Vakay parts III & IV

Our first port of call was St Thomas. We've been there several times, so we didn't "need" to tour the island. We considered taking the ferry over to St John, but decided to just wander around town instead. Charlotte Amalie is a sweet Caribbean town.

Charlotte Amalie as seen from the Destiny.

The open market in town - basically tourist goods.

Our 2nd port of call was Dominica. We had already been there twice, so we decided to do some things a little more off the beaten path. I hired a local guide per recommendations on my fave cruise board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/. Two gals from the cc board even joined Greg and I on our tour - fun ladies. :-)

Levi Baron of Bumpiing Tours http://www.bumpiingtours.com was GREAT! He was very informative, giving us so much info it was hard to think of questions to even ask. He wanted to make sure that we did what we wanted to do, not just shuffle along mindlessly. He was very helpful and concerned about making sure we didn't get hurt on the slippery paths. He seems to love his country and be very proud of it - and he sees the importance of balancing tourism with eco-needs. I would highly recommend Levi to anyone going to Dominica. Bumpiing Tours provides a lot of dif tour options, with something for just about everyone, all dif levels of activity.

Our first stop was Milton Falls. The hike wasn't far or strenuous, but it was still challenging and fun. The path was often dirt and tree roots, and it crossed the river numerous times.

People are no longer allowed to swim in the pool at the base of Milton Falls - people downriver use the water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc. Levi warned us of this before we started our tour, and we opted to continue as planned anyway. There is a TALL fence to keep people out. But that was ok; it is a beautiful waterfall, and the walk/hike there was pretty and peaceful.

We then headed to the Indian River for a rowboat ride. Talk about peaceful... wow, that was great!

We talked about the vegetation and wildlife, saw fish, crabs and birds.

And we saw a couple places where parts of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 were filmed - including the place above where the danger sign remains!

Next we went to Cabrits Nat'l Park and Fort Shirley, an 18th century British garrison. There were lovely views of the bay and the island as well as the interesting ruins.

As before, I loved our day. Dominica is definitely one of my fave Carib islands, if not top dog. It is rugged, lush, hilly, beautiful, with lots of trees and waterfalls. The natural beauty of the island is amazing.

It is a very poor country tho, with high unemployment. Many folks who were born there move to other Carib islands to obtain jobs, which is sad. Dominica is sitting on the sharp blade of that double-edged sword - they are trying to attract more tourists, yet in order to do so they are considering actions that will decrease the beauty of the island. I sincerely hope that the Dominican government takes steps to protect the environment and thus the natural beauty they are so fortunate to live with.