Dominica on Christmas Eve
Sunrise saw us on approach to the lush emerald island of Dominica, and the entire day was devoted to exploring this jewel. No wind, sunny skies, and pleasant temperatures allowed for perfect conditions for a not so normal Christmas Eve for most of us. Many of us are used to snow, shopping, and Christmas caroling, but for us today entailed hiking in a rainforest and snorkeling in warm waters filled with tropical fish. I think a perfect way to celebrate the holidays!
For the first half of our day, we explored the Syndicate Nature Trail, which passes through a nice stretch of untouched rainforest. Our expert local guides explained many of the trees and their local uses and we were all amazed at the size of some of the trees. Tropical forests have very shallow root structures, and many of the trees we saw today had massive buttress root formations. Dominica is also home to well over one hundred species of birds, a number of which are only found here. One that was a sure fan favorite was the red-necked parrot, known by the local name of Jaco. A few of these noisy parrots appeared to be in some sort of pre-mating ritual as they were squawking loudly and fanning their tail feathers for each other in a very exciting display.
After lunch some of us decided to explore the underwater world just down the shore from the ship in the Cabrits National Park. For me, warm clear water teeming with tropical fish was the perfect way to spend the day before Christmas. (It certainly beats shoveling snow!) Massive barrel sponges covered the bottom, some large enough that a human could probably fit inside. Fish life was diverse and abundant, with damselfish, parrotfish, and wrasses being dominant.
As the sun set, we sailed off into a fiery sky, and settled down to have a holiday feast of fresh lobster. What a day!
Sunrise saw us on approach to the lush emerald island of Dominica, and the entire day was devoted to exploring this jewel. No wind, sunny skies, and pleasant temperatures allowed for perfect conditions for a not so normal Christmas Eve for most of us. Many of us are used to snow, shopping, and Christmas caroling, but for us today entailed hiking in a rainforest and snorkeling in warm waters filled with tropical fish. I think a perfect way to celebrate the holidays!
For the first half of our day, we explored the Syndicate Nature Trail, which passes through a nice stretch of untouched rainforest. Our expert local guides explained many of the trees and their local uses and we were all amazed at the size of some of the trees. Tropical forests have very shallow root structures, and many of the trees we saw today had massive buttress root formations. Dominica is also home to well over one hundred species of birds, a number of which are only found here. One that was a sure fan favorite was the red-necked parrot, known by the local name of Jaco. A few of these noisy parrots appeared to be in some sort of pre-mating ritual as they were squawking loudly and fanning their tail feathers for each other in a very exciting display.
After lunch some of us decided to explore the underwater world just down the shore from the ship in the Cabrits National Park. For me, warm clear water teeming with tropical fish was the perfect way to spend the day before Christmas. (It certainly beats shoveling snow!) Massive barrel sponges covered the bottom, some large enough that a human could probably fit inside. Fish life was diverse and abundant, with damselfish, parrotfish, and wrasses being dominant.
As the sun set, we sailed off into a fiery sky, and settled down to have a holiday feast of fresh lobster. What a day!
