Dominica, Indian River

Fire showed up about 8:30 this morning and we cruised the shoreline toward the mouth of the Indian River. Dominica has been hit by a lot of hurricanes, four or more since Hurricane David. The shoreline is littered with the wrecks of ships that have piled in on top of the wrecks from previous hurricanes, rusting and being cut up slowly and the bits shipped to Trinidad. Fire points to the space where the Catholic Church once stood, victim of an earthquake. At the mouth of the river, a large Haitian ship has wrecked almost closing off the entrance. Fire negotiates the rocks and we are in.

We stop at the small dock so I can nip to the bank and pick up the passes to enter the river. The river is brackish and the bank low, the area protected so Fire has to row his heavy boat up. The water is not very clear, greenish gray milky color. We see schools of fresh water mullet, lots of them. On the banks the crabs scuttle into their holes, and the water fowl hide. There are moorhens and small red crowned herons. Many coconut trees, mango and strangling fig, bois this and bois that. The whole flood plane was once a plantation estate, now owned by a woman who will not sell parcels, only lease or sell the whole lot. Now it is a jungle of trees and vines, often flooded by the river, the banks eroded out with each freshet. As we move up, the river narrows and the trees on each side begin to close in over the center. The film crew for Pirates of the Caribbean set up fog machines to create an eerie scene for the home of the witch. Fire and his guides were not allowed to bring up their clients during filming, but were paid by the film company for each cancelled trip. Fire was given the task of ferrying a crew from Good Morning America during a shoot they set up. The bank side trees have curving, swirling buttress roots that sweep up from the water and hold up the tree as well as tie in the bank. In low lying areas they grow in away from the river.


The guide crew maintain the river, cutting back vegetation where it is getting in the way, and dislodging trees and stumps washed into it during the frequent floods. There are no improvements, just general cleaning up, to maintain an enjoyable wild river experience.

At the head of the navigable section of river, there is a bar, garden and the beginnings of a rude wood get-away apartment for those looking for a natural, if well visited, sejour. Snake Man is the gardener. He cultivates many fruits and flowers and herbs. He serves us cut up and peeled sugar cane to chew while we await our pina coladas (it must be at least 9:30 am, why not? KMH helped me understand a thing or two.). He is friendly and I have invited him to come for dinner to share our 3 lbs of kingfish sitting in the fridge. I am not a natural host, so this is a bit out of my safety zone. He is having the full moon party at the bar afterward and wants us to come. There is a path through the swamp from the village to the bar up river. In the event, he never showed up and we passed a quiet evening observing the other full moon party at the Purple Turtle on the beach, not one but two large bonfires.

The artist has done a series of postcard-sized drawings of the river, now she is painting them in, in water colour. I think it will make a good batch.