Dominica - March 19-20

Hotel in Barbados (Mar 19, 2006, 06:43am) This is NOT where we stayed on Dominica. Instead, this is where the airline stashed us overnight when the were unable to fly us to Dominica on our scheduled arrival day. It looks nice, but we spent very little time here.

Barbados waterfront (Mar 19, 2006, 06:44am) The closest we got to a real sand beach was during our unscheduled overnight stop in Barbados.

Finally, a plane to Dominica (Mar 19, 2006, 09:38am) This is the plane that took us from Barbados to Dominica. It would have been better if we never had to land in Barbados, but that's Carribean Sun airlines for you.

Green house on road from airport (Mar 19, 2006, 12:03pm) I took this picture from the taxi window on our trip from the airport to the hotel. You might notice that the foreground (bottom-center of the picture) is very blurry. This is because the taxi was moving pretty fast. Yet my camera was good enough to get a focus lock on the green house.

Path off of road from airport (Mar 19, 2006, 12:12pm) Another picture taken from the taxi during our ride from the airport to the hotel.

Gate to the new parliament building (Mar 19, 2006, 12:52pm) The taxi made one stop, at the Fort Young Hotel, on its way to the Cocoa Cottages. While we were stopped, I took this picture of the entrance to the grounds of the new parliament building, in Roseau.

Daphne on the road to Trafalgar (Mar 19, 2006, 02:20pm) Soon after arriving at the Cocoa Cottages, we decide to hike up the road to have lunch and visit Trafalgar Falls. This is a section of the road to Trafalgar, with Daphne up ahead.

Fuchsia colored bloom (Mar 19, 2006, 03:20pm) This is a flower that I saw along the road to Trafalgar. Feel free to add a comment if you can identify it.

Path to Trafalgar Falls (Mar 19, 2006, 03:21pm) Trafalgar Falls is easily reached from the road by following a short, well maintained path. Here is an early section of that path.

Path to Trafalgar Falls (Mar 19, 2006, 03:51pm) Another section of the path to Trafalgar Falls.

Trafalgar Falls, upper falls (Mar 19, 2006, 03:56pm) Trafalgar Falls actually consists of two waterfalls. This is a picture of the upper falls, the leftmost of the pair. We didn't actually hike up to the upper falls (since, at the time, we did not know where the path was).

Warm stream crosses path at Trafalgar (Mar 19, 2006, 03:59pm) A warm stream crosses the path to Trafalgar Falls (the rocks) and forms a pool (not visible) just below the path. After our visit to the falls, we stopped at this pool for a quick dip.

Small falls in stream at Trafalgar (Mar 19, 2006, 04:03pm) Below the main Trafalgar waterfall, the river runs through a boulder field. At various spots the boulder configuration causes smaller waterfalls to form (this one is just a couple of feet tall).

Daphne outstretched at Trafalagar Falls (Mar 19, 2006, 04:25pm) This is a picture of the lower Trafalgar Falls (the one on the right). That's Daphne standing with her arms outstretched, giving the waterfall scale. And there is a nice rainbow arching over Daphne's head. (Gallery: Travel Journals > Dominica 06 > Dominica - March 19-20)

Trafalgar Falls (Mar 19, 2006, 04:25pm) Another picture of the lower Trafalgar Falls, with Daphne standing below a rainbow, to give the falls scale.

Female Lesser Antillean Bullfinch (Mar 20, 2006, 08:34am) Outside the balcony of our room at the Cocoa Cottages is a poinsettia tree that attracts a few of the local birds (especially early in the morning). Here is a picture of a female lesser Antillean bullfinch (as identified by Jeffrey).

School girls in Roseau (Mar 20, 2006, 09:56am) On our way to Champagne Reef for snorkeling, we pass by the cricket fields in Roseau. Since it is during school hours, the field is used by the local students, as you can see here.

Unlucky school bus in Roseau (Mar 20, 2006, 10:01am) On our way to catch a bus to Champagne Reef, we took a shortcut through the botanical gardens in Roseau, where we found this unfortunate school bus. This school bus was crushed by the Boabab tree during Hurricane David.

Banyan Tree in the Roseau botanical gardens (Mar 20, 2006, 10:02am) This is a Banyan Tree (also known as a Red Ficus or Ficus benghalensis), which we saw along the road through the botanical gardens in Roseau. The aerial roots definitely make this tree stand out.

South Roseau (Mar 20, 2006, 10:05am) This picture shows the southern part of Roseau, the capital of Dominica. In the foreground is the cemetery that is just outside the botanical gardens.

Parrotfish and trumpetfish (Mar 20, 2006, 10:57am) Two fish on one spot. I spotted this pair of fish while snorkeling at Champagne Reef.

Yellow tube sponge (Mar 20, 2006, 10:58am) Tube sponges (especially yellow tub sponges) were very common at snorkeling depths in Dominica. These sponges were seen at Champagne Reef.

Bubbles at Champagne Reef (Mar 20, 2006, 11:03am) Champagne Reef is so named because of the bubbles (as seen in this picture) that rise from the sea floor. The bubbles come from sulfur vents, and are caused by volcanic activity.

Champagne Reef bubbles (Mar 20, 2006, 11:04am) Another picture of the bubbles rising from the sea floor at Champagne Reef.

Rising bubbles at Champagne Reef (Mar 20, 2006, 11:04am) A close-up shot, from above, of a stream of bubbles rising from the sea floor at Champagne Reef. It was amazing good luck that the camera was able to focus on the rising bubbles (the Canon S400 I use for underwater pictures is slow to focus when the light is dim).

Smooth trunkfish (Mar 20, 2006, 11:07am) Caught feeding at Champagne Reef.

Houndfish in bubbles of Champagne Reef (Mar 20, 2006, 11:09am)

Houndfish close-up (Mar 20, 2006, 11:09am)

Sun anemone (Mar 20, 2006, 11:11am) Seen at Champagne Reef.

Rock formations at Champagne Beach (Mar 20, 2006, 11:28am) These two rock formations are just off shore at Champagne Reef. The snorkeling area, with the rising bubbles, is down the beach to the left. You can also get a good feel for the beach in this picture, which is all pebbles with no sand.

Beach at Champagne Reef (Mar 20, 2006, 11:30am) This is the beach at Champagne Reef. In this picture, I am looking North. The path that leads to the road is just past the rightmost palm tree. The actual snorkeling area is off the southern end of the beach (not seen in this picture).

Beach at Champagne Reef (Mar 20, 2006, 11:33am) Here is a picture of the beach at Champagne Reef. For this picture, I am standing at the bottom of the stairs from the road, looking south. The distant peninsula land , seen in the center of the photograph (and with a tower on top), is Scott's Head. The snorkeling area is at the very end of the beach. If you lock closely, you can see a local fisherman standing on a rock, past the end of the beach.

Store front in Scott's Head (Mar 20, 2006, 11:56am) The village of Scott's Head is at the Southwestern end of the island. The village itself is not very large, dominated by one main street. Here is a picture of one of the small stores along that main road.

Scott's Head (Mar 20, 2006, 12:39pm) Here is a view of the Scott's head peninsula, seen from the shore at Scott's Head village. The snorkeling area is on the near side of the peninsula, starting near the rightmost trees and following the coast to the West (towards the right).

Waterfront at Scott's Head (Mar 20, 2006, 12:39pm) Here is a view of the waterfront at Scott's head village. In this picture, I am looking south, standing on the beach behind the restaurant where we had lunch. Scott's Head peninsula is to the right, down that narrow strip of land on the right side of the picture.

Mahi-mahi for the late lunch crowd (Mar 20, 2006, 01:00pm) We stopped in Scott's Head for lunch and had the tuna -- it was wonderful. But, if we would have waited a half hour we could have had mahi-mahi instead. This one was delivered just as we were finishing dinner. Talk about fresh.

Village at Scott's Head (Mar 20, 2006, 01:23pm) This is a picture of the village of Scott's Head as seen from Scott's Head peninsula.

Tube sponge (Mar 20, 2006, 01:47pm) This picture was taken while snorkeling off of Scott's Head. It appears to be some type of tube sponge, although there was not exact match in our reef books.

Barrel sponge and yellow tube sponge (Mar 20, 2006, 01:49pm) From the area just north of Scott's Head peninsula.

Yellow tube sponge cluster (Mar 20, 2006, 01:50pm)

Sea urchins (Mar 20, 2006, 01:55pm)

Brain coral and urchins (Mar 20, 2006, 02:00pm) The area just north of Scott's Head peninsula was not the richest area we had ever snorkeled in, but there were some decent examples of brain coral mixed in with the tube sponges and sea urchins.

Brown tube sponge (Mar 20, 2006, 02:00pm)

Multiple clusters of tube sponges (Mar 20, 2006, 02:01pm) Lots and lost of tube sponges. These creatures were seen all over the area just north of Scott's Head peninsula.

Yellow tube sponge (Mar 20, 2006, 02:01pm)

Tube sponges and anemones (Mar 20, 2006, 02:03pm) The sun anemones were all around this cluster of yellow tube sponges from just off of Scott's Head.

Yellow tube sponge and sun anemone (Mar 20, 2006, 02:05pm) Here is a closer look at the sun anemone that lives right up against the yellow tube sponge.

View out Cocoa Cottages living room (Mar 20, 2006, 05:48pm) This is a picture taken from inside the living room area at the Cocoa Cottages. This set of doors opens West, giving one a view of the lush foliage that makes up much of Dominica.