Dominica

Dominica is largely rural, uncrowded and unspoiled.  It has a lush mountainous interior of rainforests, waterfalls, lakes, hot springs and rivers, many of which cascade over steep cliff faces en route to the coast.  Apart from its natural splendours, including the highest mountains in the Eastern Caribbean, the island has an interesting fusion of British, French and West Indian cultural traditions, and is home to the Eastern Caribbean’s largest Carib Indian community.  They say this is one of the only places in the world that God will recognise when he returns. Unspoilt beauty

The saying goes that when Jesus returns, this will be one of the only places He will recognise!

Best time to visit

December to February

 

Experiences

  • Enjoying scenic Roseau, with its colonial architecture and Creole food and culture
  • Exploring Cabrits National Park, with find views from the ruins of Fort Shirley
  • Taking in the unsurpassed mountain and rainforest scenery
  • Hiking to Boiling Lake, the world’s second largest natural boiling lake
  • Kicking around Scotts Head, a tiny fishing village of only 800 souls on the gently curving shoreland of Soufriére Bay (the rim of a sunken volcanic crater)
  • Diving at Scotts Head Drop, a shallow coral ledge that drops abruptly to a depth of over 50m and has a wall of tube sponges and soft corals
  • Swimming in the Emerald pool
  • Driving around the island and picking up the locals and sipping coconut water prepared by the locals
  • Fishing
  • Yachting
  • Listening to the tin pan drums whilst sipping coconut water on the waters edge
  • Rock diving
  • Visiting the bay rum plantations
  • Drinking some of the best water in the world

 

Eat

Callaloo soup (a creamy soup made with dasheen leaves) and mountains of delicious fresh fruit) –  over 75 different varieties of mangoes.

 

Drink

Fruit punch made with fresh fruit and rum, or the locally brewed beer Kubuli

 

Surprises

Dominica’s national bird, the Sisserou parrot, is the largest of all the Amazon parrots; there are more than 200 rivers in Dominica.

Dominica’s national dish is the mountain chicken, which is not a chicken but the legs of a giant frog called the carpaud, which is endemic to Dominica and Montserrat.

 

Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands NOT IN YET

A wealth of vibrant indigenous cultures, colonial architecture, otherworldly volcanic landscapes and dense rainforests are packed into the borders of tiny Ecuador, the smallest Andean country in South America.  You can change your surroundings here as fast as you can change your mind – one day your cold fingers are picking through hand-woven woollen sweaters at a chilly indigenous market in the Andean highlands and the next they are slapping mosquitoes on a tropical beach.  Then there are the Galápagos Islands, lauded as one of the world’s greatest natural history treasures.

 

Best time to visit

From May to December on the mainland, or January to April for the Galápagos.

 

Experiences

  • Travelling to the Galápagos Islands to snorkel with harmless sharks, stare at iguanas and scuba dive with manta rays
  • Wandering through the splendid colonial streets of Cuenca
  • Outdoor pursuits in the Oriente – where you can hike, visit indigenous communities, white-water raft, fish for piranhas and spot caimans.
  • Bouncing around the spectacular high Andean road known as the Quilotoa loop, stopping to hike, buy indigenous crafts and visit Ecuador’s most stunning crater lake, Laguna Quilotoa
  • Journeying down the Rio Napo to the Amazon River by canoe and cargo boat from Coca in the Oriente to Iquitos Peru

 

Eat

Ceviche (uncooked seafood marinated in lemon and served with popcorn and onion) or patacones (flied plantain chips).

 

Drink

The good local cervezas (beer), or aguardiente (sugarcane alcohol) – a more acquired taste

 

Surprises

Ecuador has one of the highest deforestation rates in Latin America; the oldest tools found in Ecuador date to 9000 BC.