Bloxie and Kyle joined us in Iles des Saintes. They seem to be always in motion, so we planned for a change of pace! Despite snow in the northeast, they had a smooth trip down and caught a ferry down to the Saintes in time for a swim before dark.

On their first full day, they went off to explore the main island, Terre de Haut. The island has numerous beaches, all of them within walking distance of the town, and they visited several of them, as well as hiking up to le Chameaux, the tallest point on the island. Kyle hadn’t snorkeled before and we wondered how she’d enjoy it, but she is a competitive swimmer and took to it immediately! The next day we dinghied over to Ilet de Cabrit, which is a much quieter island, and explored the reef there.

We sailed down to Dominica in blustery weather. It’s only about 25 miles but can feel a lot further when the weather doesn’t cooperate! Once there, we cracked open the guidebooks and various apps to plan adventures for the next few days.

Jeremy had to leave in the morning for a quick trip back to Boston. Meanwhile Kyle and Bloxie set off to explore the Lamothe River and pools. This didn’t work out too well as their guide was more interested in giving them a nature tour and they didn’t get very far! However they came back with all sorts of fruits including some cocoa beans which are currently drying under our spray dodger (absolutely no idea what I do next). We salvaged the day by walking up to Douglas Bay and snorkeling off the reef which is just off the beach. This was probably some of the best snorkeling we had with them despite being so easy to get to. I saw a Queen Angel Fish, which I always think are rather special, and some creepy looking snake eels.

Next day we had our Boiling Lake adventure which I covered in a separate post. After that I was exhausted and needed a day off; however Bloxie and Kyle decided to tackle Morne Diablotins, the tallest mountain in Dominica. I’m glad I skipped it, as the last portion of it sounds brutal – the guidebook describes it as “a lengthy climb through tree branches and roots that require upper- as well as lower-body strength”. Apparently this is why we use the term “jungle-gym”! They then hiked all the way home via part of the Waitakubuli National Trail, which goes from one end of the island to the other. Meanwhile Jeremy returned from a smooth trip to the US (in spite of wintery conditions).

The following day we dropped Bloxie and Kyle at the bus stop in Portsmouth around 6:30 a.m. to go to Rousseau. By this point we were getting into a routine of early starts, late pick-ups and substantial dinners! They had contacted a local woman who does Canyoning trips. It sounds like this was a big success; however since it involves a lot of water there are no photos. Meanwhile I visited the fruit and veg market in Portsmouth – I’ve found that the produce I get there is better than anything else available in the Caribbean and keeps well too. The local ladies sold me delicious tiny bananas, “seasoning peppers”, endless mangoes, and tree spinach.

On any vacation in the Caribbean there is likely to be a rainy day, and that’s what we had the next morning. I had arranged an afternoon snorkeling trip with Andrew, one of the local guides, and we convinced ourselves that the weather was clearing enough to go. Andrew took us in his boat to the south end of the bay, where I hadn’t been before, near a fancy resort called Secret Bay. It poured with rain while we were in the water, which didn’t really matter but was an odd sensation. Bloxie was excited to see an octopus!

After we got back, the sun was coming out, and Bloxie and Kyle had read about one more hike nearby that they wanted to do. I joined them to walk up to Fau Valley Canyon. This was a pleasant walk, and led a canyon with two short scrambles up to a cave where a stream tumbled over the cliff from (I’m guessing) 200 feet above. I wasn’t brave enough for the second scramble (old knees!) so had to peer up to see the view. I was pleased to get a glimpse of what they’d been doing earlier in the trip.

On our final day in Dominica, we rented a car and explored the north-west part of the island. We drove through the crater of Morne aux Diablos – could this be the only drive-through volcano in the Caribbean? Then on to Batibou Beach, which is a short hike down to one of our favorite beaches. Driving on, we had numerous stops to admire the stunning coastline and the waves battering the beaches. After a quick stop in Calibishie for lunch we had time to visit a chocolate factory and the stunning Red Rocks before driving down to the airport. We were sorry to say goodbye to Bloxie and Kyle but glad they’d had some great adventures.

We had one more adventure of our own as the following day was forecast to be the least bad in a stretch of strong trade winds, and we wanted to get back south to Martinique. We had a tough passage with wind on the nose, rain squalls, seas up to 12 feet and a gust as high as 40 knots. However we knew the boat could take it and we made it down to Grande Anse d’Arlet with no issues. Having done several trips back and forth over the past couple of months we are now heading steadily south.