Cabrits, Dominica and Terre de Haut, Iles des Saintes
The ease of stepping off the ship onto a dock rather than via Zodiacs was enjoyed today as the vessel carefully "backed into" her mooring at the cruise terminal in Cabrits in Dominica. Following breakfast, mini vans took us to the Syndicate Trail Nature Walk high in the mountains and deep into the rain forest. Here a local naturalist led us on an amazing walk through dense rain forest (and boy, did it rain!) explaining the complex and diverse flora and fauna we encountered along the way.
The drive back to the ship following this enjoyable morning expedition was in the usual warm Caribbean sunshine and took us through several very active, bustling communities along the way.
Dr Lennox Honeychurch, native Dominican anthropologist, joined us on board after lunch and gave us a short talk about the 18th century Fort Shirley which loomed above us on the hillside above our mooring. He has been responsible for restoring this important early defense of the island. Following his brief introduction to its history and significance he then lead us up the old, original causeway to the fort itself where he pointed out and explained what each building had been, how the lengthy restoration project is going and what life would have been like for the British soldiers garrisoned there over two hundred years ago.
Our onboard historian Steve gave us an overview of the Indigenous Beliefs of the Caribbean, with the emphasis on Voodoo, as the ship repositioned to – the European Union! Yes, we were sailing to our evening anchorage which was off the little island of Terre de Haut, part of the Isles Les Saintes group, and part of France and, hence, the European Union! This would be our destination for tomorrow and as we witnessed a glorious Caribbean sunset we looked forward to a flavour of France and even more new sights, sounds and experiences.
The ease of stepping off the ship onto a dock rather than via Zodiacs was enjoyed today as the vessel carefully "backed into" her mooring at the cruise terminal in Cabrits in Dominica. Following breakfast, mini vans took us to the Syndicate Trail Nature Walk high in the mountains and deep into the rain forest. Here a local naturalist led us on an amazing walk through dense rain forest (and boy, did it rain!) explaining the complex and diverse flora and fauna we encountered along the way.
The drive back to the ship following this enjoyable morning expedition was in the usual warm Caribbean sunshine and took us through several very active, bustling communities along the way.
Dr Lennox Honeychurch, native Dominican anthropologist, joined us on board after lunch and gave us a short talk about the 18th century Fort Shirley which loomed above us on the hillside above our mooring. He has been responsible for restoring this important early defense of the island. Following his brief introduction to its history and significance he then lead us up the old, original causeway to the fort itself where he pointed out and explained what each building had been, how the lengthy restoration project is going and what life would have been like for the British soldiers garrisoned there over two hundred years ago.
Our onboard historian Steve gave us an overview of the Indigenous Beliefs of the Caribbean, with the emphasis on Voodoo, as the ship repositioned to – the European Union! Yes, we were sailing to our evening anchorage which was off the little island of Terre de Haut, part of the Isles Les Saintes group, and part of France and, hence, the European Union! This would be our destination for tomorrow and as we witnessed a glorious Caribbean sunset we looked forward to a flavour of France and even more new sights, sounds and experiences.
