Dominica is amazing!!!  Starting off on Sunday morning we pulled up to a beautiful mountainous island full of green rain forest and bright colored buildings. It is a very unique island which lies between Martinique and Guadalupe, and is famous for its scenic waterfalls and hikes. Also, because of all of the volcanic activity on the island there are some really cool site to see!
       When we arrived in Rosseau, the capital, my traveling crew and I had no idea where to begin but we knew we wanted to explore and learn more about the island! We took a taxi/bus to a site called the Titou Gorge which was up the mountain from the main city center in Rosseau. On the way up we spotted a few priceless photo opps as we headed up the mountain and had to stop to get out! Our driver, Anthony, was great, he told us alllll about the island. Literally must have asked him 100 questions. The gorge was awesome! It was a big pool with a few little falls and then the actual gorge was like a little cave that you can swim through which was a little scary at first but unlike anything I have ever done before! Then at the end there was another big pool with a waterfall.  This gorge was featured in the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean  and we heard all about how Johnny Depp and his crew were shooting on the island for months.
        Next we ventured into the city to try to get something to eat but there is not much open on Sundays because everyone in the island goes to church and stays home and cooks with the family. So we hit the bar! Rum punch was delicious and we sat outside right on the water. We even took a little dip in the ocean which was sooo refreshing!
        At night they opened a club special for us and we pretty much everyone headed over to “Krazy Koconuts” it was a really fun club/bar/ disco scene with strobe lights and loud music. It was super packed all with kids from the ship! We all had a blast going out together for the first time.
        The next day we went decided to check out “Maro Beach” which is one of Dominicas black sand beaches (they are black from the volcanic rock). It was a little rainy and overcast but ended up being a fun time! We got to experience some of the local food. I had bbq chicken, rice, beans, and provisions which is sort of mixture of starchy vegetables. After this  our taxi tourguide Leon we went back into the city/ He entertained us the whole way by telling us about the island and even singing and rapping for us some of his original music! Everyone we met was really friendly and enjoyed talking to us.
When we got back to Rosseau we stopped for some fresh fruit before getting back on the ship. It was delicious and the sun finally came out. Overall, my experience in Dominica was a good one! While it was very different from many of the Caribbean islands that I have visited it was quite a site to see and a perfect start to my adventures this semester.

Pictures will be coming soon!