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Day 3: Portsmouth, Cabrits, Syndicate |
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Day 3: Portsmouth, Cabrits, Syndicate |
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After leaving
the Carib Territory, we continued along the east coast and around the northern
tip of the island to the second-largest town, Portsmouth, where we spent
the night.
Portsmouth was once the capital of Dominica, but was abandoned in favour of Roseau because of the threat of malaria due to the abundance of mosquitoes (of which we were to have first-hand experience!) The town is located on Prince Rupert Bay and has a long sand beach, quite unlike most other areas in Dominica. |
| Cabrits National Park occupies
a peninsula at the northern end of Prince Rupert Bay. It was a major military
base up to the nineteenth century, and many of the stone structures have
survived.
The park is a popular recreational area for local residents, one of whom, Prime Minister Roosevelt Douglas (now unfortunately deceased) we encountered on his morning constitutional. |
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Photo: Selwyn Gomes |
Indian River, which flows into Prince Rupert Bay, drains one of the few wetland areas in Dominica. Small rowboats (motors are not allowed!) ferry visitors upriver to enjoy scenes like this. |
On the way back to Roseau we stopped at Syndicate, where the two indigenous parrots, the Sisserou and the Jaco, can be seen. Our group caught sight of the Jaco, but the Sisserou did not put in an appearance for us. |
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