Once we removed the line wrapped around our dagger that we acquired on the journey from St. Martin to Dominica, we gave a sigh of relief that the damage was not more significant—only a 3-inch gash in the dagger. It was now time to explore our new surroundings, the “Garden Island.”
But first we had to navigate our way through the entry process. We thought we would let the PAYS group handle the process for us for a fee. However, when they wanted to keep all our documents for several hours, and we could not accompany them, we decided to go to Customs ourselves, not realizing that this was basically not done!
First, we had to wait for over 45 minutes while the lady in the PAYS office contacted the medical minister. It seemed he had to verify our vaccination cards before we could go to Customs. Finally, she received a response, but we had to go across the bay to the Cruise ship dock to meet with the medical minister.
We were met at the cruise ship dock by a woman who indicated that the medical minister was not there, and she did not know if or when he was coming by this office. Evidently, he traveled around the island quite a bit. She offered to let us sit and wait which we did but felt some foreboding when we saw her get in her car and leave.
Nonetheless, Winston, the medical minister, eventually arrived and looked us over, made a few notes and indicated we could now go to Customs which was on the other side of the bay. We had been at this process for over 1.5 hours at this point.
At the Customs dock we were greeted by security who stated that we could not be there. Luckily, I had gotten Winston’s name and told the guard that he sent us to the dock; thus, he let us pass. The Customs officials did not seem the least bit concerned that we had come in on our own without an agent. Ben had completed the SailClear documents online the night before, so it did not take long for them to stamp us in after we paid the $7.00 entry fee. Finally, we were no longer in quarantine status and free to move about the country. Yay!
However, word to the wise, it is probably more efficient to let an agent such as the PAYS guys process the entry, than to do it yourself. Winston even told us not to tell our friends they could go themselves. I don’t know what they will say when we go back to check out or extend our stay—maybe we will let the PAYS guys handle it.
PAYS stands for Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services. They handle the mooring balls, and provide security for the bay and your dinghy when at their dock. If you used their mooring balls, they also would dispose of your trash. They were super friendly, and it seemed that each person had a different tour that they provided.
On Tuesdays and Fridays there was a small farmers market in the town of Portsmouth and on Saturday, there was a larger market up and down the streets.
Since it was Friday, we decided to check out the grocery store as well as the market. There was not much in the grocery store that we needed, but we found a few things we needed before rambling around through the market vendors. The fruit and vegetables were amazing!!
We bought bananas, mangos, pineapple, papaya, tomatoes, ginger, and cucumbers. One vendor was especially helpful in teaching me about the types of mangos, and how to know when certain items were ripe.
I could not wait to get back to the boat and enjoy these fresh vegetables and fruits. On the recommendation of a friend, I had just finished the book, Embarrassment of Mangos written by a lady who had spent two years sailing the Caribbean and learning to cook the local foods. She shared many of the recipes in her book some of which I planned to try.
For dinner we had a wonderful salad full of fresh vegetables, shrimp scampi and homemade bread. It was a feast!
Saturday, May 7, 2022
We awoke this morning to showers, and in between showers a small rainbow appeared!
I was excited to get to the farmers market to shop regardless of the showers. I wanted to try out a few more recipes that I had read about. So we gathered our rain gear and headed for shore. We were almost overwhelmed by the bountiful selections that were everywhere! I knew that I bought too much, but I simply could not help myself.
We bought:
Mangos—they were so good the day before that we had to buy more
Plantains—I wanted to try frying them using the recipe in the book I had read
Bananas
Papaya—I also read about Papaya and Bananas muffins so I was hot to give this a try
Green onions—I’d read you could cut them up and freeze them in a water bottle and shake out what you needed. So I was going to try this
Tomatoes—I simply adored fresh tomatoes! So just had to get some more
Red onion—for the sheet pan dish
Christophene—this was another vegetable, kind of like a zucchini squash, that is very prevalent in the islands. So I wanted to try it in a sheet pan dish and make Christophene bread
Eggs—at the last minute we found someone selling eggs and we were needed some. So I added this to the bounty.
Ben had rented a car for a few days. So after stowing all our wonderful food, we took a trip south along the west coast to the capital of Dominica, Roseau. This town also had a market along the waterfront which kind of clogged up the traffic, but we finally found a parking place and went to the Fresh Market grocery store for other staple items. This was a better stocked grocery than the one in Portsmouth. Next, we visited the liquor store to purchase some wine and a few other items.
The drive to and from Portsmouth and Roseau along the coast was beautiful with lush mountains on one side, and cliffs and beaches on the other. We thoroughly enjoyed wandering about the countryside.
After all the grocery shopping, we prepared an amazing dinner of fresh vegetables and fruit! We had smoked sausage sheet pan with Christophene (which was a hit), red onion, fresh tomatoes, carrots, and green beans. I also made the Papaya Banana Muffins that I had read about. They were moist and scrumptious.
Sunday, May 8, 2022
Since we still had the rental car, we decided to explore the northern coast and part of the east side of the island. From the mountains on the north side, you could see Guadeloupe off in the distance.
Most of the roads were well maintained for such a mountainous rural area.
In fact, for miles and miles, it was evident that plants had been planted along the road for beautification.
The people were proud people as evident when talking with them, and from the care they take of their surroundings. We passed so many adorable well cared for villages.
The vegetation on the mountainside was lush with ferns, a variety of trees, palms, banana trees, coconut trees, and many plants that I had never seen before. It was so beautiful, that at times, I had to remind Ben to watch the winding switchback roads.
The coastline was made of jagged rocky cliffs and brown sandy beaches. It was simply awe inspiring!
There are 365 rivers on the island because the mountains are so steep. This bridge was replaced after it was damaged in Maria.
I think Ben enjoyed challenging his driving skills along the roads as they traverse through the mountains and valleys. Our friends Krissy and John will be joining us in a couple of days, and I cannot wait to explore some more with them.
This is an island full of bountiful fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and homemade bread. The mountains are lush with beautiful green vegetation that will mesmerize you as you travel through the lands of these proud people!
Stay tuned: More Dominica to come as it looks like we will not have a weather window to head south for at least another week.
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