Dominica

Can anyone tell me about Dominica.

Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food.
How's accommodations. Is it expensive or
reasonable compared to St. John.

Can anyone tell me about Dominica.

Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food.
How's accommodations. Is it expensive or
reasonable compared to St. John.

Its a few years since I was there, but then it seemed quite safe (we used
public buses to get into Rousseau and walked about quite a bit).
The roads werent too good (and have huge drainage ditches at the side) .
The main problem we had was that we arrived at the airport near Rousseau but
half our luggage (our u/w camera housing and quite a bit of diving stuff)
was sent to the other airport and we had to go and collect it.
We stayed at Castle Comfort - which was fine for what we wanted.
It IS a 'poor' island, but has lovely scenery (under and over the water).
Never been to St John so cant compare.
From my point of view, its disadvantage is getting there from UK if you've
only got a week's holiday.

John wrote:
Can anyone tell me about Dominica.

Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food.
How's accommodations. Is it expensive or
reasonable compared to St. John.

John, I assume you're referring to The nature Island of Dominica. Not
the Dominican Republic. Correct? I am from Dominican heritage and I
have travelled extensively including Southeast Asia & the Americas
including several islands in the Caribbean.

In reply to your questions,

Is it safe?
- Dominica has one of the lowest crime rates in the region. There is
not the extreme differences in wealth one associates with other
destinations. It's very safe - usual caveats apply regarding due
diligence when travelling and showing care/respect for the indigenous
communities i.e. treating folks just like how one likes to be treated;

Civilized?
- Yes. It's been a stable democracy for the last few hundred years, it
gained independence from the British in 1979, was hit by two hurricanes
soon after, main export is banana's which is a fading industry,
therefore keen to make development in the off-shore finance &
responsible tourism sectors whilst buiding linkages to the agricultural
sector. It's a very quiet destination, very reserved and in general
locals are very hospitable. Most folks in Dominica are self-sufficient
- locally grown food is widely available. Dominica is striving to
become the world's first organic island.

Accommodations?
- Can vary from "excellent" to "mediocre" to "not so good" see
www.tripadvisor.com - some really cool eco-developments happening now;

Value compared to St John's
- It's very reasonable compared to St Johns - however
budget/price/value is all relative - my view is an occasional splurge
can be a good thing - especially when the wealth goes towards
delivering positive social change for the locals.

I have three movies available on my web site which may give you a good
insight;
See: http://www.nature-island-ecolodge.com/destination.html

The last movie is an interesting view from the cockpit of an Amerijet
as it approaches the islands main airport at Melville hall! Passenger
services are provided by local turbo-prop services including American
Eagle, LIAT, Caribbean Sun/Star and a new service called Dominica Air
Taxi. there's no international airport on Dominica - it is surrounded
by international airports on islands like Antigua, Puerto Rico,
Gaudaloupe, Martinique, St Lucia, Barbados, Grenada etc...

Please note Dominica is far from being your typical sun, sea, sand
Caribbean mass-tourism destination. (And long may it remain so in my
view ;-)). It is more like Hawaii or Borneo.i.e. 65% rainforest cover
still in tact, 365 crystal rivers, last remaining settlement of the
Kalinago people (a.k.a. the Island Caribs who greeted Christopher
Colombus on his arrival to their lands - he had a different spin on the
story ;-) - lots of locally owned micro-enterprises so greater scope
for tourism revenue staying on-island for the benefit of the local
community.

Dominica is well worth a visit - especially if you are in favour of
responsible tourism. At a minimum it will make for a real interesting
break from the stereotype "banana dacquiris" on the beach-type
resorts...

Here's some more details.

The Kalingo (Carib) have an elected chief and approximately 3,785 acres
of protected lands.
Dominica was recently voted the 4th Happiest Place to live in the
world.

Research headed by Clemson University is now just beginning in Dominica
on plants that contain phytoestogens and may eventually find a use in
treatments of hormone-sensitive cancers like breast cancer and in
preventing bone loss in people with osteoporosis.

Dominica has one of the highest prevalences of centenarians in the
world (3.3 per 100,000), topped only by Okinawa , Japan

Dominica has the most intact forest cover in the Caribbean. Sixty-five
percent (65%) of Dominica's land area is covered by vegetation
ranging from dry scrub woodland on the coast to lush, tropical forest
in the interior. Dominica's natural forests, woodland and bush cover
52,000 ha (128,440 acres), or over two-thirds, of the island's
surface. Few islands can demonstrate the diverse range of flora and
fauna to be discovered in Dominica

Vascular plants - approximately 155 families, 672 genera and 1226
species of vascular plants (Nicolson, 1991).
Indigenous Species:
Pteridophytes (194),
Gymnosperms (1),
Monocotyledons (518) and
Dicotyledons (1,445).
Endemic species - Dominica has several plant species which are endemic
to the island, including Sabinea carinalis (Bwa kwaib) the National
Flower
Two genera, Agave and Furcrea that are endemic to the Caribbean
(country report submitted to the International Conference and Program
for Plant Genetic Resources (ICPPGR, 1995), Malary 1993)

Birder's Paradise:
One hundred and seventy-five species of birds have been recorded
Many of the birds are migratory and sixty species breed on the island.
Dominica's resident birds include two single-island endemics and nine
regional endemic species.
Amazona imperialis and Amazona arausiaca are considered endangered and
threatened, respectively, (IUCN Red Data List), and are specially
protected birds under Dominican law.
The Black-capped Petrel is believed by many to be nesting in the
Mountains of Dominica - however this is yet to be confirmed.

Dominica contains some of the Caribbean's best preserved coral reef
systems - It is rated as one of the world's top 5 dive locations.
Average water temperatu 27 degrees centigrade
Average visibility: 18 metres

Protected areas
Central Forest Reserve 410 ha (1013 acres)
Northern Forest Reserve, 5560 ha (13732 acres)
Morne Trois Pitons National, 6876 ha (16,984 acres) (1975) - designated
a World Heritage Site.(1999)
Morne Diablotin National Park 3337 ha ( 8242acres)
1982-Cabrits National Park- 532 ha ( 1313acres)- historical/
terrestrial/ marine components.
Marine Reserve- Soufriere/ Scott's Head Marine Reserve.

More info available at www.dominica.dm.

Regards
David

"David" wrote in message
ups.com...
John wrote:
Can anyone tell me about Dominica.

Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food.
How's accommodations. Is it expensive or
reasonable compared to St. John.

David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else.
We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're
already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the
links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well.

Is there an established ex-pat community in Dominica? I don't mean that I'd
want to live in some enclave, but they often have helpful information and
real-life experience.

thanks,
Keith

On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:20:49 GMT, "k" wrote:

David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else.
We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're
already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the
links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well.

One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On
Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool.
You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down to
the coast.

I do have pictures I took when I was visiting:
http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/

Don www.donwiss.com/pictures/carib (e-mail link at page bottoms).

k wrote:
"David" wrote in message
ups.com...
John wrote:
Can anyone tell me about Dominica.

Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food.
How's accommodations. Is it expensive or
reasonable compared to St. John.

David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else.
We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're
already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the
links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well.

Is there an established ex-pat community in Dominica? I don't mean that I'd
want to live in some enclave, but they often have helpful information and
real-life experience.

thanks,
Keith


Hi Keith,

Yes there is (let's keep it very quiet though otherwise property prices
will start going up like in Mexico, Panama, Belize and Costa Rica and
we'll start getting far too much attention from property speculator
types carrying suits and mega-scale fractional ownership condo
master-pans ;-) Jokes aside, there is a long tradition of ex-pats in
D/ca especially artists & novelists. However it's all very low key and
down-played - must be the British influence.

The stable political climate, natural beauty, still relatively low (by
Caribbean standards) land prices and the English language are seen as
an advantage by many who settle in D/ca. The North East around
Calibishie is a hot-spot for North Americans. That said, the French are
buying too - they are definitely trying hard to re-claim D/ca :-)
There are also many returning D/cans from the UK who help fuel the
economy via construction and longer term employment. On average two
long term jobs are created for every in-coming settler, on top of the
cash injection into local construction and professional services firms.

The important issue though is responsibility - any incoming settler
must think seriously about what's in it for the local people. What can
be done to help create positive social change in a manner that benefits
the local people and creates a low impact on the indigenous culture.
Maintaining the balance between individual development and a high value
wealth sharing model with the local community is as always the key to a
creative reconciliation of this on-going dilemma, be it in Mexico,
Belize, Panama or Dominica.

It sounds like you recognise this dilemma too from your comment on
enclaves - there are no enclaves in D/ca like some I see in other
destinations and long may it remain so.

I can pass on some contacts if serious. Drop me an email when you are
ready.

Regards
David

Don Wiss wrote:
On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:20:49 GMT, "k" wrote:

David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else.
We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're
already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the
links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well.

One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On
Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool.
You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down to
the coast.

I do have pictures I took when I was visiting:
http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/

Don www.donwiss.com/pictures/carib (e-mail link at page bottoms).

Don, Great pictures and 100% correct regarding the climate - one can go
from hot to cool in a little over a few miles and a few thousand feet
in D/ca ;-) Places like Laudat and the fresh Water lake are always nice
and cool, whereas the West coast can be bone dry scrub like Anguilla.
It's an amazing diversity in climate, flora and fauna for such a small
island, if one is into nature.

Don Wiss wrote:

One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On
Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool.
You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down to
the coast.

I do have pictures I took when I was visiting:
http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/

Don you have some of the absolute best pics of the
islands of anyone I know!!

They are great!!

You can really "see" what a place is like by your pics.

Thank you Don, nice pictures.
"Don Wiss" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:20:49 GMT, "k" wrote:

David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something
else.
We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're
already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at
the
links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well.

One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On
Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool.
You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down
to
the coast.

I do have pictures I took when I was visiting:
http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/

Don www.donwiss.com/pictures/carib (e-mail link at page bottoms).

Thank you Don, nice pictures.

Keith

Dumb question but I may actually visit Dominica so here
goes

I need to buy some clothes...outdoor type clothes

What clothes and boots would you people recommend
getting for staying on Dominica.... hiking, walking,
etc.

Opinions?