Above: One of the many waterfalls in Dominica, Trafalgar Falls.
Dominica is an island nation with an estimated population of 72,500 and a size of 290 square miles. Nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty, it is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest boiling lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species.
Above: A flower at Dominica's Botanical Gardens.
Our ship docked at the capital, Rosseau, a small and compact urban settlement, located within the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and Morne Bruce.
Above: Downtown Rosseau.
Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week on which he spotted it, a Sunday, November 3, 1493. In the hundred years after Columbus's landing, Dominica remained isolated, and even more Caribs settled there after being driven from surrounding islands as European powers entered the region.
Above: Houses in Rosseau. Dominica is the second poorest country in the Caribbean, after Haiti.
France formally ceded possession of Dominica to the United Kingdom in 1763. The United Kingdom then set up a government and made the island a colony in 1805. In 1978, Dominica became an independent nation.
Above: A panorama of downtown Rosseau.
During my tour of Dominica, we visited some waterfalls including Trafalgar falls (see picture above). We also saw the Emerald Falls which is famed for its sparkling water! The island boasts 365 rivers and is very mountainous.
Above: Emerald Falls.
Dominica is especially vulnerable to hurricanes. At the botanical gardens a school bus has been left in its crushed state, caused by a hurricane decades ago:
Scenes from the second Pirates of the Caribbean film ('Dead Man's Chest') were shot in Dominica. There was anger in the region upon the film's release as the local Caribs were portrayed as savage cannibals in the movie. The Caribs are the native group from which the Caribbean takes its name and Dominica is one of the last places that a Carib population can be found in the world.
Above: A view of the Atlantic coast, where much of the second Pirates movie was shot.
I'll leave you today with a curious shot of a tree crab, one of many exotic animals that can be found in Dominica!
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