Dominica by Donna Aliment

Returned from Dominica just over a month ago, and finally have time to post a report. We spent two weeks on Dominica, doing all our diving with Nature Island Dive, and staying at their cottages. The dive shop staff were all great, they are a wonderful group of people, and we had 22 fantastic dives. Most number of people ever on the dive boat were 8- though that was only once, and there were many dives where it was just the two of us and the divemaster. We dropped off our dive gear when we arrived, and never had to worry about it for the next two weeks. I would highly recommend Nature Island Dive, and will definately dive with them when we can get back to Dominica. The cottages were great- we had the upper unit. The cottage is right at the waters edge, and we'd sit on our deck looking out across the water and watch the sunset every evening- beautiful and relaxing. We had ordered the food starter kit from the dive shop, so there was plenty of food in the kitchen when we got there- including lots of fruit, vegetables, crackers, cheese, pasta, eggs, and some seasoned chicken. We usually ate breakfast and lunch at the cottage, but would go out for dinner. Two wonderful restaurants, the Seabird Cafe, just across the street fom the cottage, and the Forest Bistro, up the hill about a 30 minute walk from the cottage. Both had great food, and wonderful folks who own them. Though we ate at several other great restaurants also.

For the diving- it was absolutely fantastic. Water temps were in the low 80's, and the visibility was generally 80+ feet, though on our last day, viz was only 60+ feet, but still great dives. We did several sites more than once, partly from request, and partly due to weather. Our favorite sites were Scotts Head Drop off, and Scotts Head Pinnacle, though the Suburbs on the Atlantic side was pretty awesome, as was L'Abym and Mountain Top. Actually, they were all great, but those sites had to be our favorite. We saw more species of sea life than I could have possibly imagined. On every dive we saw brown and blue chromis, bicolor damselfish, longsnout butterfly fish, black bar soldierfish, creole wrasse, morey eels, fairy basslet, blueheads, rock beautys, sargent majors, sharpnose puffers, yellowtail damselfish, trunkfish, goatfish, and I'm sure many more that I didn't get written down. We also saw frequently, Parrot fish, spotted drums, balloon fish, white spotted file fish, southern sennet, gold spotted eels, peacock flounders, lots of scorpion fish, honeycomb cowfish, black durgeon, french angelfish, porcupine fish, boga, grouper, jacks, snapper, both Caribbean spiny lobster and spotted spiny lobster, red banded lobster, spanish lobster, pederson cleaning shrimp, spotted cleaner shrimp, squat anemone shrimp, banded coral shrimp, dark mantis shrimp, mysid shrimp, banded clinging crab, arrow crab, channel clinging crab, lettuce sea slugs, along with a five foot barracuda, several sting ray, several sea horse, a turtle, a lesser electric ray, a queen triggerfish-which according to the dive master is rare to see there-, two squid and a venus girdle. On one night dive, we saw five Caribbean reef octopus out on the reef, and one during a day dive that we surprised out in the open. Besides all the different corals, sponges, anemones, sea cucumbers, worms, urchins, zoanthids, corallimorphs, etc. Anyway, it was all wonderful, with the diving far beyond my expectations.

The weather was great for the most part. Temps in the mid to uppper 80's. We did get rain pretty much constantly our first three days, but after that it was mostly sunny. Lots to do above water. We did several of the hikes, all wonderful. Several more we need to do next time we go back. The World Creole Music festival took place while we were there. We didn't go to the first two nights. It was suppose to start at 8:30 pm and go until around 8:00 am, and we were diving those days. But we did go the third and last night, which was our last night on the island. The festival didn't get started until after 10:00pm, though music was playing on stereo while they continued to set up. Bands from all over came for the three day festival- we saw a band from Haiti, and two from Dominica. There were also bands from Louisiana, Africa, and several other Caribbean Islands. It was a great evening, and I'd like to go back again during the festival and attend more than just one night. I felt really fortunate that the festival occured during our trip. I hadn't found out about it until after I had booked everything. I heard every hotel room around Roseau was booked up with people coming from all over the Caribbean for the festival.

It was an incredible two weeks, and we will go back again! Thanks to Doc for recommending the island over St. Lucia, and thanks to Michelle for her suggestions. I highly recommend Dominica and Nature Island Dive. One last thought, as all dive sites were between 2 and 10 minutes from the dock, we would spend the surface intervals back at the shop. It was great getting to know the staff, as well as other divers. Other dive boats we've been on, there never was as much opportunity to talk to the divemasters, and I really enjoyed that about Nature Island Dive.

Donna A.