Friday, December 20, 2024

With Family in Dominica

With Family in Dominica

Tuesday 17th - Thursday 19th December 2024


Douglas-Charles airport is not exactly like Heathrow. As I approached the airport in my rental car I drove round the eastern end of the runway where spray was breaking over the seawall. I left the car in a small parking lot surrounded by vibrant shrubs and wandered a hundred yards along a sidewalk adjacent to a river to reach the terminal building, where I was informed I should wait outside. Tasha, Mac and Mac’s parents, Don and Dolly, emerged into the bright sunshine less than 30 minutes after their scheduled arrival time. It was great to see them! However, Tasha and Mac’s checked bag did not arrive - it was still back in Miami (which apparently shares some similarity with Heathrow). More of a concern was the fact that Mac felt lousy. We filed the baggage claim paperwork and headed back to Portsmouth.


Whilst in Dominica, our visitors are staying at the Picard Beach Cottages on the south side of Portsmouth. The cottages are lovely, in a fantastic wooded location right on the beach, with an unrestricted view of the ocean and the sunset. By Wednesday morning Mac was feeling a little better, but Tasha had come down with a migraine and gastric upset, so the two of them stayed at home recovering for the first day. Don, Dolly, Gloria and I went up to the beautiful Syndicate falls and had a walk and a picnic. Mac joined us aboard Cotinga for dinner in the evening - Yellowfin tuna in a coconut, ginger and lemongrass sauce with sweet potato. 


By Thursday morning, all family members were on the mend, if not completely back to full strength. We headed south in our two hire cars and spent the day visiting Salton, Emerald and Jacko Falls, all of which are impressive in different ways. It has been surprisingly wet the past three days with relentless heavy showers. Salton Falls was particularly atmospheric with spray everywhere and torrential rain! Tasha was brave and swam in the pool below the upper falls, but I think the rest of us felt we got just as wet standing in the vicinity. We were all excited to see Red-necked (Jacko) parrots near Emerald Pool and Jacko Falls. We may have seen a couple of the larger Imperial (Sisserou) parrots the day before, but they were too far away to be certain.


We have two more days left in Dominica before we all board Cotinga and head north to Les Saintes off the south coast of Guadeloupe.


Mike



Mac and Tasha sitting on a rock in the pool below Jacko Falls. This beautiful photo was taken by Dolly Woolley on her Samsung phone.


Syndicate Falls


Dolly in the pool below Syndicate Falls


Tasha and Mac by the lower of the Salton falls 


Lower Salton Falls


Brown Trembler in the picnic area at Emerald Pool


Emerald Pool in wet and overcast conditions - still beautiful and atmospheric


Mac, Tasha, Gloria and Dolly at an overlook near Emerald Pool

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