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| Amsterdam docked in Roseau |
Some ports of call are more suited to taking tours, or getting out of town. Others are better to stick around and see the local sites. This port, we feel, is better for touring to the interior of the island, or snorkeling. To put it gently, out of the three islands we have visited so far in the Caribbean, this one is not in the best shape for roving tourists.
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Ship is too long
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Our window garden
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The Amsterdam sailed into the harbor early this morning. It was already hot by 9am, and it sure was not breezy like yesterday's port of St. Lucia. The city of Roseau is the capital of the island, and from what we can see of the neighboring villages, it is the largest city. Originally established by the French in the 16th century, although it was taken over by the British 200 years later. The colonial buildings in town reflect both occupations of the past.
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The boardwalk from the ship to town
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Local steel drum player
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Nice walkway
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More local musicians
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Longnose fish
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We saw the most prominent of these buildings as we left the ship and started walking uphill. Choosing not to take a tour, since we were here just two years ago, we opted to check out the town instead. We passed by the Methodist Church and the Roseau Cathedral. Both were closed to the public today.
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| One of several churches |
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| Roseau Cathedral |
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Cathedral
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Further up the same narrow street, we passed by the Bishop House, also closed. Following the map from our room, we located the Botanic Gardens, a 40 acre hillside garden full of mature palms, tropical flowers, and a breadfruit tree.
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| The Botanic Gardens |
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40 acre garden
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| Many mature trees |
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| Several palms |
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| Manicured greens |
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| Local dove |
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Wisteria
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| Gazebo |
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Garden house
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One of the highlights there is a cage that contained four rare Amazon parrots called Jaco and Sisserou. Similar to the birds we have seen in the Amazon, these are unique to this island. There is even a facility where they hatch and raise the chicks.
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| The rare Dominica parrot, Jaco |
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Here they are
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Parrot breeding facility in the gardens
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One memorable site in this garden is a crushed school bus under a huge limb of a baobab tree. Back in 1979, a hurricane caused this limb to fall on the empty school bus. Oddly enough, the tree survived, but the bus was history.
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In 1979, a hurricane caused the baobab limb to fall on the empty bus
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| The famous crushed bus |
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Unlucky bus
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Leaving the bus under the tree, it was a reminder to all the power of a hurricane. And oh yeah, be careful what kind of tree you park under.
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| Half of a banyan tree |
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| Could be a bittern |
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| Or a green heron? |
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| Good spot to cool off |
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| Bill and the banyan tree |
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| Sparrow |
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| Different palms |
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Bouganvilla
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Running into some friends, we asked where they had walked. They pointed to a trail that led to a flight of steep steps leading to a trail that would eventually have a view of Trafalgar Falls in the distance. With no railings, we chose not to walk the path. We have seen these falls up close two years ago, when we took a tour that took us to the top with a 20 minute hike on wet trails and stairs.
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| Mountain chickens are really frogs |
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| Jack's walk trail....this way |
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| Or maybe not....don't have time |
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| Exotic palm |
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| Great place to relax |
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| We grow palms like this at home |
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| Park building |
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| Tree blooms |
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| Coca Cola is everywhere |
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Large palm
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| The cross marks the spot |
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| Local bakery |
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| Very happy kitty who we fed beef jerky |
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Flowering vines
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Continuing on, we strolled downhill and towards the new stadium built on the hillside near the Botanic Garden. Passing the stadium, we made our way to the river that runs through the town.
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Very big stadium in the center of town
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Hard to believe that there are 365 rivers on this small island.
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| One of 365 rivers of Dominica |
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| Very cool |
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| Looks nice and lush |
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Not necessarily clean however
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Flowing creek
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We can not describe this area as really nice. The busy streets are quite narrow, and covered with cobblestones, making walking difficult even with the right shoes.
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| Side streets |
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| Balconies are common here |
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| Church spire |
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Very narrow streets of Roseau
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Looking down all the streets, we noticed most of the buildings were in bad shape. Literally held together with corregated metal and pieces of plywood. From a distance, the town looked colorful, but close-up, it was a different story.
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| Hot dog |
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| Stick figures |
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| Street art |
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| Clever |
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| The fire station |
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| Nice balcony, except for the wires |
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Pastel colors are popular
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We're guessing that not a whole lot of cruise ships come here, because that usually brings a lot of tourist dollars with it. In time, the businesses that cater to these tourists become nicer, more inviting. Today, we could not find a good place for lunch or even a beer.
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| Small side streets |
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| Portal over the town's main street |
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| Small businesses |
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| Shops under homes |
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| Typical street |
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| Clever house painting |
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| Shingled siding is not good here |
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| A barber shop |
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| Colonial colors |
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| A business |
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| More cars than people |
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| Decorative balconies |
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Good place to watch street traffic
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Every one is different
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Walking the waterfront, we strolled past the souvenier stands under umbrellas. They were selling the usual trinkets we have seen in all the ports so far. One item caught our eye. It was a ceramic tomato with a small knife, and six forks in it. It will be perfect for small snacks and cutting limes or lemons. At least we found something for a small memento of Dominica.
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| Need a hat? |
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| More souveniers |
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| Nice bag |
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| A bar, but no photos please ! |
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| Another useful cat |
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A deli
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| Several stalls selling stuff |
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| Clothes, jewelry and dolls |
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More shops
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One of many stands
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One thing we noticed was that there were absolutely no highend shops here. You know, the jewelry stores you see in most of the Caribbean ports. No duty-free shopping here. Our first clue to this, was that we did not receive the map with these stores marked on it. Just as well, since we never go in them anyway, except to cool off in their air-conditioning.
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Old Stone Grill & Bar
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A lone pelican
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All aboard was at 4:30pm. We came back around 2pm, and immediately ordered room service lunch. The cheeseburgers you get through room service are even better than the ones in the Dive In grill on deck eight. Maybe that is because the patties are grilled and not fried. And you can have potato chips or potato salad with the burgers. The wait time for the food is never any longer than 30 minutes.
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| Ship docked |
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| Boardwalk to ship |
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| Cruise terminal |
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Now that sounds good......rum
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Sail away came after 5:30pm, a bit later than planned.
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Sailaway party
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Apparently, someone had a medical emergency and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. No one we knew had any clue as to who it was that was taken off. We hate to see this happen, and we are certain the people involved never saw it coming. And they were so close to being back in Ft. Lauderdale in a few days from now.
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| This could be a hospital, if memory serves right |
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| The pier where we docked two years ago |
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| The guys that drop the ropes |
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| Dropping the ropes |
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| Last rope to go |
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| A bubble.......one of many |
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| Steeple of the church |
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| Nice sailboat |
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| Only in Dominica........ |
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| The dock in Roseau |
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| Leaving the island |
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| This island gets a lot of rain |
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| Very green hillsides |
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| Volcanic |
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| Outcropping |
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| Looks like rain is coming |
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| Hillside homes |
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| Another pier |
We had unexpected company at dinner tonight...Ellen and Aart. They seemed to have a really good time, as we all did. Maureen did her usual Q&A with trivia questions, and stumped most all of us with the questions she thought were easy. Since many of the subjects were way out there, we answered with silly stuff, keeping everyone laughing through dessert time. We were sorry to see dinner end, except some wanted to attend the Casa Blanca Steel Orchestra show in the Queens Lounge at 10pm.
Tomorrow's port will be Philipsburg, St. Maarten, and the final port of this world cruise. We have not been there for 20 years, so it will be like discovering it like a new port for us. Only three days left now, and the folks will be going home.
PS Pearliemae, yes, it sounds like we were on the last world cruise on the Seabourn Sun in 2001 together. We do remember Trevor well, but must have missed that highwire act. Wow. What a trip.
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The setting sun
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