Dominica's Indian River

We had read a lot about the serenity and natural beauty to be enjoyed riding a rowboat on the Indian River in Dominica and this was particuarly easy to do because it is located near where we were staying in Portsmouth during our five nights in Dominica.

We parked in the small parking lot next to where the two of us would board the small boat.

The Indian River ride begins by going under the main road in Portsmouth.

Our boatman, "Spaghetti" (Eric), piloted the boat with oars and narrated.

Because "Spaghetti" powered the boat with the oars rather than using a motor, the boat ride was peaceful and serene.

The numerous Bwa Mang trees are exotic.

We also saw fish at several points during the ride.

There is a dock at which we disembarked for a short break.

This is the location of the Bush Bar.

Because we went on the river ride in the morning before cruise passengers could arrive, the bar was not open. We loved the fact that it was closed and that we had that quiet area to ourselves.

There are some beautiful and exotic plants with simple trails that we enjoyed while at the stop.

While we were walking around and enjoying the vegetation, "Spaghetti" was creating this beatiful bird and fish souvenir for us.

The most advertised attraction at Dominica's Indian River may be that of Calypso's house in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

The Indian River experience is as peaceful and intriguing as we had read.

This final photograph shows the return to the starting point.

Syndicate Nature Trail

The Syndicate Nature Trail is a relatively straightforward loop trail and getting to its trailhead is almost as adventurous as the hike itself.

Syndicate Nature Trail is not the same thing as the trail to Syndicate Falls (which is for sale and which we did not have time to do while in Dominica).

You can get a feel for what this trail has to offer by reading the Syndicate Nature trail brochure (PDF), which states, "For a tropical rain forest experience of a lifetime, the Syndicate Nature Trail is the place to be."

The Syndicate Nature Trail leads one through a lush tropical rain forest.

While on the trail, we did not see any of the two species of parrots, but we did hear several loud and communicative birds as we walked through the forest.

The loop trail is a relatively easy walk, but does have stairs at some points and did get pretty muddy in a couple locations.

Syndicate Nature Trail provided a relatively easy way to experience a Dominican tropical forest and have a small taste of UNESCO-listed (tentative list) Morne Diablotin National Park.

The drive to Syndicate Nature Trail was fairly adventurous. After turning off the "main road" that connects Portsmouth and Roseau (the exit is closer to Portsmouth), there is a road mostly suitable for one lane that leads to the Syndicate Nature Trail. Fortunately, we only encountered one or two vehicles coming the other direction early after the turn-off where there was still quite a bit of room to pull to the side to allow them to pass. On the way back, we had to only pass two vehicles parked on the side of the road and we had one place where we had to let an oncoming vehile pass. If that road would have been more heavily trafficked, it would have been a lot more stressful driving it. One of the payoffs from the drive, which is more obvious on the way back down, is the view!

Ironically, although we did not see any parrots while on the Syndicate Nature Trail, we had one fly directly in front of us as we were driving out of the trailhead parking lot. We only saw one other couple, with a photographer, on the entire loop trail. We had the lush tropical forest to ourselves almost the entire time!

Mero Beach

Mero Beach is described succinctly on the Discover Dominica site: "One of the few beaches on Dominica with amenities, Mero Beach is a favorite of locals, especially on Sunday. This silver-gray beach can be found near the village of Mero. Calm, warm waters make for an incredible swim."

Although Mero Beach is sometimes described as a "black sand beach," the "silver-gray" description is more accurate for the sand when it's not wet, particularly when comparing it to a beach such as Iceland's Reynisfjara black sand beach.

Mero Beach wasn't very crowded while we were there, but nothing in Dominica (except the airport) was crowded while we were on the island.

We may have been the only tourists on the beach, but there were a couple groups of local women that were spending time relaxing in the shallow water.

There are restaurants and other amenities on the road alongside Mero Beach.

Mero Beach is located between Roseau and Portsmouth, so we stopped there on our way back to our lodging in Portsmouth after a day in the Roseau area.

Mero Beach provided a fantastic location for enjoying warm weather and beautiful warm water in February!

Titou Gorge

We weren't sure we were going to visit Titou Gorge while in Dominica, but decided to do so on our last full day on the island.

Titou Gorge is located fairly closely to Trafalgar Falls, Papillote Tropical Gardens, and the Brunch and Munch restaurant we enjoyed so much. We had a bit of trouble finding its exact location via our mobile telephones' GPS, but a woman working at Trafalgar Falls and local man near Titou Gorge pointed us in the general direction we needed to go.

It had been raining quite a bit that morning in the area (same morning we visited Papillote Tropical Gardens), so life jackets were recommended (and I'd recommend them just to be safe anyway).

We paid $10 EC to rent two life jackets.

We agreed to pay $20 EC for a local guide, but we actually paid him more than that after this fun experience because he had been very helpful.

It was still alternating between light rain and drizzle when we entered the cool water (cold compared to Dominica's Caribbean waters but less cold than Colorado mountain lakes).

The narrow gorge with high stone walls on both sides is darker than outside and outside was already a little darker due to the overcast and rainy weather.

It's a short swim to the waterfall and our guide showed us where to step firmly to avoid the powerful waterfall from knocking us over so that we could stand at its base right next to it.

After exiting the gorge, there are some streams of warmer water to stand under if one wants to get warmer (though the cold water wasn't terribly cold and we got used to it somewhat once we entered).

We are happy that we decided to experience Titou Gorge, which was one of the more unique travel experiences we've participated in!