Dominica

The capital, Roseau. It takes only one cruise ship to overwhelm the place.

Middleham Falls.

Heliconia.

A land crab outside my cabin.

Sunset from the deck of my cabin, high in the hills above the Caribbean, near Sylvania.

Bout Sable Bay.

An inlet next to Glassé Point.

Looking south from Glassé Point, along the Atlantic Coast.

A typical roadside scene.

The Rosalie River pours out into Rosalie Bay.

On Dominica, this qualifies as an interstate highway. Most of the roads are very narrow, very twisty, very hilly, and loaded with potholes.

Did I mention that it rains a lot on Dominica?

Another squall coming in.

Seconds away from being drenched.

The northeast coast, near Calibishie.

Cannon at Fort Shirley protect Prince Rupert Bay, and the town of Portsmouth.

Well defended.

Portsmouth.

On the grounds of Fort Shirley.

A typical street scene near Trafalgar.

Soufriere Bay, along the southwest coast.

The village of Soufriere.

Hiking up the valley from Grand Fond.

Time to pull off the boots and wade.

The interior is dotted wtih rocky little streams tumbling down through the rain forest.

Looking north from Rivière Cyrique.

Bord de Mer, better known as Secret Beach, accessible only by a steep climb from the promontory above.

The narrow mouth of Secret Beach, which produces killer undertow.

Breakers, at least six feet tall, at the mouth of Secret Beach.

More breakers.

Secret Beach, with its soft black volcanic sand.

Freshwater Lake, high in the interior.

Freshwater Lake. It's often sunny along the coast, but almost socked in at the mountaintops in the center of the island.

A busy day at Freshwater Lake. That's my rented Suzuki Escudo in the lot, and I had the entire lake trail to myself.

View east from the Freshwater Lake trail, the Atlantic in the distance.

Rosalie Bay, seen from the Freshwater Lake trail.

Zooming in on Rosalie Bay.