Day Eight: Dominica

Originally we were supposed to fly to Tobago, but business opportunities seemed better in Dominica. It's an island country between Guadaloupe and Martinique; geologically young compared to other Caribbean islands, so few sand beaches. The island is very mountainous and covered in dense rainforest. It's one of the only places in the Caribbean where there are still Carib Indians living - for the most part still in traditional ways. There are two airports on the island, but the only one suitable for us to land on is on the opposite side of the island from the big towns, and it has no IFR approach. We made it in, then hired a driver to take us across the island. The road is unbelievably narrow and windy - barely wide enough for opposing vehicles to pass each other without one going off the edge of the road. This fact didn't slow the drivers down, however, and we had some pretty wild high speed close calls! The drive was about an hour and half, into the town of Roseau. This town reminded me of Belize City - very tight roads with a ton of cars and people, and pretty rundown buildings. We stayed at the Fort Young Hotel, which is built on the remnants of an actual fort from the 1700's. After an amazing buffet dinner, I enjoyed some rum while listening to a live steel drum band.