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| Top view of the island of Dominica |
In the morning of Friday, Jan. 13, we arrived to Dominica in
a very small plane. There are only two airports in the island. Interestingly, we were not allowed to take photos at the airport.
After a
45-minute drive on curvy, narrow roads and a few episodes of car sickness, we
finally made it to Springfield Guesthouse (a.k.a. Archbold Center). Upon arrival
we were greeted by the owner, Nancy, and one of the staff members, Mavlyn. At
the Springfield Center we felt close to nature as everything was lush and green
and the rooms were opened to the air because there were no window screens. Each bed had a
mosquito net hanging above it, which was weird at first to get used to but the nets eventually became cozy, like sleeping in a tent.
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| Our rooms at Springfield Guesthouse |
The first weekend was all about getting to know the island.
On the first day, we got to visit the river behind Springfield, which was
surprisingly cold. The islanders claim that there are 365 rivers in Dominica.
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| River behind Springfield |
On the second day, we went down to the market place in
Roseau, where we tried fresh coconut, bought souvenirs from local shops and
outside vendors, and visited the spice shop at Ruins Rock Cafe. We next headed to
Bubble Beach in Soufriere, which was a rocky beach. Finally we ended the day with
yoga, taught by "Jungle Bay" Nancy, back in Springfield.
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| Roseau market |
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| Ruins Rock Cafe |
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| Bubble Beach |
On the next day, Sunday,
we visited Mero Beach, which has black sand instead of rocks. We had local
drinks and food at the Romance Cafe. Here we met with Mark, who is in charge of
the Keep Walking Association (KWA), and Maureen, who kindly invited us to her
home to learn about local herbs and their use as bush medicine. After stopping at Maureen's place, we headed over to Mark's workshop, where we learned about howhe re-purposes prosthetics for amputees in the island and how the KWA was born. Overall, our
weekend experience was mesmerizing as we learned how kind and open the locals
are to visitors and how quickly we made new friends.
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