Deciding where to go on vacation is always a challenge for us. We were looking to spend the holidays somewhere different with a bit of jungle and adventure involved. After wavering back and forth between Ecuador and Dominica, we finally settled on Dominica (even though Ecuador won the deciding coin toss). I think we made the right decision, it was an outstanding trip. We left home on Christmas Eve and came back to town on the 2nd of January.
Note: all of the locations described can be viewed on a 'pop-up' map. Click on the
map marker symbol to get a birds-eye view :
Getting to the Island takes longer than one would expect. There is only one
flight in and out of the US each day from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Melville
Hall airport.
Flights can only arrive during the day, since the runway doesn't have lights.
We left Austin at noon, drove to Houston, and flew to Miami. We stayed the night in Miami (at an absolutely
miserable Comfort Inn), and then flew to San Juan the next day. After a 3 hour layover, we were on our last
flight to the Island and landed around 3:30pm. This is the entire airport complex:
After landing, we went through immigration, collected our bags, and got through customs
with relative ease (since they are all in the same room). We met our driver, known to everyone only as
"Brother", for the ride to the resort/spa/jungle paradise called
Jungle Bay.
In the map, the gray-roofed building is the reception, yoga studio, and gift shop. The rest of the
resort is south of that building, but is very difficult to see due to the vegetation.
We arrived in the evening on Christmas Day, just in time for a nice dinner at the main reception area. Small World Encounter: After traveling over 3000 miles over 28 hrs, we sat down for dinner at a table with a couple that live about 4 miles from us in Austin. We didn't last long that first night, we ate dinner, stumbled off to our cottage and fell asleep almost immediately. It was dark when we arrived, so we would have to wait until morning to take it all in.
The first night, the sounds of the insects and ocean are nearly overwhelming. The Atlantic pounding on the rocks a short distance away sounds a bit like thunder or rain. The insects and birds almost seem to be screaming to each other in overlapping short bursts. After traveling for so long and barely sleeping the night before, we were able to ignore the sounds and drift off to sleep quickly.
day two: hit the ground runningThe next morning arrived, and we were up bright and early to see what was in store for us. It was quite a treat to be woken up by sunlight through a jungle canopy hitting your face as the sounds of the ocean surf a few hundred yards away mix with the birds and insects of the jungle.
We were determined to get the most adventure out of this vacation that we could. There seemed to be plenty of opportunities according to the website, but you really never know until you get there. Typically, when we travel, I prefer to stay away from tour groups and other organized activities, so I was a bit apprehensive about going on the excursions from the resort with a group and a guide, but that really turned out to be a non-issue. The guides were great, and the groups were small and most people were ready and able to really get into the spirit.
Our first excursion was called Ravine Cyrique. A short drive (which turned out to be a rarity, more on that later) took us to a trail head a couple of hundred meters off the road. We hiked up and down, mostly down, on a wide, well maintained trail, quickly getting into thick vegetation and heading towards the ocean. After a 15 min walk, we ran into the what would become typical of our experiences on Dominica.
A steep, nearly vertical drop in the path was ahead. The only way down were some hanging roots and a very well worn rope. We slowly made our way down the roots and ropes, and were greeted by another wall, even more difficult to get down. This pattern continued as we descended about 100m down the side of the island, using only roots, the occasional rope, and once, a highly unstable rope ladder. All, of course, without any safety equipment. All part of the adventure!
Was all of the work and danger in getting down the side of the island worth it? Absolutely, as we were greeted with what would be our first look at one of Dominica's black sand beaches. The sand was fine as powder and had a sparkle to it that had to be seen to be appreciated.
day three: day four: day five: day six: day seven: