Top 10 Things I Will Miss MOST about Dominica

So as my time is winding down here on the island, I thought I'd make a list of the top 10 things I will miss MOST about Dominica (and the top 10 things I will miss LEAST about Dominica...to be posted later).  It's sort of sobering to look back on my experiences over the last 3 and 2/3 years here on the "Nature Isle".  As human beings, we sometimes dwell on and get obsessed about the "bad or annoying" things and overlook the good.  However, I've been finding as I reminise that I find it much easier to think of the things that I won't have access to anymore that I'll miss, than those that I won't (which is a good thing I think!).  So here goes!!!
10- Rainbows.  Dominica has by far the most rainbows that I have ever seen in one place.  No joke, you at least see one a day due to the fact that this is a tropical island with an average monthly rainfall of 6.35in (in Roseau which is more towards the coast and less in the interior.  There is more rainfall in the interior however than on the coast.).  On some days you see more than one rainbow.  I've seen tons of double rainbows and I've even seen a few "reversed rainbows" (meaning it goes ROYGBIVIBGYOR with no break...props to you if you figured that out without the explanation, or even if you figured out the explanation.  If you didn't, ask me and I'll explain better.)  I know that rainbows are found everywhere so I'll still be able to enjoy them back in the states, but just not nearly with as much frequency as I'm able to enjoy them here.
9-No "in your face" advertizing.  When you are in the islands, you definitely don't have access to all of the mass marketing things that overwhelm your life and senses in the US.  There are no "seasons" in Dominica, so you just go along your business from day to day and don't realize there's a holiday coming up until a day before (ok, so really maybe like a week prior to) the actual holiday.  No store windows with Valentines, Easter, Halloween, or Thanksgiving (ok, so realistically Dominica doesn't even celebrate those last two, but still) decorations or holiday specific candy (though we've gotten a small amount of holiday candy- like half a small shelf at the end of an aisle in the grocercy store) or holiday commercials on tv.  Definitely prevents over consumption of the (bad) food products and the lack of commercialism is so nice and calming.  And the next day, its back to life as usualy without the next holiday being thrown at you months in advance!
8. Cheapness of some things.  Certain things in Dominica I've found to relatively cheap...others, most definitely NOT!  Some of the things I've found to be less expensive that I will miss include electricity (This is probably just me as a user and not the cost of electricity itself.  Electricity is pre-paid, so when you run out of juice, you have no power.  It's also more apparent when you use certain things like the A/C because you can see just how much more electricity is being used up on your meter.  Plus here I can turn off all the outlets at the wall with a switch is I'm not using, so no phantom power drain; and I leave my windows open 24/7 for a nice breeze coming down the mountain.), gas (for your car... again, not because gas is cheaper...it's more expensive actually- about US$5+ a gallon...but I only drive 10 miles a day so my gas lasts longer in my car...I fill up MAYBE once a month.), massages (an hour deep tissue massage runs you on average of US$40, plus they come to your house so you can get a massage in the comfort of your own home), and pedicures/aethetician stuff (a pedicure is US$15 with OPI colors and it last PERFECTLY for a minimum of 6 weeks!).
7.  Chef Eric Subin's cooking.  Here's begins my food obsession (see #6 and 5).  Chef Eric Subin is a FANTASTIC chef!  One of, if not THE, best chef's in Dominica.  From eating on the beach at Red Rock, to fine dining and AMAZING brunches (my personal favorite) at De Champ, many of us have followed Eric where ever he goes.  I will definitely miss his unique take on food and though I know I'm going to be able to have easier access to fantastic food in the US, I know I'll definitely miss him (and his cashew crusted flourless dark chocolate tart)!


Fried bakes

 6. Bakes.  Bakes in Dominica are akin to biscuits or english muffins in the US, but 100x better (and most likely worse for you).  They have flour, salt, water, and baking powder and then they are fried (hence the bad for you thing) so they have a crunchy exterior.  They're so good but I've limited myself recently to having them only as a "treat". They are more commonly stuffed with saltfish or some other fish, but I prefer the ones for breakfast and I have mine filled with egg, cheese, and ham.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
5. Fruit and fresh fruit juice.  Now Dominica will make you a snob when it comes to fresh fruit and fruit juices.  Mainly because they're so plentiful and found year round, and you can pick them from a tree as you're walking down the road.  I mean, with the wide variety of fruit trees that are found by my house (see a previous blog), I will miss being able to get fresh limes, oranges, and mangos just outside my door.  And a coconut just off the tree (with juice and the meat) and fresh pineapples will be missed as well.  Also now I'm very picky about fruit juices.  I only want them "fresh squeezed" and not out of a box with all the added sugar.  I'll definitely miss fresh passion fruit, tangerine, and sorrel.


April 2012.  The last class with my regulars
(for 4 semesters) who moved onto the
US for rotations.  I miss these guys!

 4.  Teaching my yoga class.  The teacher in me will always prevail it seems.  From teaching anatomy in lecture or lab, to coaching gymnastics for 12 years, or teaching yoga...it seems I'm always going to be doing some sort of teaching.  When I first moved to Dominica, I was able to take Vinyasa yoga from the lovely Jess Trudeau (student spouse).  When her man finished up his time in Dominica, she obviously left.  Unfortunately that meant no "hard" yoga class (there's another lady who teaches yoga, but it's not my preferred style and not challenging enough for me).  So I volunteered to teach class (granted I'm not "licensed" or anything, but my 12 years experience coaching gymnastics and 3-4 years taking yoga classes made me knowledgeable...not to mention my ease in "lecturing").  I've been teaching a 1.5 hour Friday Vinyasa yoga class every semester for the past 2 and 2/3 years.  I've made lots of friends with the students and non-Ross people who've come to my class, helped others find their love of yoga, and enjoyed watching as people get better and learn new "tricks" that they never thought they could do.  I know the only way I'll be able to teach in the US, is to go through the training to be "licensed", but we'll see what I decide to do about that.  I will miss all my regulars (some of which have "moved on" from the island), but am glad I could be a part of their lives for a little while.  Not to mention I'll definitely miss the view during yoga (on a deck overlooking the caribbean ocean at sunset in 80 degree weather...go ahead and drool)!
3. Friends.  Yes, I've made quite a few friends here at work and outside of work (locals and ex-pats alike).  They've each touched my life and added some flavor and experiences to it and they will be dearly missed.  Most of it is personal, so I'm not going to dwell on it much here (since this is more of a Dominica blog and not a "me" blog), but some friends were definitely made for a lifetime. 
2. A variety of "adventure" at your fingertips. Dominica is an adventurer's paradise, and as I consider myself an adventurer, I'll definitely miss it.  You can go hiking everyday, in numerous different places, in places just outside your door, or off the beaten path (see the majority of my previous blogs!), with a variety of different levels of difficulty (and none are more than a 2 hour drive away!).  There's tons of water "adventures" such as great scuba diving and snorkelling with gorgeous non-bleached or tourist crowded reefs.  Boiling (both hot and cold) lakes, tubing down rivers, a waterfall or river for everyday of they year (seriously...someone actually counted them), rapelling down waterfalls in a canyon, "cliff diving" into the ocean or rivers, and so on.  This is not your average "tourist's" island (where things are very safe or organized, or you play golf, etc).  This is a paradise for thrill and adventure seekers who are willing to take a bit of  risk to enjoy the things that nature throws at you and that you don't get upset when things don't go according to plan (or what you paid for).
And the #1 thing that I will miss about Dominica is:  The Beauty of the Nature Isle.  I mean, this island is GORGEOUS!  Just look around.  Green covered moutains, with cloud cover at the top on some days, cerulean blue skies, millions of stars every night, beaches everywhere you look...I think it's amazing more people aren't in automobile accidents because they are too busy looking at the scenery and beauty of Dominica.  I will miss waking up to a view of a cloud covered peak every morning, or standing in my kitchen or hanging up my laundy and looking over the trees into the picturesque Douglas Bay.  Some people think that all caribbean islands are the same.  I can tell you they are most definitely NOT.  Dominica is the most beautiful.  Antigua, St. Maarteen, Bahamas, etc are all ugly comparatively.  I feel blessed to have lived here and experienced the beauty of God's creation and of unspoilt/undeveloped land.

7 Waterfalls Hike

So yeah, I've been slacking on the blog thing.  Sorry!  Mostly because I've been insanely busy and also because I feel like I haven't done anything worth mentioning in a while.  I promise though that I will do a few more before I leave the island for good (oh yeah, in case you didn't know, I'm leaving Dominica on April 15th to move back to the States).
So today I went with the Wellness Club on the 7 Waterfalls Hike.  This is a hike I've been wanting to do for a while, but they haven't had it the past couple of semesters.  Luckily for me, I got it in before I leave!  So, first, I want you share with you what the Dominica guide books says about this hike...by the way, it's not actually listed in there as a legitimate hike...   "Much of Dominica is unexplored and there are places on the island on which people have still not yet set foot (this is a total "duh" statement if you have ever been on the island)...In the area of Soltoun mid-way between the Layou River and Pont Casse there are a number of hidden and quite spectacular waterfalls.  At the time of writing some of these remain inaccessible, though they can be viewed from a distance.  Others may be reached via a long and difficult trail...From beginning to end this hike is extremely difficult.  It is steep, narrow, slippery and long, involving a number of river crossings and plenty of tough ascents and descents.  The...hike which takes in around seven waterfalls can take anywhere between 6-8 hours to complete..."  Yeah, I agree.  And I'm one of those people that like to know what they're getting into, and I should have read that before going on the hike (though I most likely wouldn't have known where in the guidebook to look since it's not labelled...it's on pg 204 by the way).

Now the hike was communicated to us that it'd take between 1.5-3 hrs and we'd definitely be back by 1pm at the latest (we left at 8am from campus).  Yeah, we didn't get home until 4pm.  :) The description is pretty darn accurate.  The first 1.5-2 hrs was spent hiking on a trail that was barely there.  Normally the trail (I'd call it more of a path really) was only about 6 inches wide on the side of a "cliff."  So as you're hiking along, you're leaning onto whatever you can grab onto (roots, branches, vines, rocks, ground, etc) on one side because there's a steep LONG slope (50-several hundred ft) on the other side of you.  Plus the ground is all muddy on your "trail" so that doesn't help with traction one bit!  About 1.5 hrs after you've been on the side of the mountain, then you finally hit the river crossings.  These I like because it's a lot of rock scrambling and though I'm short, my flexibility and rock climbing experience comes in handy here.  (It reminded me a lot of the Victoria Falls hike at this point.)  After 20-30min walking through water and scrambling over rocks, you come to the first falls (nice, but we swam at a pool a bit higher up).  Definitely glad it showed up at this time because I was getting hungry and I had had to pee since the beginning of the hike!  Hehe.  Yeah for some swim time in the pool at the base, but that water was FREEZING (think Emerald Pool cold).  10 min. up the river, then we were at waterfall #2 (pictuted with me in in).  Bigger than the first, the crazy boys were climbing up it and we were all convinced it was going to end badly (slipping and falling and hitting all the rocks on the way down).  Luckily for us, they were more coordinated than they appeared, so nothing bad happened.   Hike up another 20-30 min. then we hit #3, much bigger, better pool, so on and so forth.  (You get to the point where if you've seen one waterfall you've seen them all...though I do love them all, so it's fine with me to keep seeing them.)

After #3, we had a "stair" climb to #4.  Now I detest stairs.  Take the Boiling Lake hike (1000s of stairs) for example, I can slip, slide, climb over rocks and tree roots as ladders all day long and not be out of breath, but give me those darn stairs and I go a huffing and a puffing.  Luckily there were only around 50-100 stairs on this whole hike so it wasn't bad for the most part.  #5 was a short 5 min. hike through a very muddy area to a super tall waterfall, which is a bit more famous because I know I've seen it on some Dominica advertisements (it's also in the guidebook at the beginning set of colored pictures, on "2" the one at the bottom).  After #5 (you don't actually get to see #6 and #7 so the "7 Waterfalls hike" is a bit of a misnomer), there is a pretty fun root ladder climb up a mountain (similar to Wavine Cyrique falls hike) and then some more stairs and in typical Dominica fashion, you end up in someone's backyard.  :)
So I'm glad that I did this hike, it was beautiful and difficult and worth every scratch, ache and pain that I'm going to feel in my hips, knees and ankles the rest of the evening tonight and most likely tomorrow as well!  This was a great (probably) last hike on Dominica.  Thank you!

Typical weather??

So obviously the normal thought process that goes through people's minds when you say you live in the Caribbean is that hurricanes are a norm from July through November. Not really...well, maybe...I guess it depends where in the Caribbean you live.

I myself, being from NC, was used to hurricanes. We usually got one once a year(ish). So I've been in Dominica for 2 years now (this is my third hurricane season). Right after I arrived in 2009, there was a tropical storm that went over us. Nothing fancy. Last November (2010) we had a Category 1 hurricane (Tomas) that passed between us and Martinique (that one I actually felt because I was on the very south part of the island. They said that where I live in the north part of the island, you didn't really feel any of it!).

This hurricane season (2011) has been pretty active. We've had 3 tropical storms that have affected us one way or the other. The earliest was in July (Emily), then Irene, and then Maria (apparently on the ladies love us). Now none of them went right over us. Luckily Dominica is in the Windward Islands (Lesser Antilles) and is too far south to really be affected by the major hurricanes (most of the time). If they graze us, it is usually as a tropical storm and then they pick up speed and intensity after we've been passed (yeah us!). I thought for sure we were going to get Maria (projected to go right over us). We got the outer bands with heavy rain and some wind, then it jump straight north and we had a sunny day! Bummer.

Actually my parents in NC had more issues with hurricanes so far than I have. They lost 13 trees out of their yard from Hurricane Irene!

I mean, it's only September so we are still at the "beginning' of this year's hurricane season. So it'll be interesting to see what else will be happening.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want a major storm to hit us. That would really suck. But a little rain and wind never hurt anyone. :)

PS- When I woke up this morning it kinda felt like I was home. It was sorta chilly and its been rainy today. Everyone's facebook status is talking about the cool weather in NC right now. I miss it and everyone back home!

Stir crazy

Stir crazy, island fever, whatever you want to call it, I think I've got it. :( I switched lectures at school with one of my colleagues this semester, so I lectured the first 6 weeks of the semester (before I lectured the middle third of the semester) so after week 6 (realistically week 7 due to lab exams and module director responsibilities) I've not had that much to do (we're on week 9 now). I want to go somewhere, do something, with someone, anyone. Unfortunately there's been at least one if not two people in my course gone for a month (the last two weeks and the upcoming two weeks) so I don't feel that I actually can leave because I need to make sure everything is getting done and is covered (aren't I such the responsible one). So I was banking on some down time in August between semesters but don't know if that'll happen or not.

Originally I had planned on going to a meeting in Vienna, Austria, but I decided to back out of that (didn't really want to go to another meeting and the timing of the conference was just NOT optimal). So I then implored to my friends to see if anyone wanted to go on a trip somewhere, anywhere (just not Vegas~ I'm doing that at Christmas with my parents). Thought I had a shot with Matt to LA then Vancouver, but looks like that might be a bust (won't know for sure for another 2 weeks but that cutting it close, and the airfare has already gone up $500 in two weeks). I just want to go on a vacation and NOT BY MYSELF!!!

Guess I should be used to it. Most people go on vacations with family members (love you mom and dad but I will have already done three trips to see you guys this year), siblings, significant others, spouses...need I go on? I'm no stranger to travelling by myself (Bermuda, Scotland, part of Australia). I just want to share an adventure with someone. Maybe I'm just getting lonely in my old age. Which would open a whole other discussion which I know you don't want to hear about, so I'll just stop there.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much...David (Danielle's husband) just left the island for the first time in 10 months! At least I had somewhat of a break in April! I guess I need to look at the bright side. If I don't go anywhere then I'll save some money (though my mind might explode for not leaving from April to November)!!

Movin' on up!

So, shortly after I moved to Dominica, they started clearing land close to the school to build a new grocery store. Most of the grocery stores near school are more like convenience stores in the US. You can get your basic supplies, and live off them, but it's nothing special. If you wanted to go to a more "proper" grocery store, you'd have to go to the capital, Roseau, which is an hour long bus ride and I personally can't stand Roseau. It's hot, crowded, and everyone thinks you're a tourist off a cruise ship just because you're white! I can't stand Roseau so much, that I haven't been in a year (now it's just a matter of principle to see how long I can go without needing to visit it!). So, since I've been here, grocery shopping consists of starting at one end of Picard (where Ross is located) and visiting the 3-5 grocery stores to get as much stuff as you can find (just because they had it last time, doesn't mean they'll have it this time). Which I don't mind doing, it just makes grocery shopping a little more complicated. You have your favorites at some stores. To this day, I've only found one place that has chocolate chips (James Store...which is actually pretty gross). So I know that if I need chocolate chips (or laundry detergent...they actually sell detergent as opposed to fabric softener, which everyone else only sells...but you must read the bottle carefully and be able to translate spanish in order to determine this fact), that's where I need to go.

So this "new" grocery store that is supposed to be built is slated to be a proper grocery store (like they have in Roseau) and was supposed to be open last November (2010). Guess what...TID (this is Dominica) and of course it's not open. Fast forward to April 2011...It's supposed to open on Friday...think again...Monday...psych!!...Tuesday at 10am...just kidding...Tuesday 5pm...We're in business! Of course this Tuesday falls on the day of our lab practical (which is an 11 hour work day for me), so I don't get to partake. Plus, I leave the next day for 2 weeks back in the US, so I guess I'll miss the grand opening and all the amazing things they have inside. As I'm sitting in the waiting area in the airport, I'm reading everyone's facebook status about the "amazing new grocery store" and "they've got strawberries" (which pisses me off bc I know that when I get back they'll all be gone) and "civilization come to Dominica." Yeah yeah...you guys enjoy your grand opening, but I'm going back to the states to enjoy great food and variety for 2 weeks!

Fast forward 2 weeks...I come back to Dominica. It's time to check out this new hot spot. Yep, well worth those posts. Proper US grocery store (on the small side comparatively), with a deli and a bakery and freezers that actually work! Guess what...they even still had strawberries, sorta. I enjoy perusing, grabbing things off the shelf that i don't need, but take bc I haven't seen them since I've living down here. I go to checkout and surprise surprise, my strawberries don't ring up, they're not even in the system, and the manager and no one currently in the store knows how much they cost. So they don't let me buy them (I'm seriously cussing some people out in my brain at this point...I'M OBSESSED with freaking strawberries, or any berries for that matter bc you CAN'T get them here~ it's too hot to grow them!!) And wouldn't you know, I've not seen strawberries since then. So obviously they've still got some kinks to work out. It's a great addition to the community, but it's still Dominican! At least now I pretty much only have to stop at one place to get all my groceries! Happy shopping!

Turtle watching that was...

This past weekend there was a faculty outing to Rosalie Bay Resort. This is a new resort that has been in the headlines recently (Top 10 Romantic Caribbean retreats on CNN!). And it was extremely nice. The purpose of the trip was to watch for the sea turtles that come ashore to lay nests of eggs and to relax and get away from campus. But, let me start from the beginnning.

So, Rosalie Bay is on the eastern side of the island (it's about an hour and a half drive from campus) midway between the northern and southern tip of the island. When we left it was nice and sunny and hot, but the closer to the eastern side of the island we got, the more rainy and dreary it became. So essentially the entire Saturday was spent in the rain. :( We took around 50 people (their largest crowd yet) and about half of those stayed the night. (When I booked my room, I got upgraded for free plus a 30% discount for the weekend for being Ross, divided between myself and my roommate = US$80 for a room that would normally be US$250!!) The people at Rosalie pulled out all the stops for us. They even had a 13 person steel drum band that played for us by the pool (They were actually really good! I've got a 2 min. video up on facebook if you want to check it out!). I don't know that I've ever seen that many people in a steel drum band actually... Good food and great service! We also had a turtle presentation given to us by DomSeTCO (Dominican Sea Turtle Conservation Organization) and NET (Nature Enhancement Team). We learned that there are 3 types of sea turtles that lay their eggs on Dominica (Leatherback, Green, and Hawksbill). Of these three sea turtles, the most common is the Leatherback. These are the largest of the sea turtles weighing 800-1000 lbs. In fact, there was a Leatherback that laid a nest the night before we arrived. They measured it at around 180cm (5ft. 9in). The picture I've posted is of the sea turtle tracks from the ocean up to the higher beach where it laid it's eggs (around 100 eggs per nest depending on the species). We were told that the process takes about 2 hours (from the time the sea turtle leaves the ocean, makes its way up onto the appropriate type of sand, makes a nest, lays its eggs, and then goes back into the ocean). The sea turtle nesting season begins in March, peaks in May/June, and ends in September. From 2003-2006 and 2008-2010, there were an average of 150-200 sea turtle nests reported on Dominica, and in 2007 there was over 700 nests reported (don't know what caused the huge spike)! Unfortunately, there was no sea turtle that came to lay the night we were there, but now we know to come back in May/June to see if we can get lucky!!

Even though there was a lack of sea turtle excitement, the getaway was nice, and the sun even decided to come out for a little while on Sunday so we could enjoy the pool and swim in the river. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to relax!

My first yoga retreat

Let me clarify that...as a teacher! This was definitely different than being a participant. So some background first. I've been doing yoga off and on for about 4 years. I started being much more serious about it once I moved down to Dominica. I was taking a great class from an awesome girl, Jess, who was a spouse of a student at Ross. Unfortuantely they don't stay students forever, so they left at the end of last summer (August) to go back to the states. I was definitely bummed, because it's hard to find a good yoga teacher, that teaches a class like you want to take (I'm more of a fan of the workout and sweating type and not so much of the feely relaxation aspect of yoga). So I decided that even though I don't have any certifications, but I have enough experience, knowledge, and ability that I could do a decent job of teaching a yoga class. So...I began teaching an intermediate level Vinyasa yoga class one day a week at Ross. I must say that I've developed quite a following this semester, because I routinely have 15-20 people at my Friday afternoon class!

One of my friends, Natasha, begged me to do a yoga retreat this semester (Jess used to do these when she was here, but I didn't do one last semester), so I gave in and basically threw one together within 2 weeks. So we left school at 9am and drove to Red Rock park and did yoga on the big red rocks overlooking the ocean (if you're my facebook friend, you should check out the pics, they're pretty awesome!). We did a normal yoga class for about an hour and 20 minutes, then spent the last 40 minutes doing partner yoga poses. Luckily for us, the weather was beautiful that day (low 80's, breezy, sunny at times, but other times partly cloudy~ which was nice bc I definitely got sunburnt on my back!). After yoga, we made our way down to Red Rock Haven (a favorite relaxation spot on the island) for some great food (I literally have dreams about their tostones~ fried plantains in a spicy garlic aioli sauce) and a few hours of relaxing on the beach. Trust me, there were exams this week and the students and the faculty needed some down time! So I thought it was a success! No major mishaps, 20 participants plus me (21 total), and everyone had a great time! Maybe I will do this again next year!!