The Sea Cloud sailed into Prince Rupert Bay off the Island of Dominica and docked at precisely 7 a.m. as scheduled. The sky was a very pale blue and the cloud cover looked as if white tissue were torn and scattered by the wind across the heavens. Prince Rupert Bay is three miles wide where it meets the sea, and at the head of the bay is the sleepy hamlet of Portsmouth with a population of some 5,000.
Dominica is called the “nature island” as it is still largely unspoiled. It has no airport that can receive jet traffic, no bright white sandy beaches, nor major tourist hotels. What it does have is a tropical forest largely unspoiled and a population living by subsistence agriculture and some tourism. It is said that the flora and fauna are so well-preserved that if Christopher Columbus were to return here he would recognize it. Columbus gave the island its name. He sailed by the island on his second voyage on a Sunday, hence the name, “dies Dominus,” which is Latin for “today Dominica.”
Departing Cabritz Point at 8:15 a.m. we headed in mini-vans for Syndics National Park and the lush rain forest, home to many species of birds. The rain forest we visited is half way up the 4,500-feet Morne Diaboltin. Our guides greeted us. They are all trained in the flora and fauna of the island and many have developed great skill in calling birds. I have seen our guide Honoré actually call birds to him, his mimicking of their songs is so skilled. I personally did not see the very elusive and shy endemic parrot of Dominica called the sisserou, but others in our group were more fortunate. I did see many wonderful things, including a small lizard called the zandolin. We saw the male of the species, which has throat tissue that turns bright orange during the mating season.
During our lunch aboard Sea Cloud we were fortunate to have a lecture from Dr. Lennox Honeychurch, a native of Dominica whose family has been here for generations. Lennox introduced to us the history of Fort Shirley, which he has worked to restore for the last 30 years. Fort Shirley is named after the Governor of the Island William Shirley, who initiated the construction of the fort in 1774. The fort has an interesting historical link with the U.S. The American architect Peter Harrison, a friend of the last Governor General of Massachusetts (the father of the William Shirley on Dominica) was invited to the island to design and oversee the building of the Commandant’s house. The grand two-story Georgian structure has now gone to rack and ruin due to the ravages of ficus trees seeking the lime in the mortar.
After our visit to the fort, we trooped back down the hill and a good many of us took advantage of the very good snorkeling at the base of the pier. Alberto and Kenny were in the water providing expert guidance and helping to identify the many coral and fish that abound in these waters.
Dinner was served tonight on the lido deck, one of my favorite places to eat on the ship. I always love our visits to this beautiful island. The people are so gracious and considerate and they have preserved their green oasis in the azure sea.
Tomorrow, we will visit the “Saints” part of the Department of Guadeloupe, a dependency of France, which has much the same relationship to France that Hawaii has to the U.S. Now off to bed.
