post

Dominica

Dec 12, 2018 – Cabrits, Dominica

2018 Caribbean Sail Cruise

I have breakfast with two women who are travel friends, and arrange to go ashore with them to look around Cabrits. We are on the first tender just before Noon. As it turns out, we are in a National Park, which charges US$5 each for admission to the trails and facilities, however none of us are interested in hiking in the tropical heat.

We talk to a couple of taxi drivers who approach us, and eventually retain Patrickson Wallace. Our original plan was to wander around the nearby small town, but there really isn’t much there. He offers to take us on a short tour for a reasonable fare in US$, which we agree to, providing he returns us to the tender dock by 4PM at the latest. We drive north across the island through the tropical rainforest, passing through many small communities and the Indian River, one of 365 rivers on Dominica. There is damage from Hurricane Maria apparent everywhere, even inland.

The north coast of Dominica is particularly beautiful, so we stop at viewpoints along the way before arriving at Pointe Baptiste Estate chocolate factory in Calibishie. This quaint establishment is off the beaten path, but it turns out to be a treasure for the three of us, who appreciate the tour given by a Dominican woman.

She shows us the cocoa fruit, how they ferment and air dry the cocoa beans, grind and combine the cocoa with the other ingredients, and finally make the result into chocolate bars. Each of us buy two chocolate bars of various flavours and give the woman a small tip as well.

Patrickson drives us back along the same scenic route. It turns out to be a very nice tour which we all enjoy, and we are back at the tender dock by about 3:30PM. We pay him the agreed-to fare and also give him a tip for his “building fund” for house repairs, as we say our goodbyes.

Patrickson Wallace – email
Live Edge Tours and Taxi, 1519 Pembroke St., Portsmouth, Dominica
+1 (767) 235-5346 or +1 (767) 445-5346

Once I’m back on board the ship and get cleaned up, I take my MacBook Pro up to the Tropical Bar and have a beer as I work on my photos and journal. For the first time on this cruise, I take advantage of the afternoon snack served at 5PM in the Tropical Bar, since I had no lunch today. Despite normally ordering cappuccinos, today I finish off with two cups of brewed coffee, which tastes pretty good too!