A Day with Martin Carriere

We called Martin Carriere "Providence" (carriere@hotmail.com, cell 767-245-2700, home 767-445-3008 or call him on VHF 16) as soon as we arrived to book a trip with him. He's featured promently in Chris Doyle's Guide to the Leeward Islands and we had a wonderful day with him last time we were in Dominica. That time we did the Indian River in the early morning and then switched to his van for a trip across the island and down the east coast. We saw the cold sulpher springs, the red rocks by the crashing sea and had a great swim between a river and a beach.



But our favorite part of being with Martin is learning about all the plants and birds that abound here. You're always munching or smelling something with Martin. The variety of herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables that grow everywhere is amazing!
Heather and Don of "Asseance" and Smitty, "The Mighty Yachtee", joined us for the trip. We stopped at the Saturday Market in Portsmouth first and then drove north on the west coast past the Medical School complex and Rollo Head. Then we turned inland and went straight up into the mountains with lovely views behind us over the sea. An artisan had set up shop at a viewing spot and was creating his bead and ceremic pieces. The beaded curtains were really lovely and we wished we had more room on the boat to purchase some.

Our destination was a beautiful waterfall at the end of a trail that meandered through a working farm and then along and through a small stream. All along the way we learned about the way of life here both of the people, the wildlife and the plants. Need a snack? Martin picked up grapefruit from the ground, peeled it and cut it up for us - sweet and juicy. How about some coconut milk? His machete is always with him.


The path was easy but crossing the streams was difficult if you didn't have waterproof shoes. Those who did helped those who didn't. The waterfall itself was very impressive but it now enclosed in a chain link fence to prevent people from swimming there. It is presently the water source for a downstream village. Martin told us this is being changed and the pool may be available in the future. Meanwhile our next destination was to a nearby river and a deep pool to swim in.

It was a fun day as always. The nicest part is being with Martin! He's a knowledgeable guide and has an engaging personality. We look forward to our next visit.

On to Dominica!

This is our second visit to Dominica and we remember the previous one very fondly. After the water parched islands we've been in recently this is a treat to the eye and nose - so green! The profile is much like St. Vincent's with steep mountains and valleys everywhere, but without the security concerns. Of course it's still important to "lift and lock" (your dinghy) at night, but there is a night watch run by the local guides and we didn't feel the need to lock ourselves in.

The town of Portsmouth isn't terribly prosperous but people generally have a lot of pride in their homes and however small, they are well kept. Flowers are in everyone's yard and people look happy and well fed. North of town is the large medical school

with over 1200 students. This is a much more developed area but still low key compared to most other islands. There are no huge hotels or resorts on Dominica although plenty of charming small ones. The beaches are lovely but not white. The unspoiled interior is a highlight here - many waterfalls, including a hot one and a boiling lake, sulfur springs and lots of trail for exploring.
Walking leisurely through the small town there is lots to see. Many of the homes have individual touches or are all out unusual. See the photo above of the pink shell
incrusted home! The small shack below it is so different but just as neat and obviously loved. Notice the pair of shoes sitting quietly on the steps!
The detail of another home shows the more restrained use of shells for design. The white tent visable in the trees is part of an elaborate tree house right on the beach whose owner is an artist.

There is some excellent diving here and we happily organized a two tank dive with Cabrits Dive Center for Sunday. Our first dive was off Toucari Point and included a swim through a narrow cave with two entrances. I was really nervous about this as I suffer from occasional claustrophobia. So I got right behind the dive master and followed him in quickly before I could think about it too much. As he had promised, once in I could see light up ahead and that really helped, because it was a tight fit.

The coral and rock formations were really beautiful on both dives. There were lots of fish, although not many larger ones as they still allow fishing here. We saw a sting ray and a moray eel. The second dive had another cave and a long narrow cleff in the rock that we swam through. This was different scenery underwater than we had experienced in Bonaire and Carriacou - very dramatic. Hopefully Dominica will create a Marine park here soon and completely protect the area. Cabrits is a very professional outfit and had a big comfortable dive boat (they have a smaller one as well). Several people we talked to on the boat come here every year for their vacation. They are a five star PADI facility (www.cabritsdive.com)

There are only a few small markets in Portsmouth although they have most of the basics. On Saturday morning however there's an excellent market with a large variety of fresh produce, bread and spices. Your coconut can be husked while you wait (only a minute).

Dominica to Martinique

Scott was very impressed with Martin's prowess with the machete and decided to get one for himself. He looked at several in the small town and thinking the larger one looked rather immense, he indicated the smaller version. The woman looked at him like he was completely nuts and informed us that a real man would only have the big one. Well of course we have
a very large machete on board! The town is rather charming but simple as you can see here; the men gather to chat, drink or play dominos while the women shop, clean, cook and mind the children. Actually no one seems to work very hard here. The beaches belong to the people. Their homes have the best views not the resort and tourists. Martin described lots of parties, barbeques
and get togethers as a regular occurence. Ecologically sound developement is their hope for the island - very low rise. We're crossing our fingers for them.
One sign of the country's lack of funds is the wrecks from long past storms that remain on the beaches. This one here is right in the center of the town.
Late the next afternoon we heard familiar voices on the VHF radio.
"Casa del Mar", "Nereia" and "M'Lady Kathleen" were sailing south near us. We called and invited them for dinner. We hadn't seen the first two since Rum Cay in the Bahamas. They were a part of our small group that left Georgetown together but they got caught in the Turks and Caicos by bad weather and had remained behind us the whole way south. "M'Lady Kathleen" we got to know in Annapolis, MD and hadn't seen since! Email kept us all in touch.
By the time they arrived it was dark and we put all our lights on and talked them in on the radio. "M'Lady Kathleen" was having problems with her engine and had to ghost in on a very light breeze. In the Caribbean the winds die with the sun.
It was a terrific reunion and dinner aboard our boat and the next night we all went out for dinner at the Purple Turtle restaurant on the beach. When we stopped in the morning to tell them we were coming (10 people eating dinner in this location is an unusual occurance), we weren't sure what to expect, but they served a great meal.
Those are lobster tails, grilled, shown here and they tasted as good as they looked. Jaime took the group shot at the top of this page so that's Scott, Heather and Dan on top and Linda & Mike from "Casa" with Kathleen and Roland from "M'Lady" on the bottom. Jaime is then showed with Dan and Linda. Paul and Cheryl had dinner with us but were missing when we took this photo.
The next morning at 6 AM we were all off to sail down the coast to Roseau, the capital. Another boat boy, Rudy, showed us all to moorings, $10 a boat for the night. The town was very lovely and we walked all around and enjoyed some cold beers. It was a quiet night for all and an early start again in the morning for Martinique. It was a rough crossing with 15 - 20 knots of wind and 6 - 8 foot waves, but a good point of sail - beam reach - so it was fun. Once in the lee of the island it all calms down and we enjoyed the scenery down to Anse Mitan, our next anchorage. Que Rico and ourselves managed to squeeze into the crowded bay but the others continued on down the coast aways. They were anxious to get into the marina

Portsmouth, Dominica

We left Les Saintes after filling up our water tanks at a buoy off the beach. It holds up the end of the hose! The winds were right on the nose as we motor sailed down to Portsmouth, Dominica. The waves diminished as we came into the lee of the island and the first of the "boat boys", Ravioli, greeted us quite a way out from the anchorage. These young men make their living guiding and assisting cruisers while they visit Dominica (this is also true of St. Vincent, which we hadn't visited on the way south).
Our guidebook had recommneded Martin on "Providence" so we called him on the VHF. He is one of the leaders of the Indian River Guides, an organization that has made this group more professional and easier for cruisers to deal with. They also patrol the harbor, taking turns, at night for security. We met Paul and Cheryl on "Que Rico" and arranged a day long tour of the island the next day with Martin (that's us eating just picked bananas). What a fantastic day it was! Martin was charming and very knowledgeable. We were introduced to all the spices, flora and fauna, considerable varieties, on the island (eating quite a few). That's cashews growing at the end of the fruits above! This is a beautiful, undeveloped island with lovely people. Martin picked us up in his long wooden row boat early in the morning for a trip up the Indian River.
Mangroves, many huge, lined the way with their long convoluted roots stretching towards us. We learned about the various birds both in the trees and the water. Next we drove around the north end of the island on narrow but mostly paved roads with hardly another car in sight the whole day. One hike was out to the red rocks caused by distant lava flow.
The views were spectacular and off the shore a large group of white racing sailboats from Les Saintes dotted the very blue ocean (you may have to click on this picture to see the boats well). After a quick but tasty lunch at a small store, we drove down the windward side of the island. This is a generally more rugged coastline but with some lovely beaches. We hiked down to a deserted one where we swam in a river
in fresh water and then walked a few feet to the surf breaking on the long white beach. It was hard to leave! We also saw a "cold sofriere" (bubbling gasses in a marsh land from underground volcanic activity). Martin picked some coconuts up from the side of the road and used his machete to cut off the husk and open them up for us to have for dessert. Delicious! This was one of the most memorable days of our voyage so far. Thank you Martin!