JOURNAL
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GETTING THERE
October 29th
The weather at home, here in Wellington ON is 9C, it's sunny with a light breeze. Our weather forecast is predicting rain and windy conditions, beginning sometime tomorrow and continuing for a couple of days. LOAF has been moved to winter storage until early May of next year; planning is underway for an extended trip across CANADA (west & north) - sometime late-Juneish? Everything is prepped for winter, the Avian Complex (photo below, still a work-in-progress) has been re-roofed and freshened up; the feeders are full ... we're set to head out in a few days.
I've been doing some dryland, checkout dives at home, in preparation.
November 5th
Awake (and UP!) at 4:17am (a recent time change). We were mostly packed up already, shut the house down and spent the morning wandering around the upstairs and lower level, making sure we haden't forgotten to ... empty/unplug/disconnect/lock/turn off or on/turn down or up/pack stuff ... I even raked and filled a couple of bags of leaves! As expected, Tony picked us up right on time (+/- 2 minutes) and shuttled us to the Belleville train station ... it's raining here now. Then, a short wait at the station, VIA train was on time. Pleasant trip to Toronto, foods always decent - service always pleasant, next; on the UP Express and a short shuttle train to the Sheraton, some wine and in our room by 4:00 pm. Relaxed, some snacks in the restaurant, couple of glasses of Strewn chardonnay, back to the room by 5:45, and to bed.
We fly early!
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SAINT LUCIA
SAINT LUCIA Flag
The gold in the flag represents the sunshine in the Caribbean as well as prosperity. The black and white symbolize Saint Lucia's cultural influences. The white denotes our European heritage and the black denotes our African heritage. They represent the two races living and working in unity.
November 6th
This leg of the trip is approximately a 5 hour flight from Toronto. It's then, about a 15 minute taxi drive from Hewanorra International Airport to Cedar Palm Villa, in Vieux Fort, where we'll stay for 1 night.
Studio 10, ground floor, middle door
Official Currency
If possible, we always use the official currency of a country, when we travel; it's respectful, educational and always cost-effective. We did'nt realize beforehand the East Caribbean dollar (XCD) was accepted in the following countries: St Lucia and Dominica (where we'll be this trip) ... and Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis (Dann visited in 2023), St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Not only does this gesture support the economy of the country being visited, but in this particular case, it also supports the Canadian economy ... because, CANADA prints the XCD currency.
11/7/2025: 1 Canadian Dollar equals 1.92 East Caribbean Dollar
Eats
Had one of our best pizzas EVER! at Niles Hideaway. Also, a breakfast and a lunch; portions are very generous, some traditional dishes, ingredients are fresh, local and well-prepared. Staff are helpful and friendly and Niles can sing ... and he does!
Kudos Chef Niles.
November 7th
We'll have most of this day, to hang out here and in the evening we'll fly with Inter Caribbean Airways to DOMINICA.
Some, nearby neighbourhood photos ...
Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii), also known as the Christ plant or Christ's thorn. It is a succulent shrub native to Madagascar. (Source: Google Image Match)
Typical housing.
Blue barrel for trash, black barrel for hot water.
Taxi and airplane to DOMINICA ...
1h 15m taxi ride
Driving in St. Lucia is challenging due to the mountainous terrain, narrow steep winding roads, and blind corners. Drivers must be cautious of potholes, speed bumps, and local hazards like animals, pedestrians, and buses pulling into traffic. It is also necessary to drive on the left side of the road.
30m flight, approximately 170 kms.
The flight passes over the island of Martinique at about the half-way point. Some turbulence heavy rain at times and a bumpy landing.
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DOMINICA
Pronunciation: Locals in DOMINICA pronounce it as "daa-muh-NEE-kuh," with the stress on the second syllable "NEE". This pronunciation is distinct from the more common English pronunciation of "DO-mi-ni-ca" and is influenced by its Dominican Creole French heritage.
Flag of DOMINICA
A dark green background represents the country's lush forests. A central cross of yellow, black, and white stripes symbolizes the Trinity of God, as well as the sunshine, rich soil, and clear rivers of the island. In the center of the cross is a red disk with an imperial parrot, representing the national bird and a commitment to social justice. A ring of ten green stars surrounds the parrot, each representing one of Dominica's ten parishes.
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Historical Fort Young
This was originally, a major military installation on the Caribbean island of Dominica. It was built by the British in 1770. The fort was named for William Young, the island's first British governor. Today, some of the original architectural components and embellishments have been retained and incorporated into the Fort Young Hotel.
Fort Young's history began in 1720 as a wooden French fort, but the British built the stone Fort Young in 1770 after capturing the island, naming it after Dominica's first British Governor, Sir William Young. It served as a key military garrison overlooking Roseau, and its original 18th-century walls are now incorporated into the Fort Young Hotel, which was established in 1964. The fort complex included barracks, quarters, and artillery placements, and has survived centuries of conflict and natural disasters like Hurricane David in 1979.
The Fort Young Hotel retains historical components through the preservation of its original 1770s fort structure, including features like flagstone walkways in the courtyard and cannons in the foyer. Renovation efforts have also incorporated historic elements into modern spaces, such as the Marquis Bar & Lounge, which was formerly the barracks, and uses original stones and features. Other historical elements include wall decor, which displays historical maps and information about the fort's past, and the use of local volcanic stones and slate tiles in restoration.
Slate floor tile
Volcanic stone wall
Very old vase ... now being used as an ashtray!
Flag pole base ?
Stone walls
Floor tiles
Stone pillar
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Ramparts interior
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Ramparts exterior and cannon
Slave room roof
Slave room
Inside slave room
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The original oven at Fort Young was salvaged and rebuilt and is now featured in the on-site art gallery. I never was able to catch the gallery when it was open.
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November 8th
We woke around 6:00 am ... this was our view.
Walking around Roseau ...
Roseau is the capital and the largest city in DOMINICA. It's the country's administrative center and a hub for tourism.
Taxis waiting to pick-up tourists at the cruise ship port.
The photos below depict examples of ROSEAUs historic Creole architecture.
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Final Impressions
Pros
Very nice room, ocean view, strong internet, friendly staff, dive shop on site. Our room is new, apparently many of the older ones are still being re-furbished.
Cons
Meals are quite expensive (for what you get), lunch is not available 7 days a week (not on Sat & brunch only Sun), not much variety. As an example, we are paying $70/couple for breakfast and for lunch. In addition, nearby Roseau restaurants are few and the ones we found did not have menus that appealed to us; deep fried, starch heavy, nutritionally lacking. Lacou Melrose House was an exception and quite good.
Difficult to find our way around the resort. No orientation information provided.
Cruise ship port directly in front, ships dock at least 50% of the time.
Very small pool, only 3 lounge chairs (worst I've ever sat on) and a 1/2 dozen table/chair setups. Towels are difficult to find. See photo below.
SUMMARY
We did enjoy our stay here, but unfortunately one of the main reasons we travel is to try different foods and dishes and we simply did not find the food here appealing. Apparently, a new international airport is to be completed in the next year or so and the country is really only beginning to understand what is required to accomodate international travellers. The people are lovely and that in itself may be our reason to return ... but, in a few years.
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November 9,10,12-14,16
All dives were made south of Roseau along DOMINICA's west coast. I dove with the same crew each day. Only diver on the boat on the 9th. A head on-board! Water is provided, but no food at the surface interval. Gear stays with the boat and it's rinsed and returned for the next scheduled dive.
In general, most dives were to medium depths and bottom times averaged a little under an hour ... deepest/longest dives were at Coral Gardens & Scotts Head, and coincidentally, both @ 81 feet / 54 minutes. I left a lot of air in the tanks on these dives but I did drop another 2lbs of weight and next day 2 more; now diving with 6lbs in the pockets and 2-1lb trim weights on my tank.
The diving here is very easy, but quite enjoyable. Technically, it's not challenging but divers shouldn't be bored ... there is a wonderful variety of underwater topography, a multitude of small to medium-sized wildlife and we encountered some of the slightly larger fishes and sea life; eagle ray, nurse sharks, barracuda, turtles. Saw a few animals I hadn't encountered before ... a warty crab, a goldspotted eel, 2 varieties of basket stars, a black frogfish and the green lettuce sea slug. No photos of the last two; my camera doesn't do macro well but that will change next trip). All sites have been quite close to shoreline and predominantly in bays; wave action and currents are low to non-existant. Maximum number of divers has been 6 and I didn't have a single dive with another group in the water at the same reef site; the diving is very quiet.
The high dock combined with a low deck entrance on the smaller DiveDOMINICA boat requires divers to pass across the deck of the larger Fort Young dive boat for easier and safer access.
Royce (Crew / Capt. in Training), Bill (Captain), Earl (Divemaster)
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Dive Sites Map
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Dive Statistics
(12)🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿🤿
Pointe Guignard (77 feet/47 min.), Danglebens North to Coral Garden (43'/46m), Witches Point (78'/50m), Champagne Reef (55'/49m), Scotts Head (79'/47m), Sousfriere Pinnacles (65'/48m), The Abyss (78'/47m), Solomon (The Quarry) (54'/51m), Coral Gardens (81'/54m), Dangleben's North (60'/49m), Scotts Head (81'/54m ), Witches North ( 59'/49m)
Total Bottom Time: 47+46+50+49+47+48+47+51+54+49+54+49 = 9.85 hours
Average Bottom Time = 49.2 minutes
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Photography
Each Reef Description listed below, features 1 or 2 photos representative of a dive sites early topography or of an interesting animal found there. Reef descriptions sourced from dive operations on DOMINICA are shown in 'un-italisized' font.
Those, are followed by 'A random selection from all reefs dove'. Photos in that group, may have a 'clickable' link that provides additional information.
For all underwater photography and all photography from this trip click here. It's arranged (mostly) chronologically, with titled, sub-divisions.
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Underwater Photo Quality
All photos shared on Facebook, during this dive trip were edited using Google editing tools.
This blog contains both Google edited photos and water-marked photos generated by the PhotoPad app.
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Reef Descriptions
Pointe Guignard
This gradually sloping reef is best known for a cave at about 50 ft that has some interesting life, but it is narrow and can very quickly silt up, so it is not recommended for large groups or anyone without perfect buoyancy. This site is also a good spot for seahorses and frog fish and is frequently visited by turtles in-season.
Dangleben's North to Coral Gardens
Located just south of Pt Guignard, this site is part of a large reef system made up of Dangleben's Pinnacles, Coral Gardens South and even L'Abym North. This site can have some strong currents but also can be extremely easy. Starting in about 40 ft of water, the reef drops gradually to the west and can be done on its own or as a drift to Danglebens. Large sponges, brilliant color, and beds of finger coral are the dominating elements of this reef system. Turtles are frequently sighted, and when the currents are just right, large schools of horse-eyed jacks, sennet and various other fish congregate here. The end of the dive can be spent in about 40 ft watching the yellow headed jawfish in the sand.
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Witches Point
Witches’ Point follows the side of a volcanic crater that drops from the shoreline to 1900m in an incredibly short amount of time. Feels like a wall dive. Located at the village of Soufriere.
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Champagne Reef
Champagne Reef gets its name from the bubbles produced from the underwater hot springs. The dive itself usually consists of a circuit around Champagne reef, followed by a safety stop exploring the hot springs and bubbles. This is a dive for all levels; calm water and currents here are usually light. It is not unusual to find seahorses and frogfish here, and flying gurnards are common over the shallow sandy areas. Squid can often be seen in-shore not far from the bubbles. The site makes an excellent night dive as well when the reef explodes with life: huge crabs and lobsters are common sightings.
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Scotts Head Point
This wall is spectacular at any depth, from 40 to 100 ft. It is an incredibly colorful dive with pink and azure vase sponges, orange icing sponges, yellow tube sponges, and green rope sponges. The many small nooks and crannies hide lobster, crabs, and many different kinds of cleaner shrimp. The end of this dive consists of a 50 ft safety stop so vibrant it is worth the trip by itself.
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Scotts Head Point ... in the distance. Where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea
Soufriere Pinnacles
This protected area is a partially submerged extinct volcanic crater, and the pinnacles are dramatic underwater volcanic rock formations that rise from the seabed, teeming with vibrant marine life. The site is known for its unique and dramatic underwater landscape, which includes steep walls, canyons, and the pinnacles themselves, a result of the island's volcanic origins. The pinnacles are blanketed in colorful sponges, corals (hard and soft), and gorgonians, attracting a wide variety of marine life. Divers often spot seahorses, frogfish, lobsters, crabs, and various reef fish. Larger pelagic fish, turtles, and barracudas are also common sightings.
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The Abyss
Also "L'Abym" in Creole, is a wall dive site near Scott's Head in Dominica that features a sheer drop into deep water, reaching over 1,500 feet. It is known for its healthy corals and sponges, and the chance to see pelagic fish like tuna and barracuda swimming along the rim.
Solomon Reef
The Solomon dive site in Dominica, often called the "quarry," is a popular spot known for its abundance of marine life, including a pier with abundant fish life and wreckage. Divers can explore under the pier and surrounding coral formations for fish such as grunts, parrotfish, and eels, along with invertebrates like shrimp and crabs, and a variety of hard and soft corals. It is a great place to find sea turtles, and the site is rich in both juvenile and adult tropical fish.
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Coral Gardens
A dive site located in the Soufrière-Scotts Head Marine Reserve in Dominica, known for its diverse marine life and healthy coral formations. It's a versatile site with parts suitable for beginners and others for more advanced divers, often featuring large sponge-encrusted rocks, volcanic formations, and a variety of fish species. The dive can include encounters with turtles, rays, morays, and other reef fish.
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Dangleben's North (Coral Gardens North)
Located just south of Pt Guignard, this site is part of a large reef system made up of Dangleben's Pinnacles, Coral Gardens South and even L'Abym North. This site can have some strong currents but also can be extremely easy. Starting in about 40 ft of water, the reef drops gradually to the west and can be done on its own or as a drift to Danglebens. Large sponges, brilliant color, and beds of finger coral are the dominating elements of this reef system. Turtles are frequently sighted, and when the currents are just right, large schools of horse-eyed jacks, sennet and various other fish congregate here. The end of the dive can be spent in about 40 ft watching the yellow headed jawfish in the sand.
Witches North
Starts from the same location as Witches Point but heads northerly instead of towards the southern point of the bay, near the village of Soufriere. Large, extensive underwater topography extends dramatically outward from the mainland terrain; sloped wall, shelves, valleys, cliffs, hidden dropoffs and short canyons.
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Peacock Flounder (Flowery Flounder)
Characteristic: These flounders have both eyes on top of the left hand side of their heads. The eyes are raised up on short stumps like radar dishes, and can move in any direction independent of each other. That feature provides flounders with a wide range of view.
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Black Moray (juvenile); hiding in the crack @ left of photo center. This little guy had a head the size of my thumbnail. Difficult to tell which variety of black moray this is.
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Giant Barrel Sponge
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A well-camouflaged Reef Stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa), considered the most venomous fish in the world.
Reef Stonefish ... on a sandy bottom.
... along the wall.
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Hawksbill Turtle ... critically endangered!
Yellow Tube Sponge
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" ... better to rust than fade-away." (Neil Young para-phrased)
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Fireworm ... at the bottom of a barrel sponge
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Reef Stonefish
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Lionfish ... beautiful, a deadly and invasive predator
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Giant Basket Star ... soccer ball size
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A Giant Basket Star "opens" at night to feed, extending its numerous, branched arms to create a "basket" for capturing plankton and other small organisms from the water. During the day, it curls into a tight ball for protection, often hiding under rocks or on gorgonians. The feeding arms have tiny hooks and secrete a sticky mucus to trap prey, which is then curled up and moved to the central mouth.
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Could this be ... a collapsed barrel sponge, 5' in diameter?
Image searches give several possibilities; anyone know what this is?
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BIG coral head.
Orange and blue sponges.
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Largest Brain Coral I've seen and it's largely eaten away around the edges; turtles like to snack on these corals. I'd estimate a length of 7-8'.
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Divers vantage at the safety stop.
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November 18 - 20
Awake 4:30 am, 5:30 am taxi and 8:00 am flight back to Saint Lucia ...
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SAINT LUCIA
Only two nights, but this just be the nicest all-inclusive resort we've ever stayed at!
Unfortunately, it provides more amenities than we could ever use ... or, to be honest, want.
Our room was fully and beautifully appointed; absolutely nothing missing, all food dishes; selection, preparation and presentation at all locations was exceptional, resort grounds are expertly designed and maintained. Only negative (for us), was the daily music selection ... consistently too loud throughout the grounds (not relaxing), genre choices were inappropriate for the demographic (we felt) at times; C&W all day (?!), rap & be-bop; even at the adult pools and area ... mixing in; some pop, easy listening rock or light jazz would have been better choices.
Our last evening ...
Tomorrow, we shuttle to nearby George F.L. Airport in Castries St. Lucia for a 5.5 hr flight to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. We'll overnight there and make our way in the morning, by train(s), to Belleville.
From there, that same driver who delivered us to the train station, will, (unlike the well-known Yellowstone train scenario😮 ) ... deliver us home ... Thanks Tony! 😁
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Where To Next ? ...
We'll be on the island of Cozumel in MEXICO, from mid-January until mid-March 2026. Catching up with our Mexican amigas and amigos and re-connecting with a couple of dive buddies.
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We're LOAFin Around
Refer to Trip171 for all photography for this trip
Our Cameras
#1 - GoPro Hero 11 with TELESIN underwater housing
#2 - iPhone 11
Unless credited, all photo content is by LOAFin Around.
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