Jeanne here;
It's a beautiful Sunday morning in Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica. The seaside portion of the town of Portsmouth is a thin strip of land lined with shacks made of anything available and the occasional nicer home made of concrete. Framing the shore is a backdrop of lush mountains, the source of the thriving eco-tourism sector. Near us is Big Papa's Restaurant and a couple of other restaurants and bars. The only other notable structures are the numerous boat wrecks dotting the shore and left where they
landed, from the hurricanes that have passed through.
Our tour guide Andrew told us the worst was hurricane David in 1979. He said it came over the hills and from the water and stripped every coconut, banana and leaf off every tree over which it passed. Andrew is a "card carrying" tour guide and is our chosen guy so all the other boat guys stay away. Shortly after arriving Andrew took Doug and I on a tour of the Indian River. The entrance of the river had been blocked by a wrecked tanker which was pulled aside far enough so the river could still be
navigated, but barely. The tour guides are forbidden to use their outboards and must row. It makes for a very serene ride, except for the musical tone of Andrew's cell phone going off all the time.
Once past the eye sore of the tanker we were rewarded with a glimpse of a true rain forest. Huge banyan trees, mangroves and strange gnarled root formations lined the banks and hanging tarzan ropes just as I would have imagined. We stopped in the middle of the forest at a grass hut bar where kind of scary looking local farmer wanted to show us his sugarcane field and gave us a sample to chew on.
Saturday's round the island tour, however, was the highlight of our trip so far. Andrew picked us up early at the boat and delivered us to a waiting tour bus driver, Winston. Two Swedish couples that Andrew had found, helped fill up the bus and keep the price down (30 US per person). Together we had a wonderful day traveling across the Northern end of the island on impossibly winding roads. We frequently piled out of the bus to take in scenic views such as black sand beaches. We passed many incomplete
construction projects. The Hotel Dominique, Winston told us, was started by two Canadians but the main financier died, and so did the project. It looked like a magnificent hotel, very near completion, but built on the side of a cliff in a remote area. Another abandoned hotel construction site, Winston said, folded when millions of dollars from Dominica were mysteriously stolen. So there are some problems there.
At one point Winston said we had to get out and walk because there was road construction. We had no idea where we were going. We trudged down this narrow path and Winston suddenly says "pick a leaf, any leaf". We obediently comply after he insists a few more times. "now break the leaf and smell it". We do, and some of us smell nothing and some have a very fragrant leaf. Those turned out to be bay leaves. We continue down the path which is narrow and overhung with foliage. The footing is slippery
with wet leaves. We can hear waves crashing nearby. 
Suddenly we break out of the dark onto an incredible scene. It is a red delta of solid packed mud with deep crevices about fifty feet deep. There was a path going down into one of the crevices and what appeared to be a door carved into the crevice through which you could walk through and come out in another spot. Some of the braver ones went down and walked through.
As a group we stopped for lunch and got to know each other a little better. 
We stopped at a National Park and hiked into the Emerald Lake and waterfall. Again this was an incredible lush rain forest forming a canopy over the pool at the foot of the falls. As we returned to Portsmouth we passed by the Scott Medical School which Winston said has over 1,000 students from all over. We saw an abundance of residences built for the students and many stores and restaurants such as the Hong Kong restaurant,
and even a KFC to serve their needs. I would love to come back here again in a few years and see how the more positive developments here pan out.
Tonight, we're off to a beach BBQ which raises money for the Boat Boys to help with security for us in the bays. The cost is 50 EC per person approximately 20 dollars US. It includes food as well as unlimited rum punch...not a wise move on their part with a boat of Canadians about to visit!
Doug here: Hi to my daughters back in New Brunswick, caring for our cats and looking after business in the cold!
