{"id":3654,"date":"2025-11-26T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backeman.se\/?p=3654"},"modified":"2025-11-27T02:29:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T02:29:01","slug":"dominica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backeman.se\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/dominica\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wait what?!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Even more?!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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 \ud83d\ude42 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First up was the Emerald Pool<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n