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- Updates from the Islands -- - Dominica - - |
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For the most recent reports from Dominica see this page.
| - HAPPY CHRISTMAS |
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Jaco Ladd and I would like to wish all the correspondents and readers of Stormcarib a very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year with hopefully good clear weather in 2008.
We would also like to thank everyone who was so supportive before, during and after Hurricane Dean. Your support gave us courage and a warm feeling of caring by people who only know us through our postings on stormcarib.
THANK YOU
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
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| - This is not a Paddy field; it's a veggie garden! |
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The sun is shining, it is a gorgeous lucid day - even better because
we now have a veritable growing patch. Our good friend Amos came to
the rescue; he's done a fantastic job of making our vegetable garden.
All the seeds are planted,and husbandry is alive and 'coming to come',
which is a very good Dominican saying.
From this, we presume, will come a warm feeling of self sufficiency in
the traditional Dominican way of thinking. 'The hucksters 'ah come'
when they see the fruits of toil and time, is a phrase embroiled in my
grey matter; meaning of course, when there is produce on show to sell
market-style, there is no shortage of folk wanting to get in on a
slice of the action.
I went to town this morning and lo! and behold!, the Christmas spirit
is in full swing. People wearing Christmas hats looking very
decorative. It is only now that I have seen lots of seasonal goodies
such as exotic chocolates, bottles of champagne, delicatessan yummies
and nuts akimbo on the shelves in the supermarket, so I have done a
little bit of luxury shopping for our Christmas. And a wheel of Brie
cheese; we have to spoil ourselves a bit once in a while, n'est pas?
We are posting some photo's of the garden and of course our puppy who
we have kept and named Tipex ('Tippy'), the others have all gone to
very good homes.
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| - WINTER CHILL INNER WARMTH |
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Yesterday was very wet, we had gusty winds and torrential rain, today is very similar. It is a day to stay at home, cook, curl up with a good book and relax. The rainy weather is throughout the islands, a whiplash from Olga we are told.
This morning we had a really huge surge of wind; so powerful it sent the flower vase onto the deck and then one of the 30ft bamboo cracked and fell to the lawn, who says the storm season is over? The two puppies scattered, bumped into each other and retreated into their box. It is the first December in Dominica and therefore our first Christmas here. I have my Rasta bead Christmas tree - compliments of Victor bead man, Coconut Grove, Antigua - on display and am starting to feel the Christmas spirit. Our little cottage is so cozy. We made the decision to install UPVC windows when we built, that open outwards and let in all the air, when closed they keep the damp and cold out. We notice that even after hurricane Dean we experienced no dampness in the cottage, our clothes are dry and smell fresh. In Antigua the apartment we had had louvered windows; even though Antigua is such a dry island we used to experience damp clothes. So we highly recommend these windows for Caribbean houses. A couple of weeks ago I posted a story about a little girl whose dog had died and her letter to God. Today I was sent a very interesting video about a young girl who is incredibly talented and shows us her vision through her art work. The world is a wonderful and beautiful place. Being able to live in a simple way just enjoying the basic things in life, helping each other, not being selfish, certainly not being greedy. Health is the most important thing we possess. This time of the year should be for sharing. So I am off into the garden to give my neighbour some fresh bread straight from the oven and no doubt he will give me something from the garden. What more could we want. Enjoy have a great day. This is
a CNN interview with a young girl of 12 who is profoundly gifted.
Her mother was an
atheist before this incredible gifting became evident with her daughter.
Take a
look: |
| - EGGS |
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We are having Christmas weather; not that pleasant - quite a lot of rain and it is really cool here in the valley. We have had a really busy week and so have not been vigilant in keeping our postings together. Christmas is around the corner but if we did not go into to town we would have no idea about Christmas. The reason is simple, we have no sometime intrusive TV signal. So we are late making the Christmas cake, but the fruit is now soaking in lots of liquor ready to be made next week.
The great thing living here in Dominica is the fact that the chickens and eggs are all home grown so to speak. We have several places in the valley we buy our eggs from. It is so different to have an egg that has a truly yellow yolk, stands up and looks at you before you cook it. Like everything here, we pick it, dig it up, take it out of the garden put it in the pot. Truly organic, yes we feel healthy.
Fingers crossed, we have not felt any earth tremors so hopefully the plates deep in the earth have gone back to sleep! The sun has come out so maybe we can play today. We have two puppies left; one is soon to go which is sad, but we are keeping one. It has been quite an experience, not to be forgotten, but one I don't think we will do again.
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| - Earthquake | |
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| - THE EARTH DID SHAKE THE EARTH DID QUAKE |
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Well forget the weather. That earth quake was just amazing. I was in the garden with the puppies looking at the cottage when everything started to go from side to side, the trees the cottage. Jaco Ladd was in the cottage and I was shouting at him to get out and the earth kept trembling creaking and moving it just went on and on, it was surreal, I could not believe the length of time the earthquake took, it seemed well over a minute. I really got frightened because I thought it was not going to stop. I thought that at any minute the ground would open up and I could fall down a big crack. I actually stayed pretty still. The after effect was of motion sickness which lasted with me for about half an hour. I noticed that all the birds especially the parrots flew off the trees and were making a mega noise so it disturbed the birds as much as we humans.
Things that go through one's mind even though it was for a minute was frightening. I was scared for each other, our home and everyone in the country. The earthquake happened with no warning, it made me think that every minute of everyday must be lived and enjoyed life is so precious and so precarious. Today we have beautiful sunny weather everything looks normal as if nothing has happened.
The strange thing is that we posted on stormcarib just before the earthquake struck at aroun 3 p.m. yesterday, we had had an earth tremor the day before which lasted about 40 seconds and was quite heavy, the cottage again shook and I was again in the garden with the puppies. We feel that earthquakes are in a way more frightening than hurricanes, the mere fact that there is no warning we have absolutely no control over nature.
In 19 years living in the Caribbean we have never experienced such a very big earthquake and we hope we don't have any more like that in the future.
As Jaco Ladd, the other primate sharing inhabitant of the house, I ditto everything that's written above. There doesn't seem to be a short term pattern for quakes, so we don't know if it's an
hors d'ouvre for something else down the road or not. Although there are complexities in the Richter scale, it's basically a compounding ratio that makes any earthquake in the 8 bracket many more times powerful than one in the 7, etc. that's a layman's evaluation. So 8 is where I don't wanna be.
In the valley there are concerns that yesterday's major wobble has affected the crack in the Miracle Lake which is a daunting prospect, a lot of loose cannon water could be catastrophic - updates as and when.
My favourite road running friend Mindy dog, during the aftershock was on haunches with a doleful, almost balmy look on her face that translated to: "Did the Earth move for you too, Master?" I retreated.
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| - The earthquake experience… |
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I Offer a second hand account of the Earthquake experience in But it is THE NATURE ISLE - - All reports I obtained from the South of the Assessments were still ongoing at the time but the Capital Roseau and its environs seemed to have faired Okay- May God be PRAISED INDEED!!! However, a gentleman just outside of Nonetheless, in his opinion this Earthquake felt much worse than what was experienced in the South of the Island during the devastating Earthquake on Sunday, November 21st 2004 at 7: 41: 08 A.M. Note -*(the North of the island closer to the epicentre had much greater impact) -When the Mercy of God was shown on the Feast of Christ the King. Thus, No lives were lost then, in a Magnitude 6.3 Quake and as It stands now No lives have been lost Today in a Magnitude 7.4 Quake, Thank God. A lot is due perhaps to the fact that it was an intermediate depth earthquake at about 146Km in depth.
Earthquakes, such as this one, that have focal-depths between 70 and 300 km are commonly termed "intermediate-depth" earthquakes. Intermediate-depth earthquakes typically cause less damage on the ground surface above their foci than is the case with similar magnitude shallow-focus earthquakes, but large intermediate-depth earthquakes may be damaging nonetheless and may be felt at great distance from their epicenters as this one was- The Largest earthquake perhaps in Caribbean History felt from the Dominican Republic all the way to French Guiana and Caracas, Venezuela. Some land slides have been reported around Notably, this Earthquake struck at an ?Hour of Mercy? at about 3 P.M. ? I do hope we will all Continue to take the right precautions and to plead for the continued Mercy of our Dear God. For all those who do pray and especially for those who Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet -may You continue to do so with fervour and Trust in the secure Future of these Caribbean Lands! We Do need Faith, Hope and Prayer for this Beloved Region? FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar MSN Toolbar Get it now! |
| - Slight tremor |
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Good news from Dominica. To the best of my knowledge, there were no
injuries or major structural damages resulting from today's tremor in
the Portsmouth area. While the tremor was certainly felt, it was not
of any major intensity.
If there is anyone with any further information on local problems, please send me an email. We would love to provide as much information as possible to the area. Best wishes to all!! John |
| - PLANTING |
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The last couple of days have been cold and mega-showery, today is lovely, lots of sunshine and a good breeze for drying the washing. The official end of the hurricane season looms once more; nature has been fairly kind to us in the Caribbean of late, except for Hurricane Dean who did a lot of damage to Nature in our first year on this beautiful island.
Yesterday at something past 10am, a little earth tremor let us know who's still in charge - for one and a half seconds, a little wobble in the masonry caused the pups to bark and the parrots to aviate to higher ground; no damage, no big deal but..........no warning! Planting time is here and like clockwork on the 25th November ,our dear neighbour came as promised and planted a lime tree donated by himself. This tree has pride of place in the middle of our garden. It certainly is growing nicely and I am sure t'will bear lots of fruit in years to come. We had a few comments about gardeners; people seemed to think we should be out in the garden ourselves! Well this would be great but we both have jobs to do, also we have over one and a half acres of garden to take care of with a feast of trees on our doorstep. The forest would always overtake the garden in no time if it is left to it's own devices. We found out where our new gardener for the vegetable garden was on the fateful Saturday that I went to fetch him. Supinely on his back, dead drunk swimming in our wonderful Dominican rum. Unfortunately, rum takes precedent over gardening, so now we have located a new hoe-master for the vegetable garden who is starting tomorrow. Can't wait! Even though November-end is in the wings, a little update from over here will be posted, God willing, through the more passive season. |
| - BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR |
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Well folks it is a very chilly morning, the sun is shining but up here in the valley it is really cold. I am dressed in a shirt, jumper dungarees and socks! Could Miss Mermaid be right and we will be getting snow in the Caribbean? My office is on the deck and it is too cold to be out there this morning, so I am writing this in the bedroom! A thought, it is the 25th November tomorrow the day for planting all of our citrus plants in the garden. Perhaps that is why it is so chilly as the earth is getting ready for the big plant out all over the island toute suite!
Speaking of gardening, I went to fetch our new gardener for the vegetable garden this morning and yes, you've guessed it: no gardner, so I suppose the vegetable garden will be on the backburner for the time being. Island life for you. Luckily our regular gardener is working away and our lawn is getting nearer completion, (we wish he liked to do the weeding as well) horses for courses is a very good old saying.
It is getting warmer now I can take off the socks but the jumper maybe needed for a little longer. Have a great Saturday everyone............................
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| - Heavenly |
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We had lot's of rain last night, it was cold for here and I wrapped up
warm with a jumper, jeans and socks! Wow, when it came to bedtime we
curled up under the covers had a cuddle and went into a deep sleep.
This morning it is absolutely beautiful, there is a real nip in the
air the sky is cloudless, it feels like it is going to be a gorgeous
day, one when one is glad to be alive. It is also for Americans all
over the world Thanksgiving. We were sent a lovely e mail today and
we think we would like to share it with everyone. It is a cute kind
of precious story,very simple.
Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she
died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how
much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so
that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her
that I thought we could so she dictated these words:
Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is
with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me
have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and
to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will
know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith.
We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and
Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address
on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the
envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the
letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the
letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had
gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.
Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front
porch addressed, "To Meredith , " in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith
opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, "When a Pet Dies."
Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God
in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of
Abbey & Meredith and this note:
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it
stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need
our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture
in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to
keep and have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for
helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you
have. I picked her especially for you.
I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.
By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.
Love,
God
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| - Gardens |
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We were so sad to wake up this morning and hear about the terrible tragedy in Bangladesh with their dreadful storm, life is so fragile, we must grab it and make every minute of every hour in every day count. We are having a little bit of rain today and I was told by our friend and neighbour 'Sobo' (that is his Rasta name - other name Patrick) that it is the time of the moon to bring showers before we plant next weekend on the 25th November. We find this fascinating. We have now lived full time in Dominica eight months and have been listening to Sobo with his propehcies of weather, it can be very sunny and warm in the early morning and Sobo will say it will rain this afternoon and sure enough there's rain, magic!!
We have a huge garden, over an acre to be exact; the rest is two acres of forest, with our wonderful fertile soil we can grow anything. The only problem is that we have a gardner who does not like to weed! This causes us constant agitation and frustration. Our gardner clears the beds I buy the plants then the weeds over take the plants it is a hard battle of wills. Well we have given up with that as the gardner is great at other things and a very good worker in other areas, so we will let him do what he is best at and move on.
This morning we have bought in a new chap, who is a Carib Indian, to be our vegetable gardener; hopefully this once a week visit will keep those weeds at bay, whilst planting the veggies and eventually sharing some of them with us when they are ready for the table. Dominica is one of the only islands in the Caribbean that has it's own indigenous Carib Indians that reside on their own reservation: we'll chat about this subject more thoroughly somewhere down the line. Most readers out there know all about the film 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ; well the Carib Indians were the real tribe in the film referred to as the 'Pelegostos'. They were portrayed as cannibals but the Caribs in real life certainly weren't! A brouhaha ensued during the making of the film and Disney & Co were quick to point out to all and sundry that the storyline was merely from the pen of their imaginitive writers; the Carib chief relented and the film went ahead. Bravo!
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| - Citrus Planting Day |
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We had a lovely sunny weekend the temperature is fabulous in the valley in the 70's at night and low eighties in the daytime. The weather front looks quiet but Monserrat has been letting off steam again! The dust from the volcano seems to have gone off to St Croix, missing us out which can't be bad. We are trying to get our garden together, planting lots of fruit trees and vegetables so that the land can help sustain us. Not forgetting the benefit of healthy living eating your own organic produce. Our neighbour Sobo who has a banana plantation behind us is teaching us about planting citrus trees. All gardening is done according to the time of the month depending on the state of the moon. It is very important to follow these traditions. Sobo is very kindly giving us some lime trees to plant but we must only plant them on the 25th November. We have to go to the botanical gardens in Roseau and purchase other citrus trees that we need to plant so these also can be planted on the same day! We find this fascinating this is another wonderful thing about living in Dominica, tradition is followed and life goes on here in a very peaceful productive pace. There is definitely a lesson to be learned from these wise farmers of the soil. Talking about soil brings us to the first adventure on the lawn of our four week old puppies. We had such fun playing with them on the grass and boy can they move quickly. Tails a wagging, growling playful babies. I think we will miss them when they go. We have had to make a choice of puppy and have chosen the light brown bitch with a white tip on her tail, we have named her Tipex (Tippy) for short. Yes, she is the one on her own in the photo's. Attachment:
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| - Perfect Weather |
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The weather over the last few days has been beautiful. We have been having a really busy time going back and forth to Roseau. This is a journey in itself and however much you try not to be too long does not work. There is know way you get out of town quickly. It is hot, sticky and difficult to park. Don't get me wrong, Roseau is not an unattractive place it is just that we do not like having to go there more than two days in a row. We are celebrating the puppies forth week month aversary they are all lying flat out sleeping the afternoon away getting sturdy, fat and full of fun. The 30th November looms, that does it or doesn't end date for the hurricane season! |
| - Wrong Day |
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The weather has been showery, a great temperature around mid seventies dropping a bit at night. Our lawn is nearly finished it has taken months of collecting slabs of grass from all over the place but it really is looking great. We just need to borrow a roller for a week to totally flatten it out!
Made a huge mistake about the market! Found out that this weekend everything is closed including Saturday until Tuesday for Independence celebrations. This caused me to dash into town on Friday afternoon to do some grocery shopping otherwise the cupboard was bare for the holiday. This is something I never normally do, it was chaotic people in holiday mood having a great time chatting to their friends and relatives. The market had been blasted and there were just some very sad looking vegetables left; the market sellers looked dead on their feet waiting to be able to pack up, go home rest and party! Getting into town was a performance in itself but getting out was much worse, bumper to bumper, fender to fender Luckily I had some great music to listen to. A young man popped up and stuck a Dominican flag on my car and made me feel very much a belonger. I got out of town unscathed and manged to pick up my fix of ice cream for the weekend - yep the fridge is still working masterfully, still can't get used to this. Today is gorgeous and I am off to Portsmouth leaving Jaco Ladd to look after the puppies that took their first gulp of milk unaided from a bowl this morning! It was sad to say goodbye to Claire and Marcelle who left their beloved island Dominica to go back to England and the States. We all keep in touch via stormcarib....................................... gotta go. |
| - Independence Weekend |
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Our hearts go out to the people in the province of Tobasco, Mexico who have experienced devastating downpours and flooding, the like of, we hope, Dominica will never see. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones. Storms are storms not just stormcarib! The weather is very showery, the temperature here in the valley really just right. Yesterday we mowed our lawn for the second time; simply because we had the most gorgeous afternoon. We had great fun playing with our friend's grandchildren, boisterous and energy driven, who christened the lawn by playing our first game of French cricket. This weekend is Independence holiday for Dominica so it is a long break. We are hoping for lovely weather, as the conditions we had last weekend for the Creole Festival, are now a distant memory We are off to the market in Roseau tomorrow before dawn; the market in Dominica is the best we have seen in the Caribbean and tomorrow is special. Everyone will be dressed in their bright Caribbean colours. The produce will be amazing and we will take a camera to post for all of you to savour. Here are some baby photo's of our ever growing pups, they are just delightful, starting to get around and interact. Life at their age is stressless. A good weekend to all. Attachment:
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| - Wet Creole |
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It has been a few days since writing. The days have been really rainy with thunderstorms. We think a lot of the Caribbean has been affected by this tropical depression. Having said that the Creole Festival still went on in the new Windsor Park Stadium. Everyone had a great time. The last evening on Sunday had two really great acts as Beres Hammond did not play on Saturday night for the show so had to perform last night. If I had a hat I would take it off to the Dominicans, through huge storms the party went on regardless, everyone had a great time. Dominicans surely know how to party. We have had a visitor from St. John in the US Virgin Islands who is a regular visitor to our stormcarib reports. We have spent a lovely afternoon enjoying each others company and playing with the puppies who have now got their eyes wide open. They are on very wobbly all fours and are a delight to us all. Here is a photo to prove the pups are in great spirits. Our brindle pup is still happy on her back!!! Any names out there for this cute puppy? Attachment:
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| - WET, WET, WET |
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Thunder and lightning yesterday early evening rendered a large portion of Dominica without power! Oh my, we've only just got power and now we're voltless! Luckily, there's our trusty generator - so we popped it from slumber again to supply our much needed energy. Going early to bed with a 'that won't be back by morning' attitude, forgot to turn back to power and were nicely surprised to find that the current was back come sun up. Having electricity again is something we obviously have to get used to!!
It looks like today is a wash out. A lunch party in town was kicked into touch because of a threatening flood, so Creole Day will have to wait for another year This is not so bad as we are very cozy and have a good movie to curl up infront of with whimpering pups, legs akimbo and getting fatter by the moment ........................but,
We feel very sorry for all our Dominican friends who are out to have a great time this weekend, weather notwithstanding, and can only hope that it clears up tomorrow so they can have a very sunny Creole experience. Reports of yesterday early evening from the park where the festivities were taking place: bands playing and lots of good things to eat, but the party was rather spoiled and very scary because of the dramatic thunder and lightning. Luckily, the park had a generator as well and so the show went on as planned. People may have been bedraggled and wet but still stayed to dance and have a good time, that's the way to do it.
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| - Creole Festival |
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It has been a very quiet night, we have woken up to a bright sunny day much different to yesterday which became overcast in the afternoon with a lot of thunder and lightning, not too much rain but quite miserable. Dominica is a buzz with tourists and returning Dominicans for its Creole Festival this week. Roseau, the main city, is full of cheerful people many of them in their colourful Creole outfits that are so feminine and pretty. We ourselves are going to take part in the festivities. We are looking forward to locally cooked tasty food in the park. There are many bands including the famous Beenie Man, lately referred to as 'King Of The Dancehall' whom I have met a few times in Antigua. The town is the hot spot. The downside for many who live in and around the town is that the party will continue for a few nights until the wee hours, meaning lack of sleep as the bass booms out invading their living rooms and bedrooms. The only way to avoid this is to get out of bed or don't get in it in the first place, go join in!
This is easy for us to say as we are in the comfort zone of our country retreat so will be assured to get our beauty sleep!! If it's going to major be fun we need to have lots of good weather, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed, scanning the screen and saying my prayers right now. We still can't get used to water in the taps, being able to flush the loo and light switches that come on when pressed. No more running out late at night to turn off the generator. It is just amazing to be on mains electricity after seven months on generators!! |
| - ELECTRICITY |
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The weather is very overcast today, it feels a little bit like winter in the air, although of course we do not ever really get cold. It is very comfortable and for us even more comfortable because we now are on mains ELECTRICITY. We can't get over being able to pull the flush in the loo, water in the taps, the fridge is really cold, ice in the freezer compartment, light in the middle of the night. Jaco Ladd is on a mission to get me some ice cream my biggest luxury, ice cream on tap! We took this photo last night from our balcony while enjoying the peace of not having the generator on but still having light. It really makes all the difference to us. Thank you Domlec, Mr George at customer service in particular, for making sure we got hooked on to the mains yesterday, even ringing us up in the evening to wish us well. Also Mr Walton Joseph and his crew for doing the contracting work to get us on line. Happy times............................. Attachment:
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| - Sunshine |
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It is Friday, it is a glorious photo-classic sunny day. It could be even more wonderful because today is the day that Domlec (we think) will hook us up to the main electricity supply. Imagine endless ice cream, ice on demand, cold drinks in the fridge, solid chocolate, food that does not go off in a day, water in the taps, bucketless flushes for the loo, lights that go on with a 24/7 switch................unbelievable. The saga of us and our electricity which has gone on for the last seven months is about to end. We went through two underpowered diesel generators and now have a gas guzzler model that works well to what end? POWER! We are so near but so far, fingers crossed we have 'the light' by the end of the day, please all at Domlec give us some current? Of course one section of the family are completely oblivious to the incoming amps, watts and volts.Even so, the puppies are absolutely wonderful, they just sleep, eat and pooh but they are growing really well they are a week old today! We thought it would be fun to post this photo of our gardener in his elegant rain attire that he makes himself, yes, this is the human condom! Through all weathers, this hot & steamy guy is involved in a hoe-down! Posting also a very full muddy Layou from a few weeks back. Attachment:
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| - Puppies |
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The weather over the last couple of days has been glorious. There is definitely a freshness in the air in the mornings and evenings, winter approaches and our kind of autumn is halfway through. Very cozy at night with a quilt on the bed. It looks like we could be lucky with no hurricanes on the horizon. Ooops! don't forget LENNY came in November. Yesterday I went for a swim in the Layou river. I have not been to the river for a while because it has become so shallow after DEAN. It was wonderful to see the water back to its normal depth; great swimming area plus a sandy beach in a horseshoe shape. This was due to a big excavator going into the river digging out the sand and the rocks. At this time of the year there can be almighty flash flooding with little or warning. The first sign is leaves and twigs rapidly appearing followed by a wall of water. The excavator was in the river at the time a flash flood came hurtling through at tremendous speed. The driver managed to get to the river bank and safety just in time to see - with the owner - the excavator covered to the top of the cab with water. They were holding on to each other in desperation hoping that the river did not carry the excavator down with the debris. All was well, but what a scare for everyone. I have to say I wish I had been there with my camera! When we swim in the river we always keep a keen eye on the flow with a readiness to get out quickly. Having said that there is nothing quite like a river bath, the water is cool, clean and relaxing, another reason to live in Dominica, 365 rivers, plus some really lovely beaches, what more could one want! We have to report that the puppies are doing really well. The little brindle pup with the white and pink tummy spends his life on his back even as you can see at the milky bar. They're all doing fine and just too cute. We would like to thank everyone for their condolences at us losing the small one as I suppose she would be termed runt of the litter. Attachment:
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| - Sad News |
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| The weather is definitely several degrees cooler, it is quite chilly at night, meaning we need a cover on the bed to snuggle up in. It looks like a bright sunny day today, however, we are so sad because the smallest of the litter passed away in the night. We had been helping her all day getting her latched on to the milk bar, I checked her in the night but this morning she had passed onto another world. We are sad because she was so sweet. We have buried her in a very pretty part of our garden overlooking the beautiful views. I know we are sentimental but one always has to look out for the weakest and protect them. Mindy is very quiet we know she knows she has lost a baby, nature is harsh survival of the fittest. |
| - 2 pictures for you |
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The temperature is great, there is a nip in the air a feel of Autumn, the sun is shining. The evenings are drawing in and the mornings are quite dark. Living near the equator means that darkness falls fast. We do not have Fall and Spring but there is a definite difference in the Winter months. We do have certain trees that only flower in the Summer and Winter months, but nothing like the spectacular change that happens in America and Europe. As yet,we've never really experience cold weather, although living in the valley, sometimes a sweater is handy! So happy now that our dog Mindy had her puppies on Friday. Mum and 6 pups are doing really well although we had to have help from the vet. Here a couple of photo's of the family! Attachment:
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| - Rain!! |
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For the last two days we have had rain which has refreshed everywhere and made it much greener. Yesterday the Layou River was the fullest we have seen it since hurricane DEAN there must have been lots of rain in the mountains. Today the river is still running fast, the water very muddy, not good for swimming in.
We managed to find a lawn mower and did the first cut on our lawn two days ago so were very pleased to have the rain. Domlec is at the moment putting in poles to hook us up to the electricity supply. We have been living with a generator now for seven months, it has been tough but we are now used to it! Can't wait to have ice cream on tap so to speak. We will have to have an electricity party..................................
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| - Just a little Rain! |
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We have woken up to another glorious day in paradise. We have been out this morning with the watering can, watering our new coffee trees and nutmeg trees, plus our vegetables. We don't have a long enough hose pipe to water everything so have a great way of filling up the wheelbarrow with water, wheeling it to the area requiring the water then setting to work! I don't think we have had rain for a whole week. This is not usual because we live in the rain forest and this is supposed to be the rainy season so we should get a few showers a day! Some wires have got crossed somewhere.
The wild life around us is just fabulous we have two young blue herons that live in the trees across from our deck. We know that they are immature because they are totally white, when they mature they turn blue. These two birds delight us every morning with their antics, flying effortlessly through the sky from tree to tree, doing the most wonderful balancing act, especially when preening themselves. We also have two sets of humming birds nesting in our passion fruit bush which is attached to the avocado tree just by the cottage, Here I am sitting on the deck, my new office, using our table as my desk with my laptop computer wired up to the internet. There are so many things to see and watch it is hard to concentrate on work! Mindy is at my feet her belly full of puppies the due date we are not sure of, perhaps we should be opening a nature reserve? (When we have power, Domlec are starting work today to give us power hopefully by the end of the week) it will be so peaceful here in our corner of the beautiful nature Isle Dominica. Maybe we might just get a small shower of rain today! Ever mindful that there are still seven weeks of the hurricane season to go so, for all the peace and quiet let's not get complacent. |
| - Freddie the Frog |
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The last few days have been just beautiful, today is no exception, it is a fabulous day for Sunday, lounging around just being lazy for a change is definitely in order. Freddie the frog managed somehow to get into the draw of our deep freeze, luckily for Freddie because we do not have power 24/7, our deep freeze never stays frozen. Jaco Ladd on opening the freezer had quite a surprise when out popped Freddie cooler for his expedition still very much alive, off to explore we do not know where next! The good news is that we are having Domlec here on Monday to start putting in our mains electricity. Hopefully, this should be finished in a week and we then should have regular power. Freddie had better not try getting back in the freezer draw again. |
| - Frogs |
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The weather is typically what the Dominican rainy season is about. Take yesterday for example I was only three miles from our home in the valley. The place I was at was experiencing a few little showers but below in our valley torrential rain and thunder was causing mayhem; really weird how the weather can be so diverse in such a short distance. Today is glorious, so far the sun is shining and I am on my veranda looking out over the glorious view of the mountain, cliff, trees, banana plantation and lawn!
We have a little visitor each night, a tiny little frog that likes to be on the window sill; whether he is attracted to the cool of the PVC or the smooth surface for his bottom we do not know but like clockwork we have to let him out in the morning. The amazing thing is that this tiny froggie does not make any noise during the night to keep us awake so we do not mind sharing our space with him. Yes, of course he has a name Freddie the frog. It really is neat being surrounded by nature. We just wish that our national frog referred to as mountain chicken, named Crapuad or in creole Krah-poh did not have a nasty disease that could make them extinct. This has been worrying the Dominican experts for a long time. This frog has very long legs the size of a chicken wings; it is a yellow-brown colour with brown spots and a pink belly. Mountain chicken is a delicacy and used to be consumed in great quantities until the disease took a hold, now their is a ban on catching the Krah-poh. We so hope that a cure is found and the frog is kept from extinction. Having said that I do not think I would like to eat the legs of the frog, I would have to close my eyes and pretend I was eating something else. It is the thought of it that takes over. Only two more months of hurricane season left, but having said that, February is the only month in the year that there has not been a Caribbean hurricane, so anything could happen.We are looking forward to having these two months be nice to us storm wise! |
| - MAGNIFICENT DOLPHINS |
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Yesterday was really weird the early morning was gorgeous very sunny we set out to go sailing in Portsmouth, on the way we could see black clouds in the mountains which meant it was pouring with rain. The sun shone all the way until we reached our destination when the heavens opened and it poured. As John pointed out yesterday the rivers were full and our friend's garden became full of dirty muddy water, we had to move the jeep to hirer ground lest it got over it's wheels in water. This did not look a promising start to our afternoon sailing, however being intrepid and up to the adventure we set sail and on our friend's 41' yacht and soon found the sunshine.
We have done a lot of sailing in Antigua, we always used to see other boats on the sea passing by but yesterday we were the only people on the ocean. There is a lot of marine life living off Dominica which includes Sperm Whales and Dolphins. We really wanted to see the dolphins! Were we in for a treat. We saw a school of dolphins frolicking in the deep blue ocean. Our sail boat idled up to them we were able to join them for over two hours. There were well over fifty dolphin's mostly in pairs cavorting in the sea, they weaved in and out in front of the bow where I had the prime seat. We just could not get over the gracefulness and beauty of these wonderful creatures, they were chatting to each other in their squeaky voices. I was able to identify one by a round mark the size of a dollar she or he was fascinated by us and kept a vigilant watch on what we were up to. The time past so quickly it was time to leave our friends and return home. Coming back in we were welcomed in shore by a thunder and lightening storm, I hate lightening it was scary because the lightening was forked, hissy and darn right nasty. We managed to more safely and were greeted by our friends with hot coffee. Here.s to the next time! |
| - Its a rough one |
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Sundays for some reason are always a pain for me. A long week ahead
of you, the end of a weekend that you'd been looking forward to the
entire week previously and the realization that you were nowhere near
as productive as you'd hoped. To make matters worse, on this
particular Sunday, we are being bombarded with rain showers on
Dominica!!!!
When I left for the library this morning (in the Portsmouth/Picard area), the river next to my home was running wild meaning that there was extreme rainfall in the mountains. While this was quite a few hours ago, I now worry that it may be overflowing as the rain has been relentless. CRASH another round of thunder...Hopefully it calms down pretty soon. With warnings about Dengue being released by the Dominican government this added rain will only increase this growing problem. Hears to hoping for sunshine and cloudless days to come!!! John x |
| - Sunshine |
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Yesterday was very wet and cool, today we have awoken to bright sunshine, it is a fabulous Sunday. I now have the best office in the world. I acquired a laptop computer and am now sitting on our deck looking out over the mountain which drops to the river, beautiful shades of green from the trees bright reds with streaks of bronze revealing the rock face. We have a three-D effect looking first at the lawn, the trees in the hedge, stretching out over the banana plantation to the forest and the cliff. How wonderful it is to be alive and healthy, as we say here 'praise the Lord'! Karen is going away from us, touch wood, there is nothing too threatening rolling off that African coast. We are off sailing today so hope that there is a good bit of wind.
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| - Storm coming! |
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The weather has been showery over the last couple of days, the temperature in the low 80's it has been very pleasant. It now looks as though we are not going to be able to avoid getting some weather from Karen. We have been keeping our eye on Karen praying that she would go North but we will definitely be getting something from this system. Dominica does not need anymore rain she is sodden and a storm could bring with it more landslides and destroy more of the roads which are in a very bad state, in certain places badly eroded. This hurricane season is mean!
The other thing that is sad is that many Dominicans do their washing in the rivers this has not been possible for a while now because the rivers are full of mud. Me thinks that there must be a lot of people walking around in very dirty clothes! You may laugh but it is part of the life here people live very simply and washing clothes in the river it is just as natural as washing themselves in the river. The rivers are a huge part of everyday life as water flows so does life. I took an American gentleman around the island the other day and he was shocked that there were so many banana farms. He was scratching his head and saying "How come there are so many farms? This is hard work for very little monetary return". My reply to that was simple. Dominica is about the land, living is simple not complicated, it is the way of life here and this has not changed over the years. This is one of the reasons Jaco Ladd and I moved here, the pace of life is slow and tranquil. Dominicans are lovely people. There are very few overweight people here because of their life style, the majority of men are extremely fit and have great bodies. Jaco Lass notices such things!
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| - Rain |
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We have had quite a lot of rain over the last couple of days, due to the system that wisped around the islands. The land here is sodden, water cascading down the cliffs as it cannot soak into the ground. The road down to Layou is being fixed, the drains dug out but there is a part of the road that is caving in. A stream is passing under this section of road and it looks like a matter of time before it falls completely into the stream, this urgently needs fixing, otherwise some poor sole will be driving over it and they will disappear with the road, not a nice experience especially if it was us!!!
On cheerier note Domlec are coming to start plotting out for us to have the electricity, we could be lucky and have electricity by early next week or the weekend. There is going to be a big celebration on that day.
Let's hope that Karen decides to go well north of us we do not need any more storms or wet weather.
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| - Electricity |
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The weather was very mixed yesterday, bright sunny periods with really heavy rain, even a little thunder and lightening, me thinks this is just Dominica in the rainy season.
Jaco Ladd and I are very happy as this week Domlec are going to organize our electricity supply. We moved to Dominica on 30th March it is now 24th September, it will be so great to have electricity full time. I can now go and buy my favourite food, ice cream, yippee! - and keep it at home. It has been a terrific joke with the girls at the ice cream parlour at Brizee's Mart. Every time I go to town, I call in and get a portion, they are always full of smiles and chuckles that me, a big person, should be so passionate about ice cream!
As this big event could happen this week I am willing away any bad weather as this would hold up the proceedings. So on an optomistic note bring on the sunshine and the light.
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| - Autumn in the Tropics! |
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We had a great deal of rain yesterday, it was very pleasant, everything cooled down the garden looks great this morning. Last night there was a real nip in the air, we had to have a cover on the bed all night. It felt just like September in the UK when the days can be barmy and hot with a real chill in the air as night falls. The climate in Dominica is so different from Antigua which is a very hot island. We visited Ronald Astaphan yesterday afternoon who lives in a beautiful location high above Mero with amazing views of the mountains and the sea. Ronals holds functions at his home, I can't think of anywhere more romantic to have a wedding or party. On the balcony of Ronald's house he has a pottery stove to keep his guests warm in the winter months, making the whole place cozy. The sunset from the balcony of Ronald's home last night was amazing pink's, Oranges and greens. We have never seen such vivid sunsets, we think it must because there is very little pollution from traffic in Dominica just awesome.
Getting back to what is happening in the Atlantic it looks as if St. Lucia, Martinique and us in Dominica could be getting some bad weather in a few days time. We will have to keep a close eye on this system. What on earth have our islands done to deserve such treatment from the heavens!
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| - questkersay Normality? |
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The wonderful people of the tiny Himalayan state of Bhutan have a wonderful phrase for it: "gni koj ebtsum esuoy" It encapsulates the feeling of well being or balance of the soul!
In this supposed peak of the Atlantic Basin tropical storm activity, to have a lull with a 'little or no action out there' scenario, maybe it's time to reflect how things, albeit slowly, have returned to some kind of ---yuk!-- normality through the islands and for us in Dominica
I've sent Jaco Lass on a mission to get a photo of a Hurricane Hunter, but alas it seems Harrison Ford is not answering his cell..........anyway......
In the forest above a speading envelope tree, about 100 yards from our cottage, a Blue Heron has achieved squatters rights and greets the dawn every morn with a sound that is linkable to that of a crow on heat crossed with a perplexed banshee; impeccable timing
5.20am without fail. He or she did this before DEAN. Back to normality?
The erosive marks that the landslips have left on the mountain sides are now losing there browness, succombing to an ochre hue that we know will be a bracken green within the next week or two.
The almost wrecked banana plantation across the road has perked and teaked its chlorophyl to a point that a visitor from Mars or Manchester would not believe a hurricane had passed. The French owner has his 'Dean There-'dunnit' T-shirt on show with 'Voila! Mon Dieu' on the back - *listen* - I worked with a great UK comedian called Tommy Cooper when I was performing, a large man 6 foot 13 and his opening for the show was to walk on stage through a fence and garden gate with a watering can and liberally give the wilting plastic flowers in pots a sprinkle, they all went mega erectile in a nanosecond, everyone gave him a standing ovation and he hadn't yet spoke a word!... the point being 'de rain de come and the bananas look normal.
The two dogs we have that chose not to run the perfunctory 3 miles with me every 6.30am for six weeks suddenly are back in the groove - one of them, Mindy. who has a mass assemblage of shortcomings, begs for this excercise and god help any crab or digger driver that gets in her way.
I've seen two Manicou in the headlights and Agouti are there if you look hard enough.
Normality till the next monster swirls. The rain is falling vertically with no threat at all, that is normal!
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| - SUNSHINE |
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The weather yesterday was very hot and humid the temperature up in the 80's. Since living in Dominica we have not known it so hot at night, there is no breeze at all, it is very still and a must to sleep without any covers! There seems to be a frog that has decided to sleep under our window, this is very disconcerting because his squeak, squeak noises don't seem to have a pattern. He will do two short ones with intermittant bursts of several loud ones then nothing...............you are just about to slip into quiet dreams when our froggie friend decided to start singing again. we have to find where he is seek him out and find him another place to play at night.
We have to thank people for their nice letters about our electric and generator situation. We can happily report that all is being fixed. Domlec have been really understanding and are hopefully going to hook us up at last to mains electricity. Our generator problem is being sorted out for us by a great company here in Dominica, J. Astaphan & Co.. We cannot thank them enough for their support and help since we have built our cottage in 2005, we have bought the majority of our materials from Astaphan's, all their staff have been very kind, caring and helpful. It is so good in this day and age to know that customer service is first on their list and that the customer really matters. A big thank you to everyone for getting us back on our feet. So to the weather; shouldn't say it but we need rain.
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| - Wierd weather |
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This morning It is overcast, very hot and humid! Yesterday late afternoon we got a great deal of cloud cover, then thunder and lightning. It was a weird storm because there really was not much rain; we do need a bit more rain for the garden but on reflection perhaps with the landslides we have had the ground needs to dry out a bit.
We had a big disappointment yesterday as our second brand new generator is completely finished, mashed up and broken. We have to advise people to be careful and make sure that the generator they buy is the authentic version. We bought a 5,500 KV Wasp generator in good faith the first generator after very little use disintegrated so we were given another new one the same make. This generator has lasted less than four months, it is mashed up the same as the first one. We seriously hope the company we bought the generator from does not have any more of this make as they are obviously faulty from the manufacturer. We have lived with generators for 17 years, we had a Honda generator that never broke down in 14 years, it belonged to our landlord and left it behind when we moved to Dominica. Unfortunately, we are still not hooked up to mains electricity so this is a large problem. We just hope the company is good gives us our money back so we can go buy a good working generator. Honda, Yamaha, Peta or Lister, you name it!
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| - Hot, Hot, Hot............. |
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The last four days have been very hot indeed. Our garden is wilting, all the vegetables are visibly sagging so we have to go around watering everything, this is a huge undertaking as we have lots of vegetables planted in different parts of our very enormous garden! We hope that we might get a few showers from Ingrid if she feels gracious enough to skirt the island, having said that we do not need too much. Nature has a way of balancing things out. The land around us still looks as if it has been in a war zone with the deep rich red soil marking the mud slides from DEAN. The clean up by the Government workers here is very commendable, they have done such a good job with our road from Pont Casse to Layou Village it looks a bit like a motorway! All the ditches have been cleaned out, the long grass cut down, drains cleaned and holes in the road filled in with tarmac, really impressive.
I have not been online because our diesel generator has decided to pack up on us. This happened on Friday, we took the generator to be mended but alas it came back not mended, the company we bought the generator from came and collected the generator on Saturday brought it back on Saturday evening still not mended so we will try again today, third time lucky we hope! We are going to be having another meeting with Domlec this week to see if they can work out a reasonable price to hook us up to the main electricity, this is an ongoing saga. We have had five different quotes. There was a comedy series in the UK called Monty Python's Flying Circus the situation we are in with Domlec reminds us of this! Perhaps we should go Solar!
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| - Amazing |
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The sun is shining, it is breezy, we had some good rain showers in the night, it looks like it is going to be a perfect day. Yesterday from 6 a.m., we had lots of traffic passing by our road, today we have had hardly anything, me thinks that perhaps the Pont Casse/Canefield road might have been mended or they opened up the Warner road, whatever has happened is wonderful for us. As a rule we get very little traffic passing by our cottage you really notice it when there is a lot.
Looking out in the Atlantic 91L seems determined to form itself into a tropical storm and then who knows. We, like our friend in Grenada, would love to watch this blob disappear up away from our beautiful Caribbean Islands, fingers crossed for this to happen.
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| - Traffic |
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We have woken up to a beautiful sunny day. It is as if there was no thunderstorm everything is back to normal except................................. Our road is now the main road from Pont Casse roundabout to town. This is not so nice as it is very busy, we are not used to this and hope that the Government will do all it can to mend the road from Pont Casse to Canefield as quickly as possible.
We had a fun time this morning watching our little dog try to catch a big crab on the lawn! It was the funniest thing to see. The crab on guard and attack with it's claws extended, doing a little sideways dancing, swinging it's pincers like the best boxer on TV. Mindy running around madly tring to attack the crab from the back but being outwitted by the sideways manouvering of the crab. Mindy had to give up with tail between her legs while the victorious crab minced away, claws in the air.
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| - THUNDER AND LIGHTNING |
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| What a terrible night, my worst nightmare, even with my eyes closed I could see the lightning! We had thunder, fireworks (lightning without a fuse) and torrential rain from 1.45 a.m. until 9.30 a.m. This is the longest thunderstorm I have ever been in. Poor Dominica, she really can't take too much more rain. We had very bad land slides from DEAN less than a month ago and now this. We have to be very aware of the Miracle Lake which is in danger of bursting the artificial dam which was created especially with more rain. This is a big concern to everyone here living in the area which would be affected if this were to happen. We are also aware that there is another huge weather front in the Atlantic heading this way which could form another hurricane bringing with it more rain............................................................ I am not able to report accurately what damage has been done by this latest storm but have been told there have been more landslides in the Trafalgar area. Cars have been going past us in the valley so our road must be OK. I shall go out later this afternoon and investigate. All we have to say is that we hope everyone in Dominica and the region as a whole is safe. |
| - Layou River |
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It is good to see that Felix has dissipated noting that Roatan has come through the hurricane with flying colours. We hope that the news from Honduras itself is not as bad as one might expect, time will tell.
We have a feeling of commradeship from other islands that have suffered DEAN and so closely followed by FELIX turning into hurricane catagory 5 at landfall which is a first in the history of hurricanes as far as we know. The feeling in the pit of the stomach is indescribable watching the hurricane form in the Atlantic then knowing in a very short time it is not veering off, but heading straight at you on your island. Having now been through six hurricanes in the Caribbean we could call ourselves very weathered, however, the feeling is always of fear of the unknown. Reading Pennie's coverage of their preparations for the hurricane only brought back ours, although we do have hurricane shutters on the cottage which saves the trip to the hardware store. We also have animals who by instinct know the weather so well and often far better than humans! It always surprises us just like Pennie how other people on their island do not take hurricanes seriously, think it is fun and look forward to the challenge. I sometimes wonder which it is best to be, to fear the unknown or take it on the chin, whichever way the eliments always win.
The Layou River which is close to us has suffered badly from DEAN. Where we swim each day instead of a beautiful deep pool that you could dive into with total safety, the river is knee deep, this is true all the way to the sea. The amount of sand and huge stones that have been brought down the river is in my humble opinion horrendous. The river has been narrowed considerably, could it be possible that in the summer months this river could become a stream? We sincerely hope not. The Layou River was known as the largest river in Dominica causing huge swells and currents to avoid at all cost as it met with the ocean. Now it is fun to float into the ocean with the current from the river! Dominica has 365 rivers still which is wonderful, but so sad to see the largest river in Dominica brought to her knees. Is it indeed due to global warming?
We are still having wonderful dry sunny weather, could actually do with a drop of rain!
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| - So far a perfect day! |
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Felix is no longer a cat but an aggresive lion! Poor Mexico and Belize. This hurricane is enormous, dangerous and scary. It looks like weather is coming off the African coast like cannon balls, we are just in September the dreaded month for hurricanes, in my humble opinion. Here in Dominica the weather is gorgeous, we have had a lovely weekend, the temperature being in the mid seventies. The island needs this weather as there is a tremendous amount of mud from the slides that needs to dry out, it is still very wet underfoot after three weeks since DEAN. The valley is very peaceful except for the cries of parrots that seem to be using the valley as a highway. It is fun watching these magnificent birds, they always fly in pairs maybe four to six at a time. We just wish sometimes that they would drop in for a visit so we could see them at close range! We are watching carefully the weather coming across the Atlantic at the moment, lets hope it decides to fizzle out on the ocean, maybe, maybe not. Here are three photo's of the mountain(s) that are closest us Morne Trois Pittons a World Heritage Site which is nearly always covered with cloud, I took these photo's in last night's twilight. Attachment:
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| - Miracle Lake... |
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Greetings and God's Blessings to All- Especially those
in the harm's way of Felix...
The Miracle Lake that Lisette spoke about is
ABSOLUTELY a wonder in Dominica -also Known as the
Matiere 'Dam' or Lake in the Carholm area of the Layou
River Valley in Centre of the Nature Isle.
The Lake's CREATION BEGAN WITH MASSIVE SLIDES and
Mudflows from 1996 onwards to 1998. This area is
unstable geologically and is subject periodically to
seismic activity as is most parts of Dominica albeit
very mild -Thank God!
However, most times Nature seems to know best how to
handle the disasters she seems to throw at helpless
humanity. Notably, back in 1999 when weakening
Hurricane Lenny dumped inordinate amounts of rain on
Dominica -the much expected burst of the Natural 'Dam'
did not occur as feared since the Lake is drained by
numerous undeground streams and springs.
Thus, this Post Dean High Water crest at the Lake
Matiere's (Miracle) shores should be a similar
phenomenon to 1999 although Dean did dump copious to
Astronomical rains amounts on MOST parts of Dominica.
I suppose optimistically -All things considered within
AT LEAST a week - One should begin to see the Lake
returning to Normal and safe Lake level Volumes.
Hence, no Real need to panic...
A Blessed Sunday to All throughout the Caribbean and
May all the Angels and Saints continue to Pray for US
During this Hurricane Season and Beyond!!!
____________________________________________________________________________________
Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car
Finder tool.
http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/
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| - Help needed!! Miracle Lake |
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We definitely have had the tail of Felix through Dominica. We had high gusting winds with lots of rain all night and early this morning. The weather seems to have settled down now. We have a feeling that it will be pretty showery today, the temperature is 74 F at the moment so lovely and cool.
We wrote about the Miracle lake a while back and I posted some photo's. This lake was formed over seven days by landslides, weird really because in the bible it took seven days to create the world! There is great concern that this lake is about to burst because of the rain brought to us by Dean, we have also been having some earth tremors which don't help this situation. The water has been building up so much that it is nearly full to capacity. The huge problem is that the Ponte Casse to Canefield Road needs to be closed down. Making the Layou to Ponte Casse Road the main road for all traffic. If the Miracle Lake dam broke then many people - including us - would be in danger of losing their lives using this road. If there is any expert out there who could help diffuse this situation, maybe by blasting?, to take the pressure off, Dominica would be glad of some advice. Please send me an email.
Thanks to Cable and Wireless we are now back on line. We can't thank Joffa Peters enough for her kindness and support; she and her Cable and Wireless colleagues have been on top of things for us since we have been in Dominica. They are a smart company and give excellent service.
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| - Banana's |
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We are having quite a nice lot of showers today, last night it poured with rain so all our cisterns are full! The temperature is 75 F lovely and cool. It does not look like we have anything threatening coming to the island in the near future, fingers crossed.
It is very eerie in the valley. We are so used to having our neighbours banana plantation up and running. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays it was particularly alive and colourful. We had lots of ladies in different coloured dresses, laughing, joking and cooking up a storm while packing the bananas. Now it is silent the whole place looks forlorn with broken banana plants hanging lopsided or on the ground, it truly is a pitiful sight. We are having lots more parrots flying over which tells us that they are seeking food from far and wide. It really is quite sad. Jaco Ladd is busy writing an article and we are still waiting to have our telephone up and running! |
| - Sunny days, Rainy nights |
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| We are having wonderful weather, hot sunny days, lots of rain at night! The clean up in Dominica is still underway. Cable and Wireless are working hard to get our telephone back on line. They are doing major repairs up the road from us so hopefully we will be up and running sometime tomorrow. |
| - Lines Down |
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Our main line is still down which is so frustrating! Hence a visit to the Cyber cafe in town! The weather over the last three days has been very sunny, extremely hot with very little wind. We are now in need of rain badly. What a situation, a week ago we had too much rain in 12 hours and now we have none the gardens and water tanks need a wetting.
The clean up job is still going on in a big way. Our road from Ponte Casse down to the Layou Valley Hillsborough bridge has had teams of locals clearing the road since last Saturday. There is a reason for this the road between Ponte Casse and Canefield is dangerous to drive on and so is going to be shut down this means all the traffic will pass by our cottage! We are not sure if this is a good idea because the road surface of this particular strip of road is full of huge holes all the way from Ponte Casse to the Layou Valley main road. We have had no work done on the roads at all in a few years. The magnitude of traffic which will have to use the route will break down the road even more, this could become a nightmare in itself. We so hope that the Government now makes sure that our roads are mended and tended to.
The banana farmers have been totally devastated, it is so sad to drive around seeing all the banana plants crashed and on the ground. The view from our cottage is 28 acres of banana plants all mashed up, with the hands of bananas rotting on the ground it is a very upsetting sight. The situation with the banana crops in the Caribbean is very shaky this could be a fatal blow for banana growing in the Caribbean.
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| - No Line |
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We had a lot of rain this morning but it has cleared up now and is a gorgeous sunny day. I have had to travel to town early to take photo's of my friend's damaged roof. I am taking advantage of the Cyber Cafe again so that I can check my e mails and of course stormcarib.
I have been to Cable and Wireless this morning, they are doing their best to hook everyone back on line but Dominica is very mountanious and this makes their job more difficult. Cable and Wireless cell phones have been working right through the hurricane and are still going strong today. Which makes things good for us without a phone line, living in the country.
The people of Dominica are all pulling together, there is a great feeling of unity in all the villages and town. The island is fine for tourists everything is up and running, all the hotels are open, the airports have not closed at all, the port is fine. It is a real adventure to go hiking on Dominica. The whales are quite happy in the sea and so they are still there for anyone who wants to go whale watching. So make it a real adventure come and discover the Nature Island in the Caribbean, DOMINICA you will be warmly welcomed. Fingers crossed we get our phone line back soon!!
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| - Cyber Center |
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The weather for the last three days has been really lovely. However some kind person clearing up the area has mashed up our phone line. Hence writing this report in town.
We have been doing a lot of walking looking at the damage to our area in the valley. The structural damage to the roads is great. Also we have had a lot of landslides, really big ones coming down the hillsides. One cottage is precariously near the edge of a landslide and looks in danger of slipping down the slope. Apparently we had a earth tremor on the Thursday before the hurricane. We noticed that our paintings on the wall were leaning to the left. We felt that we had had an earthquake so it was good to get this confirmed. We think this must have set the scene for us in our area to have so many landslides. Talking to people in different parts of the island they did not seem to have so much damage or high winds. We can only think that because we live in the valley it forms a vortex and the wind rushes around the mountains hitting us at a rate.
The noticeable thing is the smell of fallen trees, and the exposed earth. It is a very pungent smell not unpleasant just another reminder of the damage done. The birds have suffered, it has been heartbreaking watching one bird looking for it's mate. Many of the parrots are coming over our land as if disorientated, some by themselves. We have only just seen the hawks come back to the area. We wonder where the birds find shelter in such conditions. It must be terrifying for all the animals but somehow we think they have an inbuilt instinct and know how to look after themselves. It is so good to hear them singing again. At least there is lots of food for them.
Hopefully we will be back on line soon. It looks like the weather is going to be kind to us for the next week. We are so glad to hear that Dean did not make too much damage to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. We wish everyone well.
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| - Deceptive and Ironic Dean |
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I arrived in the Nature Island of the Caribbean, Dominica on Saturday 18th August to the aftermath of Hurricane Dean -its fury and Power -quite evident.
This to me was suprisingly ironic since the Storm's Synopsis had generally indicated a fast moving Hurricane which had accelerated foward speed to 25MPH even, and was also suposed to be a hurricane which had only achieved a low category two status upon impact on the Lesser antilles, Windward Islands.
Nonetheless, Dean's 100mph wind gusts were apparently able to extensively reach the plentiful hinterlands of the Nature Isle via his numerous sprawled and spiralled bands.
Hence, Owing to the sheer Length of Dean's impact over Dominica which eventually totalled to an astonishing 15hrs of significant storm impact, In addition to about a foot of rain that was recorded on the Southern half of the island; the end result was both serious and deadly.
The lives of two were sadly lost at Campbell due to a Land lside in the area; something on that scale not previously being seen in that community before. Additionally, another life was lost in a Dean-related fatality almost 48hrs after the Hurricane due to ongoing mud seepage unto raodways which caused a bus to veer off a road injuring several others.
Currently, assesment on Dominica continues and many households have unfortunately been affected in various parts of the island, however, mostly confined to the East coast. Utilities are being restored satisfactorily enough and commercial centres are open for business.
Although some parts of the island have taken a beating from the Hurricane many areas on the island seem virtually untouched and this must be due to the distinct band movement and hurricane force wind dispersal over the island; Dean was decptive enough.
Ofcourse, The Nature Island of the Caribbean Dominica continues to charm visitors to her lovely Green shores, but ofcourse urges all visitors to continue to exercise caution on road ways and in elevated areas where restoration and valiant clean up efforts continue in an effort to restore the Pristine beauty of this Gem beyond compare!
May we all enjoy a safe and Blessed remainder of the Hurricane Season 2007 and May ALL the Angels and Saints continue to INTERCEED for the protection our beloved Caribbean region.
God's Richest Blessings to All- especially to those worse affected throughout the region!
Don't just search. Find. MSN Search Check out the new MSN Search! |
| - Hallelujah!! |
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| HALLELUJAH!! EVIDENTLY, A POPULAR LOCAL GUY THAT WAS PRESUMED MISSING SINCE MID FRIDAY HAS BEEN FOUND, ALBEIT WALKING DAZED AND CONFUSED THROUGH A SODDEN RAVINE.... AND SO TO ALL HIS FRIENDS IN MY BOLDEST FONT, LESROY IS WELL AND CARRYING HIS REDCAP! |
| - Dean | |
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| - 9 pictures for you |
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It is a bright sunny day today, the second day after hurricane Dean passed us by. We are now left with the damage which is considerable. The infrastructure of the roads is really bad and we have had a lot of landslides that are still blocking some roads. The road that goes to Pont Casse from us is blocked by three large landslides. Roseau the capital of Dominica has come through really well and most of the shops were open on Saturday. Everyone seems to be very supportive of each other there is a lot comaradarie. We had many visitors yesterday walking by checking that we were OK and likewise us asking them how they had faired in the hurricane. The electricity should be back everywhere within one week. The lines and poles seem to have stayed mostly up, the main damage has been done by trees falling on the wire. Domlec are working very hard to bring light back to the country. Dominicans are amazingly fit people most people walk everyday, hitch rides to work so are very strong. We often see people walking late at night in the pitch black going on their business this is a usual occurence no wonder Dominicans live to be very old. The way of life here is very healthy, we all eat fruit and vegetables growing all around us, also drink water from natural springs. Pollution is down to minimum. Nature is amazing. Having said that the bananas have taken a blasting; our neighbours plantation as you can see from the photograph is devastated. The banana plantations are insured but it takes a lot of time to grow the plants, to replant is a gigantic undertaking, it is heartbreaking for those that felt Dean's wrath. We have just heard that a fishing community Petite Savanne has suffered very badly from the hurricane over 12 wooden houses have been destroyed. This is a catastrophe for this village as it's liveliehood comes from fishing the people are very poor. This village will need a lot of outside help to get back on it's feet. We also have a very sad story to tell, our gardner visited us in the middle of of the hurricane in the day time to make sure that we were OK and have something to eat. He had just passed a man on the road looking for his cow. Amos told the man to go home that the cow was not worth his life. We heard this morning that the man did not heed his warning and has drowned. This brings things down to earth and puts into perspective how poor people are that they would do such a drastic thing and pay by death. It has saddened us to hear this outcome our sympathy go out to his family. We so hope that Jamaica fares well with Dean, we have heard that Dean has veered to the south so hope that Jamaica will not get all his wrath. Goodluck to you in the next few hours. Here are a few more photo's of the damage done one of our neighbours banana plantation. The photo of the bat was taken in our cottage it decided to take refuge with us. Attachment:
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| - 4 pictures for you |
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Well done Dominicans. We are just so amazed at how everyone with a chain saw, vehicle and bycycles have helped get the roads cleared. Dominica is nearly back to normal. We were able to get out of the valley at around 4 p.m. drive to our nearest village Layou. On the way we saw some amazing sites. Including our friend Gale and Stanley's land who are safely, luckily, in Canada. The first photo shows the landslide from their land. Their house just narrowly escaped going into the ravine which has now turned into a torrent. The guys on their bikes busily trying to help and get around, being held up by falling trees! The road completely taken away by the force of the Layou river. We were so lucky, Dean has now become a monster. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to Jamaica and environs. We sincerely hope folks will be sensible and stay in very strong buildings, this is a mega bazooka gigantic hurricane. We will post more photo's tomorrow. Attachment:
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| - Dean | |
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| - Dean | |
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| - Report on Dean | |
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| - DEAN there DONE IT! |
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WELL we are still on line we can't believe it. Our telephone line has stayed intact, yet we are completely cut off. Our cottage stood fast, we did not have a drop of rain even through the door! Dean visited us at 1.30 a.m and has carried on all day - we have rain with us now but much lighter. The hurricane really took off around 5.0 a.m. this morning, 90% trees around us have fallen down, making great thwacking crashing noises, that is the worst part. All our beautiful bamboo has broken, now resembling wilted straws. Trees are horizontal. There have been terrible landslides and one mother and seven year old son lost their lives at Campbells through a mud slide. This is so sad. There are two bridges washed away - one at Belfast and the other at Belles, other bridges that have been damaged. People have been working on the roads already and have cleared from St. Joseph to Roseau. People are coming to clear our road tomorrow so things are getting back sooner than I had thought. We are so happy to hear this and proud of the Dominican people rallying around to help get us back together again. The hurricane really was vicious early in the morning with great gusts of wind bringing tree after tree down. The winds got milder but the rain was torrential, it was like sitting under a constant waterfall. We kept in touch with caring friends on the phone, I was able to get hold of my sister in the UK to let her know we were OK in the valley. Dominica is getting back on track they have electricity in Roseau the main city and should have the electricity back in Portsmouth tomorrow. It sounds like most people have weathered Dean well with a fight and fortitude to be proud of. It has meant so much to us having so many well wishers on line we can't thank them enough for their support it made a lot of difference to us. We are only to happy to help people having up dates of family. From Jaco Lad's point of view - catagories 2,3,4 are meaningless in the small scheme of things when cat.1 can take you apart just like that. Most of our damage came early and intensified winds just made it flatter. Ravines in Dominica become rivers in a jumbletime nano-sec and the water speed, colour and volume resemble Guyana or Venezuela at best. Some of the images around the island presently are akin to hurricane David 28 years ago and will be captured asap - but for now let's sleep soundly. |
| - Generator off |
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It is 9.30 p.m. we have to close down until tomorrow. It would be wonderful if we could be on line in the morning, fingers crossed. There is no wind at all, it is as if nothing is out there. We have to say we have an unusual guest, a very pretty bat. I have taken a photo and will post it as soon as possible. Goodnight and Godbless. |
| - Overwhelmed |
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Thank you so much to everyone out there who are sending so many messages of support and hope. At the moment here it is very still. The night animals are just making their usual chirpy noises. Our dogs are lying on the mat and it is as if nothing is happening. The stars are even shinning it definitely is the lull before the storm. For folks in the States who have students at the medical colleges. We are sure they will take every precuation and be safe. Please don't worry too much as we really are used to hurricanes in the Caribbean. That's the price we all pay to live in Paradise. We will keep you up dated until we feel it is necessary to turn the generator off, remember we still have no electricity! Courtesy of Domlec coming up with so many different quotations. We will accept the lowest one which they first came up with!! TEEE HEE we have to be light hearted! By the way I am going to bed with the chainsaw beside me makes me feel safe............ |
| - Last message |
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It is 5.30 p.m. we are now sitting with all our shutters tightly closed. `it is uncannily still, the doors are wide open and I am frightened. We look at the chart of the storm it is so scary it reminds us so much of Luis in Antigua in 1995. Luis was different as we were in a flat downstairs in a very strong building among friends. Now we are in our new home in forest with no neighbours nearby. We have chopped down branches and just hope that trees don't spin through the air and hit us. I am very claustraphobic and will have to keep all my willpower not to go crazy shut in for maybe hours! Hopefully the roof and cottage will stay intact and we will have no accidents. We have just been to St. Joseph's for some diesel. The locals are all playing dominoes and having fun. They truly don't realize the enormity of the hurricane. We did our best to warn them. We then went to our closest village Layou and told everyone to leave the village for higher ground and be in a good strong shelter together looking after the old, sick and young. They were very grateful for the information and hopefully will get to a safe place. We would like to thank all the well wishers who have written to us giving us their support and prayers. We have some good wine in the cottage and some good food that I made today so hopefully we will be as cozy and safe as can be. We want to wish all the other islands a safe trip through the hurricane. We will get on line as soon as we can after the hurricane. We will try and get news to the outside world if the cell phones are still working. The great thing about the Stormcarib site is that you take in the the tech info from the trained eye, the copied by whoever info from the trained eye, the wannabe slant on it all and general social commentry...me, as Jaco lad looks at the total bewilderment of our brothers and sisters as to what Mother Nature can come up with at any given time and aquiesce that the Lord will provide..... well, from Kubuli and Creole pastures we wish you a peaceful Dean and reverence for the future. |
| - David 1979 Dean 2007 |
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This sounds ominous, that D should be the letter of the alphabet that is now approaching us in Dominica. Hurricane David was in the same month and caused havoc on this island destroying many precious trees and crops also bringing death to several people. This is a seriously scary time for everyone. The sky is grey, we are having heavy showers it is very still, feeling the calm before the storm. Yesterday we did all our preparations. I kept stopping the jeep on the way to town letting people know we were going to have a hurricane, telling them to prepare and take care of themselves and family. When I got to town I also told people about the hurricane and was so surprised that most of the people thought I was crazy and that Dean was no threat, if anything just a small storm!! In some cases people were very complacent. I felt it my duty to alert people to what was going to happen imminently. I could not believe that the supermarkets were almost empty, the bank as well. I did all the shopping necessary for us feeling that we could be trapped in our valley for a few weeks! It is going to be so difficult to adjust to not having contact with the outside world. I topped up on our cell phone which only works when we stand outside in the garden, not a sensible thing to do in the middle of a hurricane! So no communication while the hurricane is over us. I suffer from claustrophobia so am not looking forward to being shut in the cottage knowing the shutters are tied from outside, so will make sure the chain saw is in the cottage with us!
The worst things about hurricanes and being stuck inside is the incessant noise, crashing, banging it is really frightening not knowing what is happening. Also the mental stress before, during and after the hurricane takes it's toll. We are worried for the Dominican people as even talking to our Dominican friends this morning they are assuring us that everything will be fine and God will protect us! Even the building suppliers where not inundated with people getting plywood to block their windows up. We are very afraid that this hurricane could be a huge disaster for Dominicans. I hope that a few more people in Dominica are reading this posting today. Will take this hurricane seriously, look after themselves, family and friends. Remember stay indoors until the hurricane has passed by. Take all necessary precautions DO NOT TAKE THIS HURRICANE LIGHTLY, REMEMBER HURRICANE DAVID.
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| - Dean Cometh |
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We have been quiet here in on the island for the last couple of days. The weather has been very hot and humid. We have been keeping a watchful eye on the forecast for Dean hoping that he would pass by us at a good distance. This does not appear to be the case and we appear to be in Dean's line of fire. Hope you're not a Mean Dean!
All of us in Dominica must make sure if we haven't already that any objects that can fly like galvanize bits of wood debri of any kind is picked up and put away in a safest place as possible especially if you have neighbours. A lot of the damage caused by hurricanes is by things being blown at tremendous force at buildings especially in built up areas. It is very important to check that everything is tied down. Your windows should be protected if possible. Things of value electrical, china, glass ware, paintings should all be wrapped in polythene or any water proofing packed and put away in cupboards. Really bad scenario's like roofs going will ruin whatever you have of value whether it be sentimental or financial. Remember to look out for the elderly and sick if they are near you this is the time to think of others as well as yourselves. Hopefully, people have got a hurricane supply cupboard already but if they have not then it is not good to panic buy just buy what is necessary so that there is enough for everyone to have a share.
We hope that Dean will not stregthen too much, that he is not too vicious. We have already been through several hurricanes including Luis when we lived in Antigua so know exactly the havoc reaped by these serious storms. Remember always to stay inside and be safe don't go looking for someone in the hurricane this is how lives get lost.
We have been chopping branches down around the cottage that we feel might do us damage. We are preparing ourselves to sit out the storm in the valley. Goodluck to Guadaloupe and the other islands nearby that may have a visit from Dean.
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| - Chart projections |
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| It is a lovely sunny day in the valley. This is good because we are getting our branches at the back of us trimmed right back so they cannot damage our cottage (we hope) if we do have a hurricane. Reading the reports from other islands it looks like a varying amount of predictions as to the path of what could be the first real storm of this season. One that we don't like has it coming pretty close to Dominica and Guadaloupe. Only time will tell, we are getting our provisions ready storing them in the cupboards just in case. We could easily be cut off for a while if trees fall down and block the roads. This is when chickens on the premises would be a good thing to have around. Many Dominicans keep chickens. The eggs we buy are always fresh which is a bonus, it is easy to buy chickens, breed them and keep them, if you don't mind looking after them! We will all be watching this system very closely. |
| - WINDGURU |
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| Well that proves it! Dominica is not recognized on this site as being an island in the Caribbean! Does this mean we will not have any wind or hurricanes?.... in a sense a weatherless vacuum methinks. Dominica is a significantly large Island below Guadaloupe and above Martinique called the Nature Island............................................. This month is the anniversary of hurricane David in 1979 which devastated Dominica. |
| - Rainy season cometh |
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Well it has been raining quite a lot over the last three days. Today is no exception. It is one of those days that one feels like curling up with a book, eating comfort food and being cozy. Well, I never thought I would say that living in the Caribbean but Dominica truly has it's own weather system. When it is rainy like this in the valley it is also lovely and cool the temperature at the moment being 73 F. We remember living in Antigua and having the fan on all night and day to keep us cool. Here this is not necessary (not available to us anyway as yes, we still have no electwicity)! The climate really is temperate for this part of the world especially as we are in the height of summer August.
The puzzling thing is how does one dry the washing? One minute it will be bright and sunny the next the heavens open and it is pouring with rain. At the moment the clothes are draped over anything that is available in the cottage hoping that one day they will decide to get dry. The washrooms in St Joseph must make a fortune with their drying machines working overtime. Hopefully today, we will have no drop in visitors who may perceive that perhaps
we are opening a laundry!
For a better insight into how the locals view the current hurricane season, I posed a simple question, 'Do you follow the weather coming off Africa?' to which came a simple answer, 'I don't like going out in boats!' and to some, a tropical wave was - this is so quaint - what you do when seeing some family or friends off at the cruise liner terminal.
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| - Raining cats and dogs! |
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The weekend has been a little rough. Saturday was the best day weatherwise. Sunday the weather front was creeping in, yesterday was cloudy mostly until the evening when the heavens opened with non stop rain, lots of thunder and horrendous lightening. It looks like the weather front will continue to be with us for the day. The sky is dark, the garden sodden, the trees bedraggled really weather for the ducks if we had some - there are also multitudes of banana workers bedecked in the much needed oilskins, stooped in the back of speeding pick-up trucks; one can only imagine the field crew in yellow carrying the crop, a veritable muppet banana factory! The river is making a thunderous noise with gallons of water cascading down to the sea. It is very dramatic. While walking this morning we got caught in torrential rain. It has started thunder and lightening again so better switch off the computer! Time to curl up with a good book.............. A couple of photo's of sunny Dominica. Attachment:
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| - Sunny Sky |
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The last couple of days have been nothing but rain and more rain the temperature around 79 F. We had thunder and lightening, horizontal rain, rivers of water running down the roads, the river several feet high with lots of muddy water. We did get a swipe from the tropical wave but nothing serious and no damage done. The garden, in the sunshine today, is looking positively perky and our lettuce plants growing while we watch. We have to say we are glad we don't have rabbits running wild in Dominica, our lettuces would make a great feast for a bunny!
It looks set for a lovely bank holiday weekend. There will be many people camping out by the river enjoying the warmth of summer catching the odd unsuspecting fish for tea.
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| - Sunshine |
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Today started with rain, we now have wonderful sunshine, the temperature in the valley 78 F perfect. Having said that it looks like we could be going to get a swipe from Tropical depression Chantal in the next couple of days. We could be getting very gusty winds and a lot of rain so if there is anything around people's homes that can easily fly away or may do damage now is the time to pay attention and just put things in a safe place.
We are still on grass collecting and planting which is going really well. Life is good.
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It is very showery with gusty winds, the temperature is 78 F very pleasant. The tropical system 99L in the Atlantic looks like it might decide to give Barbados and the islands nearby some rough weather. So far this season things have been pretty quiet, which is what most of us would prefer. Here's hoping this will stay the case over the next few months.
Locally we are getting together a lawn, we have such a huge area to grass it's quite daunting. Lawn seed, one may think would be the answer but this is not the case. The grass here is very different to that which we have encountered on other islands. Our lawn needs very tough grass because the ground gets so wet. The only way to get the turf is to collect it by digging it up from various places around the countryside near us, bring it back and physically dig it into the earth. This takes quite a time but we are sure the finished product will be worth all our efforts. Today is a grass collecting day!
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| Yesterday the weather was just perfect. Sunshine, great breeze, temperature around 80 F. Great day for planting veggies. Yes, got to get the vegetable garden going, no time like the present. Friday off we went to our nearest nursery, Hillsborough. This is a gorgeous estate that is located right on the Layou River in the bottom of the valley below us. The estate also runs Wacky Rollers which is tubing for tourists down the Layou river. This is a great adventure in itself and well worth trying even for the weak hearted. A gentle way of floating along seeing the countryside in a leisurely manner. However, back to plants. Got some great stuff, parsley, tomatoes, cabbage, brocolli, sweet peppers, lettuce, thyme and sythe. All planted in the garden and doing well already because yes, we have woken up to rain. It looks very much like Sunday is going to be lazy day, reading, cooking a bit of comfort food, vegging out. Good for the garden and ducks if we had any! Almost forgot - made some great Julie mango chutney yesterday also! |
| - Snake |
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The weather was really pleasant yesterday the odd shower with lots of sunshine. Today it we think will be similar. The temperature at the moment is 75 F which is very enjoyable. We think we are getting a fascination for taking photographs of the very beautiful Boa Constrictor that we have in Dominica. We have never been close up to snakes before so this is a completely new experience. We were lucky enough to come across this wonderful specimen yesterday and luckily I had my camera. The sun was shining on the skin and the affect was truly beautiful giving off from the sheen the colour of the rainbow. The snake that was basking in the sun before we came along and disturbed it was about 7' long. We got within 3' of him/her before she leisurely decided to go on her merry way. Attachment:
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| - Sunshine |
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The weather has cleared up and we have a bright sunny morning. The temperature is in the mid 70's so very pleasant. Yesterday was a day of catch up and today is one of laziness, we feel. We took some photo's of the land we have for sale. These were taken in the afternoon. The land is very tranquil and such a nice place to just chill out in. The land runs parallel with the road so although it is private it is not cut off. Several of you out there have been interested and asked us to post some photo's. Attachment:
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| - CRABS GALORE |
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Rain, rain, thunder lightening and more rain, what a night and start to the day! The crabs were out in profusion scuttling across the road. Mindy the little dog took on the challenge and chased a couple of heavy weight crabs across the road with their claws crashing and nashing. I hid under the bedclothes while the thunder and lightening crashed and flashed around the cottage all night! The rainy season cometh or not as the sun is now out shining on the sodden garden. The Layou river has risen overnight by at least 2' so we know the rain has been falling across the island over the mountains and down to the sea. The tropical wave or Dominican drench centre certainly seems to have hit us. We have been visited by two friends from Antigua for the last three days, hence not writing on the website. We have had lots of fun showing them around different parts of Dominica. The island really is so varied and there is so much to see. We didn't seem to explore too much but managed to drive many miles. We visited a couple of falls, the Emerald Pool and Trafalgar Falls, both being beautiful in different ways. Trafalgar Falls of course has the two different river temperatures one side hot the other cold coming from the dormant volcano. Great to take a dip in. We had a lot of fun visiting Screws which is on the way to Trafalgar Falls. This is a place where the hot sulphur springs have been made into several pools by an industrious couple. The bather just relaxes in the pools, going from hot, to hotter and cold, whilst loosening up the tensions in overtaxed muscles, backs and any achey bits. I love being cosseted - nay, pampered - being bought a drink, alcoholic or not as one's taste requires. It was also the first time we had visited this certain set of pools and a definite future must to have on one's to do list. |
| - RAIN |
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We have been fairly lucky over the past few days. Yes, we have had lots of rain but no flash floods, bad winds or stormy conditions. Just more or less the rainy season as we imagined it would be. The sea was very rough yesterday and the cloud cover very low. In the valley it was amazing to be nearly engulfed in cloud! Our awnings are adding a new dimension to living in the valley. Besides protecting us from the rain and the sun. They also are very profficient at keeping the night bugs and flies away besides looking very cozy. We also have made our minds up to sell an acre of land below us. So anyone who wants to share a bit of paradise do let us know. We have a stream on the land and the river just below about half a mile away. The land is virtually flat and has great access and a lovely view. We want a nice neighbour? |
| - Changes |
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| The last few days have been so changeable. We had heavy winds on Friday, a boiling hot day on Saturday, yesterday nothing but rain, rain and more rain with intermittant thunder. I luckily did not see any lightening. It got pretty chilly in the valley which made me gravitate to the kitchen to make lots of appetizing things to warm us up. Today looks like it could get quite bright and be a little humid. The garden is loving the rain everything looks green and perky today. The tropical wave looks like it is fast passing by the islands. |
| - Hawks |
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We have been getting quite a bit of rain over the last two days, so it looks like perhaps our rainy season is truly beginning. Today the breeze is very fresh and it is a bit overcast with the sun peeking out now and then.
The birds now have their fledglings and we are keeping our eyes out for a pair of hawks that are trying desperately hard to get the fledgings for their dinner! It is amazing how bold the hawks are we can shout at them, flap our arms try to frighten them away but they just look regally down at us with no fear, obviously their stomachs dictate their courage to withstand our attempts at distracting them from their goal!
It certainly has been a couple of days of nature as yesterday in a neighbours garden I saw my first wild boa constrictor he/she had just had a meal so was quite content to let us look at he/she! Although I am not a snake lover and have never been as close to one before, I have to say that the colour and skin is really quite graceful blending in so well with the surroundings. It took a keen eye of the garden to find the snake.
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| - 3 pictures for you |
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Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day, today it is much cooler, with showers and bright sunshine. Dominica is still awaiting her rainy season as far as the west coast is concerned! A venerable tinder box at the moment. The valley has been lucky over the last two days with balanced, lenient weather.thank goodness as we have had retractable awnings attached to our cottage. It has made such a difference to us. We used to get the afternoon sun fulll on the deck, now we have shade. It has made the whole cottage much cooler and gives us a lot more space. We can also have a lot of 'horizontal' rain up here so we're doubly protected. Awnings are a great bonus to anyone's house especially with the hot sun in the summer Caribbean months. We are now reps for the company that make this quality product - and as the old advert for venetian blind states: "If it wasn't for us it would be curtains for everybody!" Attachment:
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| - Dancing Claw to Claw! |
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As J.Lass has vacated the seat in need of a hair colouration, Jack the Lad can add a pennyworth of what's happening on the Nature Isle.
When is a tropical wave not a tropical wave?......... Possibly when the heavens open above Dominica with no obvious 'front' visible on any weather site and no text around suggesting cyclonic activity in our vicinity.
This seemingly was the case over the last 12 hours in the mid-upper Layou valley and environs resulting in a deluge of Monsoon proportions....ok,ok, many, many big spots, but a deluge nonetheless.
As dawn gloomed above and around, I pondered as to whether or not I run the usual 3 mile picturesque slog along the valley road with Mindy, a Chihuahua/Jack Russell cross (can you envisage that?) who adopted us a few months backalong - and I decided that the rainy season seems to have landed and the odd squall must not deter the most sodden athelete.
So amid poor visibility, the faithful mutt and I got into rhythm ready to face the 2 or 5 pick-up vehicles that travel the rustic commute each morn at this time, laden with guys sharpening their stock-in-trade cutlasses for a session in the banana fields.
On a treelined section of the run, amongst plants that defy description, we met the equivalent of a fresh water crab street party; in groups of three or four, or more, these orangy-ochre creatures with a claw-span of 6" and change were doing their own version of the quadrille completely impervious to the presence of a drenched primate and a feisty canine. Mindy paused presumably to have a down to earth chat and sniff with one rockin' mollusc - big mistake - next thing I hear this high pitched yelp and a four legger in turbo mode leaving me in the slipstream! Seems the dog had not seen that area in a downpour before.
At Glo-Cho, which is a hot rock pool we do the equivalent of the golfer's back nine and head for home. I feel I'm now running in a water butt and the mutt is requesting goggles. Up ahead, I can barely pick out the sight of an agouti - a rare burrowing guinea pig type of rodent - that is in no hurry to pack up and leave. I slow down and we have a staredown for 15 seconds or so and it trundles off; perhaps its home was underwater and feeling bereft, because it's a really unusual sight in this neck of the woods.
With weather systems now starting to form in the usual places oceanwide, I wonder if this rainy day, albeit stormy, will be a poor cousin of what could turn up at our back door?
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| - 3 pictures for you |
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It has been really hot and sunny these last couple of days. Today it has been raining a fair bit but the sun is out now and it looks like another hot day! Where is Dominica's rainy season? We think it is a little bit worrying although we are OK in our piece of forest! Yesterday we did the tourist bit and visited Morne Diablotins, the tallest mountain on Dominica standing 4,747'. It is actually a dormant volcano - very picturesque I may say. In the National Park of the same name, there is the Syndicate nature trail, a pretty walk of 1.5 miles or so and definitely a botanists paradise. There is a very handsomely built visitors centre, with restaurant, restrooms and a special area set aside depicting the history of indigenous animals, birds, trees and Arawak Indians, a great help before walking the wooded trail. The trees, as you can see from the photo's are amazing. You can stand in the roots, the trees themselves are so tall they look to touch the sky. It has a really cool feel inside the forest. There are also a couple of places that look over the mountain to the valley below. This particular area is where the parrots live and we were lucky enough to see a gathering of the Sisserou species flying beneath us. Very breathtaking as it is so high up. Even though we are in the off season for tourists, this piece of the National Park remains open year round. Attachment:
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| - Weather change! |
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It feels like the rainy season has begun! The day before yesterday we had torrential rain all day and all night; it was as if we were in the river - the sound on the roof was truly amazing. A very cozy night warmly tucked up in bed luckily no thunder or lightning, not my favourite thing. Today is going to be showery, the temperature is very pleasant in the mid 70's F and the cloudy weather always comes from the east.
The only drawback with having rain after it being dry for so long is the wood ants! Yes, we live in the forest. When it rains it soaks the nests of the wood ants who live in the trees. This makes it uncomfortable for them to be in their nests so they just all come out at the same time and head for the lights of the cottage. We have to make sure all the mosquito blinds are down and the doors firmly shut otherwise we would be inundated. In the morning when we wake up there are thousand of bodies and disgarded wings lying on the deck and all around. It is almost as if these ants are lemmings and all commit the bye-bye act together. Not fun to clear up up as they are so light they tend to blow all over the place and settle back from whence they came! I suppose we can't have everything!
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| - SNAKES |
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Rain in the night. A bright sunny morning. Good day for chilling out and liming! The water temperature in the sea is very warm and the sea is very calm. Again no rain on the horizon. Yesterday we went to town to the market in Roseau. We think it is the best market in the Caribbean. The market sells everything from fresh fish, to meat, vegetables and odds and sods. It is extremely colourful and friendly.The vendors bring their wares to market on the Friday night and spend the whole night there. It is really like a big once a week get together. The earlier the public get to the market the better bargains and fresher goods they will be able to carry away. so we set out at first light bright and bushy-tailedn; we enjoyed the spoils of 'an early bird catches the worm' evening meal with a take home platter for the gardener to boot!. On the way home we visited a friend who rescued a boa constrictor. I have been trying to catch sight of the two boa constirctors by the river but think - unfortunately - that they have moved on. We did not want to disappoint anyone by not taking a photo. This snake is about 6' long, very beautiful and alluringl if you are into slithering of course! Attachment:
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| - Windy |
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For the last two days we have been having really strong winds. The temperature has been in the high 80's F but because of the wind it has felt really fresh and cool, lovely weather, however absolutely no rain, having said that we did have a little in the night but not very much, much more needed. Today feels like it is going to be exactly the same as yesterday!
We had a fun adventure yesterday visiting Salisbury and going to the hairdressing salon there to have a hair cut! After my last visit to the hairdresser when I became a (redhead for the first time by mistake) I decided to try our local village hairstylist who did her training in Miami. Caucasian hair is a different texture to that of the West Indian variety, resulting in a dearth of suitable hairdressers for white tresses in Dominica . It was refreshing to find Pricilla who did a great job on our haircuts and charged us a really reasonable fee! Colouring I have decided I will try to do myself (experiment) and hopefully go back to being dark blonde again! I suppose it is great to have a choice could go pink with orange spots
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| - Dry |
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Still not enough rain for Dominica"s rainy season! In the valley today we have wonderful breeze, rain in the night but it looks as if it will be another dry day today. We went to Mero beach yesterday the first time for a couple of weeks. I took these photo's. It shows just how dry it is by the sea. The Layou river is usually much wider this time of the year. Not much is happening in Dominica as it is off season and most people are just chilling out and making a dollar here and there where they can. As for us we are getting adjusted to the way of life doing lots of gardening. Planting vegetables enjoying the good life! Attachment:
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| - Rain Cometh |
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Yesterday we had rain glorious rain most of the day here in the valley, however Dominica on the West side still has dry weather. Today we have woken up to a grey sky with rain coming from time to time. It has been recorded in Dominica that May has been the dryest month for 25 years, it looks like June could be the same!
Many people in Dominica travel by hitching rides on trucks, vans and other vehicles, it is the main way of getting to work for many. It is always fun in the early mornings watching people travelling on the back of pick-up trucks, in there gaily coloured clothes, bandana's, hats and scarves. People wave and yell on there way by but oh, in the rain they still ride the same way and don't seem to mind the weather at all. I suppose it is not like other countries where the rain is cold and one shivers when soaked to the skin, however I do not fancy being drowned, drenched by the rain and having to be in wet clothes even in warm temperature. I suppose it is what one gets used to!
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| - Showers |
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We had the most lovely day yesterday weatherwise - a fantastic gusting breeze with lots of rainy showers. It was so cool and lovely we felt that perhaps the rainy season is upon us! This morning is much cooler 75 F with again a lovely blustery breeze. It looks like Father's day is not going to be too frantic; having said that, in the islands Father's Day is very busy as Father's tend to have many children by different ladies, so have a great deal of travelling to do.
It always amazes me that women from Europe, the States etc., come to the Caribbean purposely to find a West Indian man as a companion. Monogamy is not a word that a lot of the local men have at the forefront of their social calendar, so these adventurous ladies come looking to the islands and the men for romance and other things! The sad fact is that many go back broken hearted with their dreams shattered.
If one wants to come to the Caribbean looking for love this is really not a good idea just bring a romantic novel instead, have lots of good cocktails as in Pina Colada, Rum Punch, Banana Daquari and other wonderful concoctions. Allow yourself to enjoy the wonderful sun, sea and sightseeing - be pampered by the friendly staff at your hotel or guest house and go back to your country with happy memories, not broken hearts and the myth of finding true love! We leave the fathers to their day and hope they have a great time.
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| - Changes |
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The last couple of days have just been hot with some showers or as the weatherman says scattered showers! Today looks just the same and it is definitely hot, luckily, not humid just baking! This time last year we were on holiday in our cottage as it had just been finished being built. We remember it well because we had a Bobcat clearing away tree stumps in the garden. The ground was so sodden that there were two or three days we could do know work because of the downpour of rain and more rain. Last year really lived up to the rainy season, this year so far is very strange indeed.
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| - Miracle Lake |
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We had light showers in the early morning yesterday and today has started the same, the rest of the day was very sunny, hot and humid, which looks like it is set to do today. The locals here are quite worried that we are not having as much rain as is normal for this time of year. It is also noticeable that the rivers especially the Layou River is not as mighty as she once was and indeed seems to be shrinking before our eyes. This is not strictly caused by global warming but some of it definitely is in my humble opinion. Where we live we have a wonderful view of a high cliff which goes down to the river. On many mornings the river gives off clouds of moisture which appears as steam, often with a rainbow or two through the middle of the clouds. very spectacular. The significance of the cliff is interesting because on the other side we have the Miracle lake. This phenomonon occurred in November 1997 when there was a huge erruption a land mass fell blocking off one of the tributaries to the Layou river, which caused a flash flood down the Layou river itself and blocked a huge catchment of water creating this enormous lake! Pirate Master (CBS) did some filming for their reality frolic in and around this area. There were several mornings we would wake up to see a helicopter hovering over the cliff flying backwards and forwards most of the day while filming was in progress. Attachment:
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| - PHEW! |
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It is hot, hot, hot! Yesterday was not pleasant as there was absolutely know breeze, today looks exactly the same. A day to be on the beach to chill out and keep cool! We were watering the plants yesterday and this morning. We are told that this weather is really unusual for Dominica in June. This we feel does not bode well for the hurricane season ahead there is already a system coming off the African coast. We watch these fascinated each year aliking them to a bowling green trying to hit different spots hopefully not ours!
There are also a lot of nasty little insects hanging around and we have resorted now to sleeping under the mosquito net as undesirables can be avoided but it does make us hotter. Speaking of hot we have some amazing pepper trees on the property. Laurie loves hot spicy food and makes his own pepper sauce; he has just come in with a plate full of juicy red hot chillis. They look so pretty on the plate but me I don't like it too hot! so I guess he will be cooking up a storm, it is just a treat to have our own supply. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts coming from some woodland trail yonder - Pepperidge Farm adverts on the radio...what next? "The Heat is On" (Glenn Frey)?
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| - River catch up! |
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The last two days have been really hot especially at night, we have no rain in the valley. It looks very much like being another hot day. Having said that looking at the chart for the Caribbean this morning we might get a swipe of the wet weather Barbados has been having. I do not like thunderstorms, lightening I find very frightening having narrowly escaped being struck while walking on the beach on a perfectly clear day a bolt of lightening literally came out of nowhere and landed in the sea next to me. Luckily I was not paddling at the time or I would not be here to tell the tale!
Yesterday we went for a river bath to cool down after having an energetic day doing all those jobs one puts off. The river however was rushing over the boulders bringing with it leaves, sticks and debris from the interior, the colour was muddy brown not at all inviting. This is something everyone has to know in the rainy season - which is about six months - if swimming in the river, we have to keep our eyes upstream to check if there is any debris coming as with it can bring a torrent of water which comes within seconds sometimes of sighting. A quick exit is necessary as the force of the river will sweep anything away in its path and with it life. Given the choice of living by the sea or the river we would choose the river as she is ever changing. Luckily we have the best of both worlds.
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| - Hot |
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We are having very hot weather like everyone else in the Caribbean. We are lucky where we live as I have said before it is always pretty cool with a breeze. Today looks like it is going to be another hot day up in the mid 80's. We visited Mero yesterday afternoon for a swim in the sea and were struck by just how dry the land looked by the coast, as if there had been a fire it is in so much need of rain. Yet as you can see from the photographs we are posting today of our cottage and some of our land we are very green yet only ten minutes from the coast! Dominica is magical. Attachment:
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| - Ravines |
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It poured with rain in the night but it was also very hot. This morning we have woken up to blue skies and sunshine, it looks like it will be a glorious day.
The locals are quite worried about the lack of rain for this time of year here especially affected is the west coast which we live on. The land near the ocean is very parched and needs some good rainfall. It is also noticeable that the ocean is quite hot for this time of year which is a bad sign for the hurricane season. Even the rivers which are usually pretty cool seem to be much warmer than usual.
Talking of rivers, a substantial amount of Dominica's terrain is made up of ravines - deep narrow gorges - that act as Nature's conduits when dispersing the heavy volumes of rain that inevitably finds its way to the lyrical 365 rivers. Besides this bedlam of aqua traffic, ravines also play a major role in the registration of land titles as they are ready made boundaries identifiable to all and sundry, together with public roads, coastal cliffs, etc. But - and here's the rub - in a major hurricane, ravines can become blocked with trees, any natural debris plus the odd vehicle that has careered off the road, allowing the torrential stream to seek a new path. This 'new path' can be to the advantage of the landowner or to the detriment, we have first hand experience. The northern boundary of our pied a terre is a ravine that used to run parallel and ajacent to an unpaved road/right of way. In 1979 hurricane David sculpted out a new route for this mean muddy waterway that put an extra two thirds of an acre on to our patch, which obviously was a major shortfall for a rarely seen neighbour - or was it? He contests that his boundary went to the 'road', yet our title states clearly to the ravine, Jaco Lass, to the ravine! Never underestimate the power of water.
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| - calm |
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At the moment things seem to be peaceful weatherwise over the region. The climatic pattern here seems the same over the last few days - temperatures at night in the low 70's even had a blanket on the bed last night! Very little rain yesterday but a lot of cloud cover today has potential downpour written all over it.
I try very hard to stay away from town, but Tuesday is my time to spend all day in Roseau. Town is usually very hot with no breeze at all which is not that pleasant; having said that, Roseau has quite a lot to offer with many different shops including some very modern stores. The two main supermarkets are H. V. Whitchurch which is located in the middle of town and Astaphans at the top of town. These stores do carry a good variety of groceries but of course there are still somethings one can not get so have to improvise!
Today I shall be spending quite a lot of time at the family owned Garraway Hotel which is located right on the waterfront opposite the Fort Young Hotel. The Garraway Hotel also has Diva's Spa which is a place I shall spend recuperating, relaxing and getting a good massage, this is well needed after the stress with our ongoing electricity situation!
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| - Cool Breeze |
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The last two days have been in the mid 70's, cool breezy, with showers, very comfortable. Today looks like it will be just the same. We have to say it really is so pleasant. Coming from Antigua which is hot and pretty dry especially at this time of year is a great change.
It is really interesting weatherwise where we are located in Dominica. We are about 500' above sea level in the Layou Valley which is always cooler than most parts of Dominica. Whether it is because of the river and the vegetation I do not know. It can be raining hard at our cottage, we can then get into the jeep and drive 10 minutes to Mero beach where it is dry and sunny. Yesterday this is exactly what we did remembering to take our swimming gear with us to enjoy the Sunday social crowd at Connie's Bar right on the beach. It was so colourful yesterday, many families bringing their barbecues and picnics, playing cricket and volley ball with regae music by the bar just right for a good old fashioned rum punch!
Our generator is working well, it seems to be fixed so far, fingers crossed. We have been in touch with the electricity company here as we are waiting for them to give us a price to hook us up to the mains. This is a bone of contention, the electricity company Domlec, seem to have very high prices for their wire and transformers. Please could someone let me know how much 16mm low voltage wire costs by the foot? We need a thousand feet of this wire and a transformer the poles are already in place to run the wire. The price we have been given by Domlec without the cost of labour so far is 5,000 EC dollars this sounds totally outrageous to us? We are seriously looking into other forms of power, water-rams, hydro and solar? This would seem a much better way to go.
All the islands have different electric companies but many of them seem to be overpriced especially as there are many cuts and outages. I suppose this is just the price we all have to pay to live in paradise.
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| - Rainy season |
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1st June yesterday and true to form Dominica has started her rainy season. Dominica seems to have a weather system of her own, whether this is due to our nine dormant volcanoes or not who can say but the fact that it always rains somewhere in Dominica is evidently due to the mountainous terrain, my! she is tall. Not surprising to us when at sea level at any time of the year it is really hot, then as one progresses up into the mountains it gets gradually cooler and it's prudent to have the umbrella in the vehicle. Dominica even in the dryest month May is green, the mangoes are in full season and seem to be all over the place squished in shades of ochre over the roads. The breadfruit trees in our garden are full of fruit and our four avocado trees are going to have a magnificent crop; the only trouble with this fruit that we can see is it all comes ripe at one time so one can't possibly consume it all, so calling a few hucksters to sell off the main yield is advisable. There is only a certain amount of chutney, soups and juices one can keep! We are very lucky to have this abundance.
The temperature is 76 F which is a huge drop from the high 80's over the past week. We had a great deal of rain in the night which has filled our water tank and butts. The garden is looking great. The weather today is forcast to be sunny spells with showers, sheets are akimbo across the line already, very pleasant.
Dominica had her last hurricane in 1979 the locals still talk about the horror David. The fact is that they were totally unprepared for the hurricane, but luckily there was not a great loss of life. The people remember that it was the first time they had ever seen the leaves and countryside stripped of it splendour, it looked like a huge fire had engulfed the island. Now in 2007 we have modern technology, sattelites, radio and TV giving us plenty of warning to prepare for the onslaught. The Dominican people now take the hurricane season very seriously and many homes have shutters in preparedness. Let us hope that the forecast for the season is not as treachorous as predicted.
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| - Hurricane Season |
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I am not that brilliant with some computer things so sorry about the tagged thing......................... ignore it. Today is the official first day of our six month long hurricane season. We so hope that everyone in the Caribbean will get away without having a hurricane. We went through hurricane Louis in 1995 it was truly terrrifying and brought Antigua to it's knees. We had no electricity where we lived for three months and no TV for six months. One thing we have made sure of with our cottage that we have all our windows with shutters on them just in case of a hurricane. We have also cropped any trees that could be a threat to our home. We have started collecting provisions for our cupboard it is always better to be safe than sorry.
It is going to be another really hot day today. The sea is very calm also so good for any sailing or fishing trips. We have very little planned for the day, just another day in paradise.
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| - Lisette has Tagged you! :) | ||||||||||||
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Title: Lisette has Tagged you! :)
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| - Ten to One on the beach - one to ten in the head! |
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Well, this might sound boring, firstly the weather is hot, hot, hot. Secondly our brand new Wasp(ish) generator again broke down leaving us with no power for two days! What better to do yesterday than go to our nearest beach Layou! I left my husband, mentor and custard juggler at home working and went off with my friend who lives down the road from us with beach umbrella, two chairs, rug and water, soap and shampoo!
Layou village is very quaint we do not feel it has changed in the last century. The village is built right on the beach with no modern conveniences, just a mains water outlet nearby if you're into bending and slippery footwear -. my goodness, look at the 'No Clouds' skyline with transparent day moon! The Layou river runs paralell with the village by the beach and into the sea, it is really pretty. So off Gail and I go up to the very point where the river meets the sea. Dig our umbrella in the sand and stake our place. I just wish that we had had a camera - we must have looked so funny, two white women sitting on the beach as if we were in Florida or anywhere else. The villagers came out to do their daily bathing in the river as that is where they all wash themselves and their clothes. It is just such a really amazing rural everyday occurence - even we have got into the habit of washing ourselves in the river when we are without electricity. I have to say though I think the fun thing Gail and I enjoyed most was watching the men bathing who were casting a wayward eye for the impending flash flood - no chance! It was for us a fascinating sight and we had a scoring chart from 1 to 10, I leave this with your imaginations! We had a great relaxing day and actually caught some good rays.
It is good to be back in the land of the living with the generator. We are hoping to be hooked up to the main electricity within the next two weeks. We better not hold our breath!
June the first cometh..........................
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| - Sunshine |
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The weather has been really settled for the last two days, very dry, hot and sunny. It is going to be another lovely day and we shall soon be needing showers for the garden.
It was a very quiet day in the valley yesterday very little traffic passing by. This was very peaceful for us, we spent most of the day enjoying our land. We are building a pool in the ravine in the forest. This is a lot of fun. It is in such a pretty spot. The forest is always cool and shady. The spot for our pool is between two little waterfalls. We will just be able to dam the stream to fill the pool and then let the water out when we have finished. The area has lovely places for hammocks and chairs, we shall create some chairs with some of the bamboo that we have, we are lucky to have quite a lot of bamboo which is really lovely not just to look at but to listen to, it makes a sound all of it's own rather like a musical instrument. We have lots of ideas to make the forest more beautiful and hope that people can come and enjoy the tranquillity of the place.
Touch wood the generator is behaving itself with load saving!! Hence posting our weather today.
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| - generator problems!! |
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We have been unable to be on line for the last few days as we run our electicity on our brand new wasp diesel generator which has decided to become temperamental and works when it wants to, then coughs and splutters and decides to go off!! Hopefully, in the nearerer future Domlec will decide to bring the power to us down our Cable and Wireless poles to fix us up to the mains.
This just adds to the excitment of living in the country in the valley. It is certainly very pretty at night watching the fireflies dancing against the darkness of the sky lit up only by a ribbon of moonlight and the stars. Just sitting on the deck with candle light, a good bottle of wine and some good food cooked on the barbecue. Life isn't really that hard without electricity. Once again the river is a source for washing clothes and ourselves as we have a water pump for the water in the house which of course does not work when there is no power. As Miss Mermaid in Tortola would say, sigh....................... If we were younger and had loads of energy we would utilize the ravine and have hydro power electricity probably, any suggestions?
The weather today is really showery which is wonderful as the last two days have been really hot and very humid. Today is so cool once again bringing everything to life, there are some wonderful scents in the air Jasmine especially strong.
Whit weekend being party time, last night we were out having a good time, there was lots of music and celebrating going on, we think everyone is taking it easy today ready for more partying tomorrow. Me well I am just going to lie in the hammock with a good book...........
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| - Sunshine |
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Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day, today is just the same but with a lovely breeze. The garden is looking green, the flowers very colourful. It is a great day for getting things done. Yesterday we took the day off and became tourists. We have been visiting Dominica for many years but there are a great deal of places that we have not seen. Yesterday we took off up to Pond Casse passed Rosalie and visited a place called Jungle Bay Resort. The scenery is just magical, it is so green and mountainous going through the countryside. We originally come from Cornwall in England. The countryside reminded us a great deal of Cornwall with it's little lanes, twists and curves. It took us about three quarters of an hour to get to the East coast (the Atlantic side of Dominica) where the rivers meet up with the sea. The ocean on this side of the island is very rugged full of rocks and boulders. The roads are very twisty, windy and steep giving stunning views of the sea and the coastline. Jungle Bay itself is a holiday resort built in the forest right on the coast. The concept is people holidaying in the forest among the trees with beautiful views of the ocean. The cabins are made of wood built on stilts. So it is like staying in a tree house. We had a very nice lunch there, all the food is organic and prepared freshly on the day. The restaurant is also made of wood the shape is round, with a high ceiling overlooking their pool and the ocean. It is a very tranquil place to stay. The guests we met were mainly from the USA and one lady told us she felt she was like Peterpan in a make believe setting and that she did not want the fairy tale to end! We moved on doing a huge circle back to the Layou Valley where we live. The drive was really enjoyable. It has wet are appetites to do more exploring of this wonderful country we now are lucky enough to live in 'Dominica Nature Island.' |
| - LOADS OF RAIN |
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Wow, did we do the trick last night using the pump. You guessed it, it rained all night and has been raining this morning. All our water butts are filled and of course our water tank is overflowing. Obviously in future we must ensure using the water pump and create some magic! The temperature is 78 degrees it has really cooled down. There is a lovely fresh smell in the air and the grass on our new lawn is looking very perky. The frogs are also singing a merry tune and I just saw a huge crab scuttling over the deck, everything has come out to play. Unfortunately or not as the case maybe it is not sunbathing weather for snakes so will have to forgo the pleasure of taking their snapshot this morning. Rande from Texas has given us a good suggestion of how to get the boa constrictors to choose another home. He has expert knowledge as a girlfriend of his kept a boa constrictor as a pet and observed that this cosy snake did not appreciate fire. Hence we should light a fire by their home in the riverbank every day and hope that they move on. This could be the answer, time will tell. Thank you Rande for the advice. Have to go to town this morning so won't forget my umbrella. It looks like a cool great day. |
| - STILL ALIVE |
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OK so I am still here. I have to admit that I never made it to the river in the morning to take photo's of the snakes. I still really do intend too, however, I had some really important business to attend to. Good excuse................real. We still have no rain and yes, it is very hot in the high 80's. This Sunday everyone was in the river, including me and my friends. I was very watchful of what was in the water but felt the snakes would be to timid to attempt to leave their hole with all the noise!! There were quite a lot of families enjoying the cool of the river. It is sundown at the moment and the water pump is doing it's job pumping away into our water-tank and on the garden. We are so lucky to have running water in this very dry time. I would love to be able to beam some around the Caribbean. I wonder if this bodes well for the hurricane season? We really do not want any hurricanes this year anywhere, fingers crossed. |
| - SNAKES |
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Great we had a good sprinkling of rain this morning. There is a very fresh smell in the air, the plants and the grass are looking grateful and fresh. No need to use the pump to water the garden today. I have finally found the weather forecast on the telephone here which is somewhat hepful but we had to laugh as the recorded voice informed us that it would be sunny with some scattered showers and clouds! We used to hear the same weather forecast a great deal in Antigua. This means that the weather can do a bit of everything if it decides to so no one can be wrong!! Today though we think it will be very pleasant. Having driven to Melville Hall Airport yesterday morning, which is an hour each way, to pick up our dear friend who is now settling down happily enjoying the beautiful views and marvelling at his green surroundings in the Caribbean. We were all hot. Off to the river we went to cool down. There to find some friends who are making a bar out of bamboo and natural material poking a stick in a very large hole. Being inquisitive of nature we decided to see what was going on. In Dominica we have snakes but luckily no poisonous ones. The biggest snake being the boa constrictor! Well, you have guessed it; there were and I should say still are two boa constrictors living in the large hole! These two snakes - one big, one very big - like to come out in the morning so we were told to sunbathe, no doubt taking a dip in the river.................. I have to say I always like to see what is in the water when I swim for fear of anything slimy. The question is how to move the boa constrictors to another site, because if they stay where they are they could definitely frighten the tourists. Plus we are sure that the big huge snake is having babies. Being intrepid, I shall attempt to take my camera this morning and sneak a couple of shots of this family. Snakes are not my favourite thing but as long as they are not poisonous I don't mind getting fairly close to take a piccy. My friend has told me that if these snakes decide to attack, ensure that your legs are apart as they will not be able to swallow you, perish the thought! It conjours up a funny picture. I will report my progress in a while. |
| - DRY |
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Well my predictions for yesterday were a bit off as we have had no rain. Today is very hot and still, so we feel it is another sunblest time ahead - as the Spanish say, 'scorchio'!We will have to get the water pump out to water our new lawn which is looking very bedraggled, but consider ourselves very lucky to have a stream full of water at the back of our land. Water is Dominica. We feel sorry for Antigua having a drought. Having lived there for many years, we remember well one summer in Antigua when there was very little rain, the animals suffered very badly as well as the folks who live there. It does not bode well for the hurricane season just around the corner. We spent a long time in the river yesterday and found some lovely spots to sit in, letting the water pummel us just like being in a jacuzzi. It is lovely sitting watching the different species of birds that fly around the river. Some beautiful herons in deep blue livery sitting in a branch above us. Some Sisserou parrots flying clumpily along - the parrots and herons seem always to be in pairs. The other thing that is very noticeable is that there are no planes flying over us as we live very far from the airports. Dominica being so mountainous planes tend to fly along the coast very rarely venturing inside the island. This is a real treat. Life is very tranquil. We are off to meet a dear friend from the plane today at Melville Hall which is an hours journey from us so I better get ready. |
| - No Mosquitoes |
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With our main computer down I have no way of accessing the weather forecast here! We are too much in the country to pick up a radio station and there is no TV facility. I guess, I shall just have to guess about the weather. It is really still very hot but there is a lovely breeze today and it feels like there could be a change coming in at the weekend. We do badly need rain at the moment so hope very much that the weather brings some good showers. We hope that Jamaica does not have bad floods in the next few days. June is just around the corner start officially of hurricane season. That is when our rainy season starts and I suspect we will be then wishing for sunshine! Lots of things to do today. It was a bit of a shock waking up looking in the mirror and seeing a red head for a change but we are getting used to it! The great thing that we notice most about living here is that we do not have mosquitoes, not one bite have we had since we have been living here, so no mosquito nets are necessary which is wonderful. Have a great day................ |
| - computer down |
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The weather is still so hot, we need rain but none is falling. Having said that the breeze is good and the view beautiful so we can not complain too much. As we say only in the Caribbean! Our main computer is down the Mother board has decided to pack up! The computer is less than a year old so what is wrong with today's gadgets? Maybe something affected it in the move but as you can see we have a back up! Since writing last many things have happened. The morning we went for the materials for our shutters to be put up and the roof put on the container was fine, however, it took us all morning and into the early afternoon to get all the things necessary hence a whole day was wasted to a certain extent but we did get the necessary items to do the job, huge relief. We can report that the shutters are in place and the roof is on the container so we are hopefully, ready for the hurricane season. Today is my birthday so I decided it was time to have my hair cut and coloured! Trying a new hairdresser is always stressful (we women know this). Having been advised of the best cutter I trotted off this morning quite early into town. Was greeted well by the owner and main cutter, colourer! I chose my colour dark blonde. (colour is needed when we get older!) The colouring got underway, it turned out to be a very long process. The cutting done. I am now at home and my hair is bright red............................ I think that the hairdresser must be colour blind or either have run out of dark blonde hair colour. Pink lipstick does not look good with this amazing colour................. Perhaps now I have red hair people will take me seriously. Going out now to have a good party time, |
| - Mad day |
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Yesterday was fantastic, the weather gorgeous not a cloud in the sky. Mother's were enjoying picinics on the beach and at the river with all their family members and friends great excuse for party time. We joined them on the beach.
Today is going to be hectic we have the builder coming to put a roof on our container which we use as a store room and the carpenter coming to put up our hurricane shutters int time for hurricane season 1st June. Got to dash....................... We hope Miss Mermaid is feeling better in Tortola!!
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| - Sticky |
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The last two days have been hot, hot, hot. This we don't like as we are planting a lawn which means getting turf of grass from around about then planting it and needing rain to help it get established. This morning as yesterday evening we have had to be out with the hose! (perhaps this now means it will start raining)! The good thing in Dominica is that we have lots and lots of water. Luckily we have a ravine that runs at the back of our cottage and land. We have a great water pump and can extract any amount of water. It looks like a river bathing day today. The river is so fresh and cool it is fun to jump into the current and let the river take you like a giant slide to it's sandy shores.
We have only been living here a short time it is a lovely country. The Dominican people are hospitable and kind. The form of transport for many people is to hitch hike rides. The school children even do this. It takes me back to the sixties and seventies in the UK, Europe, America, world wide when it was safe for anyone to hitch hike. We always stop and give the school children a lift and also many locals. Dominica is a big Island and the bus service is very hit and miss so people have always helped each other out. It is a great lesson to learn, it is also wonderful to live in a country in this day and age where people are peaceful and thoughtful.
We have lived in the Caribbean for nineteen years and have travelled extensively throughout the islands. Each island has it's unique feel and has something different to offer that is why the Caribbean is such a beautiful place to visit, that is why many people from all over the world decide to make the Caribbean their home or destination for vacations.
I remember growing up as a child watching pirate movies made in the Caribbean and thinking how exotic the locations were and always dreaming of visiting one day. I never thought I would end up making the Caribbean my home.
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and shortly to be seen Pirates of the Caribbean 3 were filmed in St. Vincent and here in Dominica my dream coming true being among the Pirates for real. Having said that one can imagine pirates being here burying their treasure, fighting over the spoils, also getting lost in the forest. May Dominica never let anyone cut the trees down as is being done in Indonesia, Borneo, South America and many other countries around the globe!
Everyone will soon see more of Dominica if they wish as there has recently been a survivor series filmed here which is to be shown on CBS at the end of May entitled Pirate Master
The producer felt the ruggedness of the island with it's wealth of lush vegetation and waterfalls was the ideal place to bring this swash buckling production! Unfortunately, we will not be able to see the series ourselves as we live too much in the country to have TV. This is quite strange as the only way we can keep up to speed on worldwide events is luckily on our computer.
We are working on the electricity cable and it looks like we could be lucky and get ourselves hooked up sooner rather than later. It is all very well not having power only by generator, it maybe conceived as romantic to sit in candle light but it is not fun having to keep things cold and stop food going bad! We have managed to source a lady in St. Joseph who sells huge blocks of ice. We take our cold bag fill it up with the ice then stick it in the freezer compartment of our fridge/freezer this does keep things OK for quite a long time. Perhaps we should be more hardy and intrepid.............................................. Got to go bake some bread!
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| - Power! |
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Rain, glorious rain we have lots of it coming down right now and it rained a lot during the night. This is good news for us as we are planting a lawn and need the rain to keep everything growing staying nice and green. Yesterday was glorious sunshine with a good breeze.
We have no electricity where we live, we are lucky to have had Cable and Wireless put the seven poles required up for our telephone and internet connection. We now need to have the electricity run a secondary line on our poles to connect us up. We know there are alternative energy sources but require electricity sooner rather than later as we are running on a diesel generator.
We need to purchase a thousand feet of ABC cable in order to get the electricity. We feel it would be much better for us to do this privately rather than use the electricity company here as they tend to over charge customers badly. Could anybody out there be kind enough to give us some advice?
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| - 2 pictures for you |
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The weather for the last three days has been really settled, yesterday was a bit overcast the temperature very hot with a pleasant breeze. Dominica is a beautiful country full of everything one could possibly imagine to eat, growing everywhere hence the Garden of Eden of the Caribbean. We popped out the other morning to deliver our rubbish to be collected, fancied some fresh fish for dinner so followed a little fishing boat around to Tarou and bought two beautiful fresh fish that were gutted for us in the salt water. On the way home we passed a neighbour who grows vegetables and were given lots of lovely veggies to go with the fish. What a feast we had that evening. Here are a couple of photo's of Merot beach where we went for our picnic. It is a very lovely location, with this great little bar with plenty of shade. We avoided the beaches on Sunday and Monday as that is the place to find everyone over Bank holiday weekend. Partying having a good time. Back to reality today. Attachment:
PICT0117.JPG Attachment:
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| - a picture for you |
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Fantastic weather this morning clear sunny and bright. The birds are chirping merrily away. The sea very calm which is great as we are going to the beach today for a picnic. Even though this picture is a little fuzzy we thought you might like to see how the local guys carry their vegetables!! Obviously a lot on his mind. Attachment:
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| - Domland |
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We have woken up to a cool start to the day. We live about 500' above sea level in the forest close to the Layou river with a stream running at the back of our property. It is peaceful, always green with the colours of beautiful wild flowers brightening up the landscape. The breadfruit trees are full of fruit and the avocado trees are in flower, coconut trees abundant with jellies! We will never go hungry as there is always something to pick for the table. Our height above sea level ensures that we are always a lot cooler than the people who live by the sea or in the main town Roseau. It is a pleasure to come away from the town after a hectic morning shopping entering our valley. We carry in the jeep always a basket with our swim wear as it is so good to have a river swim on the way home to cool down and take away any aches and pains we have a long the way.
We are particularly lucky because the parrots live wild in our forest and wake us up early some mornings with their crys to one another, they are funny to watch flying because I can only describe them as very clumpy, not smooth like the hawks or the Frigate birds. Dominica has two indigenous parrots the Jaco and Sisserou both are beautiful in colour the Jaco being bright green with a red breast. The Sisserou green with a blue and deep purple breast. Both species of parrots were becoming extinct and are now protected by the Government of Dominica with a scheme run by the forestry commission, there is a huge fine for anyone caught harming or killing the parrots. It is a wonderful sight to see so many parrots living in the wild.
May so far is definitely much cooler than it usually is April and May are usually steaming hot with everyone coming to the river to cool off.
I am off on an important mission to town to bring a friend's new born baby boy back from the hospital to their home in Salisbury!
Just another day in Paradise!!
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