Holiday feedback from Karen and Pete
Antigua 3 nights Dominica 11 nights
Jan 14th - Jan 28th 2008
Summary
We had a fantastic time. The thought and planning that Mot-Mot Travel put into arranging our holiday was excellent and was a very personal service, with consideration for ensuring the travelling and transfer times worked out for the best and the hotels were matched to what we wanted to do. The hotels were all really good and all the transfers and travel arrangements were spot on.
The 3 night stop-over in Antigua was just right for us to re-charge our batteries from the flight over and allow us to switch off from work and into holiday mode. After some relaxation we were ready for the diving, hiking and touring we planned to do in Dominica.
We found Dominica to be a very unique and special island. We haven't been anywhere else like it. It is extremely beautiful and unspoilt with the mountains, waterfalls and lush green vegetation; this is matched by the pristine underwater reefs and colourful marine life. We felt the whole island oozed character and this included all the friendly islanders that we met. We didn't just visit the island, we came away having "experienced" it and we were left wanting more !
Splitting the stay into 5 nights in Roseau and 6 nights in Calibishie worked really well and we're glad we did this, rather than stay in one place. This allowed us to experience the differences between the town and quieter village and meant the various sites of interest both on land and underwater were more easily accessible in each location.
We would definitely go back and would recommend it to anyone wanting to experience a very unspoilt unique place. I certainly found myself thinking about it on my return much more than any other holiday.
DOMINICA
Hotels
Fort Young Hotel, Roseau. One of the nicest hotels we have stayed at. It has a very relaxed and comfortable feel to it. The room had a view (masked slightly by the newer building in front of us) over the ocean; its location meant we could see the hills leading to Scotts Head and the open ocean and cruise ship dock. Huge comfortable bed. Good air conditioning. Nice roomy bathroom with shower and separate WC. No visible mosquitoes ! Staff friendly. Good facilities (2 pools, massage, gym, Jacuzzi). Infinity pool on sunset terrace very nice. Great views of the sunsets.
Location very central. Easy to walk round the town and to the Botanic Gardens. Easier access to some of the sites (such as Boiling Lake, Trafalgar falls) compared with Calibishie. Transport to all sites easy to arrange with a tour office at the hotel and tour offices just next door close to the cruise ship dock. Gets very busy when the cruise ship passengers arrive between 8 and 9 am but this didn't affect us at all.
Calibishie Lodges, Calibishie. Very friendly and personal (6 lodges). Run by Chris and Linda who came over from Belgium three years ago. A very family feel where you could chat to the other guests over dinner. Chris and Linda extremely helpful and friendly and also interesting to talk to. Nothing was too much trouble for them. They told us how to get to the local beaches and trails and helped us when we lost our flight tickets using their free international dialling over the Internet to call Mot-mot travel.
We had an upstairs room which we would recommend for the views of the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean from the balcony. The rooms had a living area with settee, table and TV. A kitchen area with a hob, coffee maker and sink. A separate bathroom and a separate bedroom. The bathroom had a bath and shower with water heated by solar power. The bed had a mosquito net which we used although they didn't seem to be too much of a problem.
Beautiful location. Fantastic walks from the hotel to the beaches and coastline or up the ridge to fantastic views of the mountains. The village very picturesque with colourful houses along the street and very friendly villagers. The beach is lovely with the views of the bay and rocks but isn't a swimming beach. Quiet and peaceful. The mains electricity supply can be troublesome and went off twice while we were there but the lodges have a generator that kicks in afar a couple of minutes and each room had an emergency light to cover the 2 minutes.
A hire car is a definite if you're diving, so that you don't have to rely on Caribbean time to get you to the boat and so that you are not restricted on getting back for a certain time. If you don't want to drive Chris and Linda would arrange transport or excursions for you. Around half the guests when we stayed had hired a car. Breakfast started at 07:30 which was too late for our diving days so Chris provided us with some sandwiches and fruit.
Eating
Roseau
Unusually for us we didn't venture out much for dinner for one reason or another - something I regret a little. All the meals we had were good - mainly chicken and fish. Kubuli is the locally brewed beer. Wine not cheap as it's all imported but it that didn't stop us !.
Waterfront Restaurant at Fort Young is extremely good. We ate there twice. The buffet breakfast there was also very good. It was great having breakfast while we watched the cruise ships dock.
We managed to miss out on dinner one night as we had a drink with some fellow Boiling Lake hikers (Germans) and by the time we'd finished the restaurant had closed as it was their employee of the year award. The notice wasn't that good (we didn't see any) on early closure ! As we couldn't walk very far (too stiff after the walk) we had room service that night ! We also went to the BBQ buffet that the hotel put on and the happy hour/grill evening that the locals come to (basic with the food served in a polystyrene take out !) but nice cheap pina coladas.
Had a Creole lunch at the Cornerhouse Cafe in Roseau while we watched the mad traffic and rain come down ! Recommend this.
Calibishie
On our wanderings we thought the restaurants in Calibishie didn't look open but it was possible that they were just very quiet. Apparently Kokonuts (Kokos) is supposed to be good especially for a drink on the beach.
We ate at the Bamboo Restaurant (at the lodges) every evening apart from one. Every evening they had a specials menu, soup, chicken or fish main course and a fruit based dessert. These were good and we also ate off the menu.
Dinner at Randy's Restaurant in Wesley recommended to us by one of the other divers. Food cooked and served by Randy - the fish was excellent. Very quiet with only 1 other couple but we all ended up chatting and talking to each other and Randy who was very friendly.
Lunches in Portsmouth.
Purple Turtle (on the beach). A good Creole fish and wicked cherry punches - a couple of those and you're not much good for anything else ! Pete stuck to the Kubuli.
Big Papa's on the beach front (watched the local fisherman prepare and offload 2 yellow fin tuna).
Tomato Cafe - American style food with a million choices for the dressing, cheese topping etc,,,, !!). Signed photos of the Pirates of the Caribbean stars.
Touring/Sight-seeing.
Roseau - great wandering around the town. Everyone says hello. The fish and food market colourful. Some very old (and in some cases decrepit) buildings full of character and history. Botanic Gardens and view from hill over Roseau worth a visit. Very crowded (totally mad) when the cruise ship passengers are unloading between 8 and 9am.
Trafalgar falls - 2 beautiful waterfalls and a small warm pool.
Boiling Lake - Very strenuous 12 mile hike which took us 7 hours. This goes up and over Mont Nicholl (3500 feet) twice. The track was very muddy and slippery. In some places the steps or rocks are so high your knees are somewhere up by your ear as you pull yourself up using tree roots. You cross rivers two or three times. However definitely worth it - Desolation Valley is spectacular with steam and boiling mud and sulphur pools. Boiling lake really does boil. Steam and cloud wafted in and out obscuring views every now and then. Very atmospheric. Guide - Peter Green, Bushman tours was excellent. Pointed out plants, flowers and birds and gave us lots of information on the rocks, natural history etc. Made us Tarzan swing from liana and paint our faces with volcanic mud ! Looked after me very well when I tripped a couple of times - well prepared with antiseptic and bruise cream !!
The swim up Titou Gorge to see the waterfall at the end of the hike was very refreshing and very beautiful.
Whale-watching. We booked this through the Dive centre at Fort Young who use the Dive Dominica boats. They are equipped with hydrophones to listen out for the whales. They go on Sundays and Wednesdays. We were sceptical that we would actually see any but after going almost the length of the island we spotted the spouts of a mother sperm whale and calf . Then we saw a group of 4 very close to before they dived. Finally we saw 2 huge bull whales. The captain told us they do shallow dives when you see their backs and they will be back up in a few minutes and deep dives when they are gone for at least an hour - these are the dives that you see the tail flukes on. Very enjoyable trip complete with a couple of rum punches and fantastic views of the island including a trip to Champagne (the bubbles escaping from the volcanic rocks on the sea bed) and the captain pointing out points of interest along the way back to Roseau, This included the cliff tops that the Pirates of the Caribbean film stars fought on !
Carib Territory. Used our spare day between diving to drive ourselves around the Territory. Linda advised us not to stop where there weren't any houses so we didn't (apart from the Horseback ridge viewpoint). Very scenic coast. Lots of stalls selling the beautifully crafted traditionally made baskets. Visited the Carib village Kalinago Barana Aut-, with Fatima as our tour guide. Interesting and good views over the coastline and small waterfall. A specially made tourist attraction which gives a good background to the history and culture of the Carib (Kalinago) Indians and the island and opportunities to buy souvenirs. The territory is not noticeably different from the rest of the island apart from the basket stalls and the South American look of the people.
Visited the painted church at Salybia which also has an altar made of a canoe. L'escalier tete a chien. - A volcanic rock staircase that juts out into the sea like a serpent. We drove past this and had to turn back as we missed the not very obvious sign. Linda again advised us to take a guide which was easy to do as a man popped up and told us he would take us there. Short walk down to the cliff with views over the coast. We took some photos but didn't go down the steps as the sea was too rough crashing over the rocks. (The guide was very amorous kissing my arm as we looked at the scenery, asking me if I was married and then asking me if I wanted to live with him !. The only time I felt uncomfortable with the locals!!).
Drove down to Castle Bruce for a look at the bay and then up to the Emerald Pool. Apart from another couple who left before us we had it to ourselves. (Can be crowded with cruise ship passengers earlier in the day). Beautiful waterfall and nice circular trail. Took a "refreshing" dip in the pool. Drove back through the forest.
Indian River - Lovely trip up Indian River with the guide rowing you up there and telling you about the river and wildlife. Very peaceful as we were the only ones on the river (we went about 4pm). The roots into the river of the Bwa Mang tree are fascinating. We saw crabs scuttling into their holes along the river bank, white egrets and some big fish in the river. The boat stops at a small pontoon where there is a jungle bar set in the forest. The whole trip lasts about an hour depending on how long you spend in the bar !
Cabrits National Park. This is the site of the 18th century Fort Shirley which is being restored and sits on 2 ancient volcanoes. There are also nature trails in woods, we took one to climb the West Cabrits hill which had views over Price Rupert Bay. We saw a hermit crab and a small grove snake.
Beaches
We stopped at Batibou Bay on our last afternoon of diving which is a beautiful beach. Very hard to find and the track needs a 4x4 car to get down to it. Calibishie Lodges organise a beach barbeque here on request.
On our last full day we walked to see the Red rocks behind Calibishie Lodges which look like a different planet and certainly a different island. There were good views over to Guadeloupe. We then went on to Point Baptiste beach. The water is deep enough to swim on the left of the bay near the rock. We had it to ourselves most of the time until a couple of families joined us later on. We found a coconut rolling down the beach which we had for lunch ! The clouds and rain rolled in about the time we were going to leave anyway and we got absolutely soaked walking back! A nice restful day. The last half day before our flight we walked up along the ridge to get the fantastic views of the mountains.
Diving
Superb, easy diving. We saw marine life that we have not seen before and very beautiful and colourful coral and sponges. Water temperature around 27oC and visibility very good most of the time. We would definitely recommend the diving here.
Diving from Fort Young uses "Dive Dominica" the company that pioneered diving off the island. Well organised with 5 boats. The boat picks you up at the pier by Fort Young at 08:30 and then calls in at the Dive Dominica HQ in Castle Comfort. You are back between 1 - 1:30pm washing out your gear and hanging it up to dry by the Dive Centre.
The first day was relatively un-crowded on the boat but the next couple of days had some cruise ship passengers on it so there were at least 20 of us. However the dive guides were good. There were 2 of them, one at the front and one at the rear which allowed us all to space out. They were good at pointing out the special marine life and made sure all in the group saw them. The coral and sponges are beautiful around Scots Head and Soufriere. The reefs are actually on the sides of a huge volcanic crater or on volcanic pinnacles. We saw frogfish, stingrays, peacock flounder, seahorses (the sign language underwater for a sea horse is hilarious with the dive guide miming sitting on a racehorse - I had no idea what he was pointing out to start with !!), a baby drum fish, turtles and scorpion fish. The stingray encounter made Pete have a 'Steve Irwin' thought as it headed straight for him but he still managed to get a photo of it ! Didn't encounter any currents and we soon got used to the dive guides talking about depths in feet and air pressures in psi.
Dive Sites :Scotts Head Drop Off, La Sorciere or Caribs leap, Scotts Head Point, L'abym, Danglben's Pinnacles, Soufriere Pinnacles.
(We didn't dive Champagne (which we thought we would be taken to) probably because it's really a snorkelling site but we did see it from the Whale watching boat).
Cabrits Dive Centre in Portsmouth is run by a very bubbly English lady called Helen and her American husband, Pete. Instead of being the youngest on the boat (alongside the cruise ship passengers) we were the oldest with most of the other divers coming from the US Ross University Medical school !) Maximum numbers were around 10 with some of those still being trained and therefore diving separately to us with their instructor, so it was much less crowded. There were also a group of English doing some filming so we need to keep an eye out for us being on TV ! Meeting up time was 08:15 but the centre was very efficient and put our kit together for us every morning. A truck would then take us all down to the jetty 5 minutes away. The dive guides were also very good - our battered old dive kit amused them !!
The coral life wasn't as spectacular compared to the south but still very pretty. There was one dive where the currents were too strong to dive the site that was planned so we drifted with the current and a fair part of this was over sand. We saw a flying gurnard, barrel jellyfish, a snake eel and eel gardens in the sand. We got really close to a turtle that was happily munching away on the coral and posing for our cameras. Also loads of scorpion fish and a seahorse. My favourite site was Toucari Caves where you could swim through the cave and see the lobsters and shrimp hidden away in the cracks. The bubbles you created then came out over the top of the rock - they called it their own Champagne site !
Based on our experience on the Saturday weekends may not be the best days to dive as they tend to take local trainees on the boat so the dive sites will be tailored for their level.
Dive Sites : Canon Site, Douglas Bay Point, Sharks' Mouth, Toucari Caves, Rose Garden, Pole to pole (pier).
Driving
Takes some getting used to. Lots of bendy single track roads (some hairpin) and lots of potholes and bumps. Used the horn a lot round the corners.
Road between Calibishie and Portsmouth better than main road across the island.
Weather
Rained every day. Most days were relatively short buy heavy showers. Had a couple of days in Roseau where it was overcast all day and rained most of the day when there was no wind to blow it away. |
