Dominica – Castle Comfort Lodge

Date: August 1999

When we first began to seriously investigate a trip to Dominica, I discovered, "you can’t get there from here." Our very capable agents from Dive Reservation Service, Cheryl and Gywn, however, insisted it would be worth the trouble. An over-night in Miami was inevitable, and the best airline prices had us getting in Miami past midnight with a very early morning departure to our next stop in Puerto Rico. Ugh—but we decided to go for it and we are glad we did.

Diving: The bad news was no jet service to Dominica. The good news? Virgin diving! Until or unless a significant tourist infrastructure is built, the diving is likely to remain that way. Overall, there seemed to be lots of every underwater critter we saw, and approaching most of them was easy. Most of our travelers thought this was the best Caribbean diving we have ever experienced as far as fish life.

As the island map indicates, all our diving was at the far southeast corner of the island within site of "Scott’s Head," a prominent geological formation which kind of looks like a ski ramp. There was a variety of diving from pinnacles with swim-throughs filled with battalion-sized schools of Red Bar Soldier Fish to fairly flat, shallow diving over boulder fields covered with both hard and soft corals. Currents varied from moderately strong on a couple dives to negligible on most dives. Visibility was always good, especially when the sun was out.

Champagne was a unique site which featured a number of heat vents from magma deep below the surface of the earth, spewing up continuous bubble streams. The water was quite hot over the vents and the nearby rocks were mustard-colored from sulfur. The bubbly area was only 12-15 feet deep and was also an attraction for visiting snorkelers.

Other sites included Point Guinard, Soufriere, Coral Gardens, Cachacou Pinnacle, Dangleben North, Scott’s Head Pinnacle (twice), Suburbs (past Scott’s Head in the Martinique Channel) , and the reef right in front of our resort.

On our first day, we dived the "resort reef" (we heard no other name) and it was a surprisingly good dive, but it was absolutely magnificent at night with probably more to see then than any other location, anywhere. Octopus were everywhere, I found my first Sea Horse (on my very own), a small school of squid glistened in our lights near the surface, eels were poking there heads out and free-swimming in all directions. We watched one octopus hunt for several minutes as he "pounced" on one small coral head to another. At the end of the dive, we met a curious school of needlefish at the surface. One swam up to my mask twice—closer than I could focus my eyes.

Other critter highlights: a flying gurnard, a literal "pile" of eight southern rays (one large and seven small ones, engaging in a mating ritual—never seen anything like that before), frog fish, nudibranchs, manta shrimp, spotted drums, sea hares, a sea turtle, and a couple dolphin pods numbering over a hundred accompanying our dive boat.

Dive Operation: Dive Dominica at Castle Comfort Lodge was our dive operator for the week. Both have been owned and managed by Derek Perryman for almost twenty years, and Derek most certainly deserves the credit for developing Dominica’s diving. Derek personally conducted a thorough and interesting group briefing on the resort lawn on our arrival day. We would be taking a two-tank boat dive each morning with Aaron, our dive master for the week. Unlimited shore diving off their pier was also available, and we would get one night dive off their boat. All our gear could be conveniently stored at the end of the dock, so nothing (but cameras) had to be taken to our rooms. Aaron was in the water on each dive, generally guiding our group and pointing out critters, some we would have likely missed (like the frog fish and several sea horses during the week). The touring was not regimented and there was plenty of freedom to poke and snoop.

The dive operation was professional and the crew was friendly and fun-loving—the perfect combination. They had a relaxed, easy manner, a love for what they were doing, and a sense of pride in both their island and in the job they were doing—hospitality and class!

Resort: Castle Comfort Lodge comprises a small area a mile or so south of the capital, Roseau. The town is within walking distance, but watch the speeding traffic! The resort grew from Derek’s childhood home, first converted by his Mother to a small guesthouse, then to a dive resort. The older building contains first and second floor rooms and the open-terrace dining area on the second floor. A newer building contains the resort lobby and office in the front, with the dive shop and equipment storage area in the rear. The second floor has four rooms. The small grassy area between the buildings has a hot tub, a hammock, and tables and chairs. It became our gathering place at the end of each afternoon, swapping stories of the day and sipping daiquiris or the local brew served to us by the staff

On arrival day, the staff greeted us and offered a welcoming rum punch as we checked in. Bags were delivered to our rooms, a nice touch, particularly for those of us on the second floors.The rooms were comfortable, but many found inadequate water pressure and/or hot water.

Meals: Breakfasts were typical fare and ordered from from a standard selection. There was always juice and fruit served as the hot course was being prepared. We were on our own for lunches. If eating at the resort, they recommended ordering in advance to save time. Some days, however, lunch was packed "to go" because we were touring. On other occasions, some ate lunch at a neighboring resort. Dinners featured a lot of "local" dishes. The general consensus seemed to be that some of these dishes (many were starchy) were interesting for the first couple days, but then got old. The main entrees including pork chops, fish, and chicken were good, but as one said, the food was "not completely to my taste but was fine as is."

Touring: From the get-go, we knew island touring would be a key feature of our trip. The two-tank morning dive program was perfect for leaving our afternoons free to see the island. Our appetites were only wetted while we took the two-hour trip down and across the island from the airport to the resort. Two hours to drive to the resort??? What a waste of time, you’re thinking? It was, in fact, the best introduction to the island we could imagine.

We were greeted at the airport by Lambert Charles, our driver from Ken’s Hinterland Adventure Tours (KHATTS). But Lambert was not just a driver, he was an island historian and was to be our friend and adventure guide for the week. The drive was fascinating as we experienced the "nature island" first hand for the first time. I had been communicating with the owner of KHATTS, Ken George Dill, a number of times prior to our trip toarrange the best combination of island tours with the little time we had. Ken joined the briefing on our first day to answer questions and help make suggestions for our adventure hikes. I can’t say enough about the quality of his organization!

After a few messages back and forth, we settled on two half-day tours on Monday and Wednesday, and an all-day adventure on Friday.

Ti-Tou Gorge: Our first adventure was the easiest, and for the entire group, perhaps the most enjoyable. After a 5 mile trip into the high country near the village of Laudat, we parked the van and followed Lambert on a 15 minute easy walk to Ti-Tou Gorge, or "little throat hole." At an old cabin, we descended a few steps to a shallow rock-covered pool and waded over to a stream coming from an opening in the rock cliff in front of us. Lambert had issued all of us a flotation belt, so it was easy to swim against a gentle current deeper into the canyon. On each side of the stream smooth rock walls slanted inwards and upwards for 20-25 feet, but we could see the vegetation and occasional glimpses of the sky above us.

At the end of the canyon, perhaps a couple hundred feet from the entrance, a powerful water fall about six feet high provided our group a great deal of fun for about an hour or more. At this point, the water was too deep to stand in and the water flow was too powerful to swim against. On the right side of the fall, there was a ledge where 3-4 people could stand. On the left side, you could "hide" behind a rock wall and not be affected by the flow. The fun was to try to swim from the left side, across the flow, and get to the ledge. Lambert used a ring buoy and line to help drag us across. Steve, the mountain goat-footed one, shimmied up the rock walls on either side of the falls and dove into the pool. (Yes, he was seen again.)

Our only regret was no pictures! Paul had his Nikonos, but it was way too dark for any kind of decent exposures at a reasonable shutter speed. 400 ISO film speed, at least, would probably be required. Next time, I might also try a disposable u/w camera.

Reluctantly, we floated back down the stream and headed for the van, thinking it couldn’t get any better.

After a short ride, we parked and set out for the twin Trafalgar Falls along another trail. The walk to a viewing platform, although not at all challenging, was a step up from the stroll to Ti-Tou. Past the viewing platform, however, it got downright "fun" climbing up and over boulders which became slippery as we approached the falls.

The "father" falls pictured at the beginning of the report is the taller of the two, but the "mother" falls is more accessible. We spent several minutes swimming in the pool at the base of the mother falls. The force of the falling water was so strong that it created its own wind, and the spray kept you from seeing much, as you tried to position yourself close to the falls. Cary brought his dive mask, so he could probably see better than the rest of us.

We swam for awhile then headed back down the boulders where we ran into Bob, camera in hand, and unable to move forwards or backwards without a hand. Oops,sorry, Bob. Anything you bring in should be in a small back pack if you go for the boulders, because you will need both hands!

Middleham Falls. On Wednesday afternoon, the hikers were ready for another adventure. This time, however, the strenuous meter was ratcheted up a couple notches to "medium." It wasn’t a big deal on Monday, but in the mountains of Dominica, it’s always raining somewhere, and eventually, everywhere. Consequently, everything is wet, especially the trail. At best the trail is just wet, sometimes it is very muddy, sometimes you are hopping across streams trying to stay somewhat dry by stepping from stone to stone. As for the mountains, that should clearly imply that you are either climbing up or climbing down—very little is level. So it was on the 1½ hour hike to Middleham Falls—up and down and wet. But wet also means "green"—very green, and beautiful—a true rainforest within the Morne Trois Piton National Park.

Once again, Lambert was our guide, pointing out the national flower and teaching us about the flora and fauna. I don’t remember the distance, perhaps three miles, but we could tell our objective was getting closer by the roar of the water. The vegetation was so thick, however, that we didn’t see the falls until we were almost "on top it them."

Unlike, Trafalgar, we were not climbing up to the pool at the bottom of the falls; instead we found ourselves about mid-level of the 200’ falls. To get the picture, I had to take three shots with my point-and-shoot digital camera zoomed-out to wide angle. The shots were stiched together with no other re-touching.

We carefully descended over slippery rocks to the pool below. The water was cold, but refreshing. We sat precariously on a rock ledge on the far side of the pool as the terrain precipitously dropped behind us, watching as the water disappeared far below. Some climbed several feet up the shear rock wall on the far side of the pool in order to dive right back in. Like Trafalgar, but more pronounced, the thundering water seemed to create it own weather patterns of constant wind and mist.

KHATTS suggests that people be in good physical condition for this hike. "Good" helps, but you certainly do not need to be a "trained athlete" to make the hike. The climbing certainly gets the heart pumping, but most people would find the hike very worthwhile. As a note, both my brother-in-law and I wore Teva sandals and did very well. They made the water and mud irrelevant. Tennis shoes would be fine if you don’t mind them getting wet and muddy—same with hiking boots. Take along your dive booties for the swimming at the end of the trail.

Boiling Lake. Do we or don’t we? On a scale of 1-5 with "1" being easy, Trafalgar was a clear "1" with Middleham coming in at a "2 "or "2½". The hike to Boiling Lake was a "6". Ken described it as a "6-8 hour arduous, very strenuous hike" (round trip) which should not be undertaken without a guide! Four of us decided to give it a try, while the other six chose a more comfortable alternative.

We met our guide for the day early in the morning at Ti-Tou Gorge. At once,the climb seemed endless through the rainforest, except for the time we descended to cross Breakfast River. The river, we were told, was where the "easy part" ended, as the climb got significantly steeper on the other side. We finally made it up the steep ridge of Morne Nicholls to Shark’s Tooth Peak at 3,002’ elevation. This was the highest point of the trail and far below we could see the area where we parked earlier in the morning, as well as Rouseau and the blue sea beyond. It was breathtaking, or was that just us gasping for breath? Ahead of us was Morne Watt, at 4017’, the third (or fourth, I can’t remember) highest peak on the island. While reaching "the peak" normally marks the destination for some hikers, our guide admitted that we were only half-way to our destination. In fact, we could see steam rising from the jungle far in the distance. That was, he told us, Boiling Lake.

The next part of our journey began with a steep descent into the Valley of Desolation. A cheery name indeed, the area was almost totally devoid of vegetation due to the sulfur-laden atmosphere. We were literally climbing down into a volcanic landscape which last saw activity in 1880. Surrounding us were steam vents, bubbling mud pools, streams of steaming water, and multi-colored rocks given their tint by various minerals. This was the time I understood the "required" part of a "required guide." The trail was not at all obvious as we passed through the bubbly, rock-strewn landscape.

Our guide lead us back into a section of up-and-down rainforest, across a picturesque stream, and back out into more "desolation," this time on the final drive to Boiling Lake itself. The lake is 200’ across at the widest point, and the second largest of its kind in the world. We were finally there to see it, but with a low cloud ceiling and the amount of steam emanating from the lake dozens of feet below us in the crater of the volcano, there wasn’t much to see. As the steam occasionally cleared for moments, we caught glimpses of the bubbling gray water in the center of the lake.

We lingered for awhile, eating a small lunch we packed in. It wasn’t exactly like a typical picnic "at the lake," but our efforts were worth it. We posed for some pictures, then it started gently raining again, and a few minutes later, we started on the arduous journey back.

Except for the muscle-mushing climb out of Desolation Valley, the return trip was mostly down hill, so we made better time. I kept thinking about the cool waters of Ti-Tou Gorge at the bottom of the trail. After finally making it back, the water sure felt good. Sleep came quickly that night.

Indian River, Milton Falls, & Syndicate Rainforest The other six Sundivers took a less-arduous trip on Friday. Driving up the west coast of the island to Portsmith, Dominica’s second largest town, they took a guided one-hour boat ride up the Indian River. The river, lined with swamp ferns, mangroves, and intricately buttressed Mang trees, was once used by the Carib Indians, the original inhabitants of the Caribbean islands. Although relaxing, the group took advantage of a "bush bar" at the end of the line.

A brief drive and an easy 30 minute walk later brought the group to Milton Falls, another of Dominca’s many beautiful waterfalls. Everyone was prepared for more swimming and photo opportunities. From Milton, the final stop was at the most accessible oceanic rainforest on the island. Located in the foothills of Morne Diablotin, the tallest mountain on Dominica (4,747’), a well-maintained trail offers the opportunity to see most of the main tree species found on the island, orchids, two rare species of parrots, and many other types of wildlife.

Value: The combination of virgin diving and the adventure hikes deep in the rainforests made the brief visit to Dominca one of the most memorable trips we have ever taken. I would return in a heartbeat.