Last night's tropical island night party kept me from getting up early to walk and enjoy the sunrise. That, plus the fact that G had said he wanted to do some hiking on Dominica if the weather permitted. So by the time I awoke, we were moving into our berth, and I went to the Promenade Deck forward on the pier side to see if I could get wifi from shore. We were still not able to connect to the ship's wifi using our iPhones, an issue that was thankfully corrected last night.
Dominica is known as the Nature Island. I've heard it said that, if he returned today, Dominica is the only island Columbus would still recognize. I first learned about this island at a travel seminar for dive destinations about 15 years ago. I had never heard of it before, but after viewing the presentation given by the owner of Dive Dominica, I was ready to pack my bags. Sadly, I learned today that that gentleman (Pettiman, I believe), just recently passed away. He had a way of talking about his beautiful island that made you put it on the top of your bucket list.
We ate breakfast in the dining room before heading out for the promised hike. The weather was perfect, as sunny as it gets in Dominica (it IS a rainforest, after all), and not too hot (but still pretty warm). We walked first along the waterfront, spending some time touring the Fort Young Hotel (where the free wifi comes from). We had been there several times (it's located right at the cruise ship pier, and was actually the site of a Christmas card photo a few years ago), but we had never really learned about its history. Well, it has a fascinating one.
The hotel has rather interesting architecture, broken into several levels with smaller half-levels in between, rising up from the water. It was already beautifully decorated for Christmas.
