Like everywhere else it is nice to visit the landmarks and all but sometimes we also have to go back to the basic activities of human living such as going to the market! Danielle here holds small bananas, one of the three varieties they offer here, which are very sweet and tasty. Here we are talking about real bananas and not the green tasteless ones that were harvested a month before that we can find at home. These ones will likely end up in our “smoothies”, the drinks we make by throwing fresh bananas, pineapple, orange juice, sprite, grenadine, cream and ice in the blender. Nothing better to cool you off!
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This is a better picture of the market here in Portmouth on Saturday morning. All fruits and vegetables are grown locally and sold here by the farmers once a week. Of course, we wash everything in a pale with soap before it gets on the boat! We sure like to keep the little insect pets of the island off the boat! Cockroaches here are sure big enough to make nice pets but if we want some company, we’ll do like everybody else and buy a dog instead. .
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We toured the island and we stopped at that “bakery” were they cook some local bread made out of the flesh of a root growing around here. It doesn’t look like bread, it doesn’t taste like bread but it is good though. The man here is grating coconut to make something with it while someone else bakes the root bread on the heated plate.
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We went to see the Indian River, which is a national park and protected area. The guide had to row the boat by hand since motors are strictly forbidden in order to protect the nest of the Water Chickens who build their nest at water level. The wake of the boats destroys them hence the ban. The Indian River was used in the movie “The Pirates of the Caribbean” for the scene of the voodoo woman. The 8 inches purple bulb is actually the flower of a banana tree before it blooms. We’ve seen many of those but never an open one.
We also walked in the Dominican jungle to get to Spanny falls; a nice water fall in the middle of scenery of the type you’ll see in a King-Kong movie! Of course we still have to show Claudette how to wear a baseball hat but this will come!
Nice examples of the local architecture that goes from nice rustic setups to barely holding houses. Remember that Dominica is an independent country and in the area this usually means living in underdeveloped conditions
We also walked in the Dominican jungle to get to Spanny falls; a nice water fall in the middle of scenery of the type you’ll see in a King-Kong movie! Of course we still have to show Claudette how to wear a baseball hat but this will come!
Nice examples of the local architecture that goes from nice rustic setups to barely holding houses. Remember that Dominica is an independent country and in the area this usually means living in underdeveloped conditions .
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Shopping at the local market and buying fruits we’ve never seen before also means having some surprises. Here I am discovering the passion fruit, which has no flesh but just that gross thing in the middle full of seeds that makes it a serious contender to the oysters in the contest of the most disgusting things to eat! The taste was good though, but Danielle and Claudette passed this time. 