. There, I showed my ticket and got a sticker, number 30. Then back up on the other side and take a seat in the row marked with the same number. I counted about ten different numbers/groups.
After a bit of information (“Double- and triple-check that all in your party have your SeaPass with you!”), we were guided off the boat one group at a time, and got onto buses, got a guide, and then we took off! I was in the back with a family of four, and we kept each other company during the bus rides. When we got off the ship, it had started to rain, very lightly. First time during this trip, I think. But still warm in the air, so it wasn’t a problem.
At 8:35, we left the docks and were on our way. Our guide told us a bunch of stuff during the rides; a couple of things stood out. First that Dominica has nine active volcanoes! The other was the quote “Driving on Dominica is an adventure”, and I couldn’t agree more. Quite a lot of traffic downtown, but still organized, then we got up in the mountains. Small roads. Fences are at roughly 20% of the road, even with a 10-meter slope just outside the asphalt. Small cars, buses, and large trucks meet, at fairly high speed, even in tight turns.
The guide said they noticed when there was a tourist driving, and I understand why. I would have much more self-preservation. Some parts of the bus ride took me back to Universal Studios and a couple of the rollercoasters, and not the fun parts 🙂 One part was so bumpy that the guide said she would be quiet since we shouldn’t be able to hear her. During this part, the pregnant mom in the family next to me stood/squatted because the bumpy ride didn’t feel great.
First up was the Emerald Pool, up in the mountains, rumored to be a fountain of youth. Since I turned 40 this summer (which is the motivation for this trip), it’s time to start looking into such options. At the parking lot, there were some facilities, like a kiosk, restrooms, and a ticket office. A man in uniform, I don’t know if he was police (Dominica doesn’t have any armed forces), collected the tickets, and then we walked on a nice path a few steps up and down, across a bridge, all while engulfed in vegetation, and then got to the pool.
Very beautiful, and I went down right away, took off my t-shirt and shoes, and got in. I would describe it as not warm, but not cold. No issue staying in the water. I took a bunch of pictures, but probably broke my remote for the camera 🙁 Research afterwards says that the camera is waterproof, but the remote is not.
Got dressed again and took one last look from the platform, when I heard some Swedish, they were discussing if they should get a picture together, so I offered, in Swedish, to help them out. First, they were shocked, then happy. We concluded that we were both on the same ship, but in different groups (there were groups from at least two different cruise ships on site). We helped each other out, then went our separate ways.
When I got back to the parking lot, I went through the small shops that were there and found myself a mug made of coconut, and they took credit cards. Nice to have it done already! We got on the bus again and left at 10:15. We went back all the way to the ship, or rather, passed it. The guide didn’t seem to be the most organized. Before we left the parking lot, she asked if anyone was missing anyone. A terrible question for us traveling alone. I don’t think we forgot anyone, at least. Also, when she spoke with the driver, she didn’t turn off her microphone, so we could hear half the conversation.
We drove through the Botanical Garden. Not that many flowers, but some peculiar trees and bushes.
We got to Morne Bruce Viewpoint to get some nice pictures of Roseau from above.
Then off to another pitstop, where we were offered a complimentary drink. On the other hand, access to the restroom costs $2. It keeps raining back and forth, sometimes quite heavily.
At 12:00, we arrived at the other major attraction, Trafalgar Falls. Shorter walk this time, but steeper and just uphill with some tricky steps. Took a bunch of pictures and was quite amazed by what nature created.
On the way back to the bus, I met a couple that belonged to our bus, heading towards the falls. I guess they got stuck in the queue to the restroom. We had to wait for them for a bit. Anyhow, after 45 minutes, we left the parking lot and headed back to the ship. It took almost half an hour to get back.
A nice thing with these facilities at the pools and falls was that the tourism ministry had free wifi, at least for 15 minutes per session, which didn’t matter because I never stopped longer than that at each site. The bus ride was fascinating and a bit scary, but our driver did a great job and took us unscathed to all the places.
When we got back to the ship, I thought of going into town, but I didn’t really want to negotiate a cab fare; I was short on cash and quite tired. Didn’t really know where to go either. So I dropped off my stuff in the cabin and then went for lunch in Windjammer and read some instead. Bumped into the Swedish couple from the pool again. Got back to the cabin again and took a power nap, or several actually. Even though it hadn’t been so warm, much of the time spent inside a bus with AC, and I hadn’t walked that much, I was quite tired. I also took some time to do some research on what to do in Bridgetown, Barbados, tomorrow.
Just took it easy until it was time for dinner. A long, nice shower, and then I went back to Windjammer. Much calmer than during breakfast. I guess there aren’t as many options in the morning, and we mostly eat at the same time. Some food, drinks, and dessert, and a book on a tablet. Quite nice!
Went back to the cabin to get my laptop and then sat down in the centrum column listening to live music while doing today’s post. Across the open space, they set up a TV camera, and a guy in a hat recorded something. I walked by later and asked, and it was for the morning show. I wonder if that is shown on the TV. I haven’t turned it on since the first day.
Moved into the Coral Theatre to watch Manuel Zuniga, a comedian and juggler. Pretty funny and a rather impressive juggler, as far as I can judge.
Went on to the Zanzibar Lounge, where it would be “Solo Travelers Get Together”, but as previously in the week, I couldn’t find anyone else showing up for this. Finished the blog post and then went to bed.
