the day time to explore before we had to get back on the ship to depart.
It was really hard trying to choose what do because of this, and there
are far too many options to limit a trip here to just two days! But,
alas, a decision had to be made. Dain and I didn't really get to see
each other at all the first day here, so we decided to spend day two
together. We decided to go to snorkeling at a place called Champagne
Reef, but it was a really tough choice between that and going to the
Emerald Pool, where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. At the reef we
were able to swim super far out and see a ton of cool aquatic life I
have never seen before. We were a mere five(ish) feet away from giant
seahorses and probably even closer to the actual reef corals! It was
actually kind of intimidating because I was so scared I was going to hit
something poisonous! Some SAS-ers that were there actually got to go
Scuba Diving since they are certified and i'd be lying if I said I
wasn't a little jealous every time I saw them diving deep. The reason
Champagne Reef has its name is because of a certain section of the reef.
In this part, warm bubbles actually continually arise from the rock and
sand to form what looks like the opening of a chamagne glass underwater.
Now, I have no idea how this happens, but it was pretty damn cool to
look at. Words can't really describe the cool things we saw out there,
but let's just say the three hours we spent in the water wasn't close to
enough. I would say that I would share some really cool underwater
pictures, but let's just say my underwater camera is no longer
functional (nor is my point and shoot for that matter). But hopefully
google image will have some better explanations than I do right now.
Note to anyone taking a vacation anywhere, SAS or not: Bring back up
cameras. If I didn't bring more, I would be out a camera one day into my
first port. Sure, I may no longer have anything I can take underwater,
but at least I still have one for land.
After that we took a cab back into downtown Roseau to spend the last few
hours. We were nervous about taking another excursion because we didn't
want to risk not making it back to the ship on time, so we decided to
just walk around town like the day before. When we arrived downtown we
ended up having a verbal fight with the cab driver, due to
misunderstandings of fees (cabs don't run on meters in Dominica - it's
all negotiated prior), and ended up paying far more than we should but
it really wasn't worth wasting our last few hours fighting over. Oh,
well. We then explored the market area again where Dain was able to buy
a giant flag (he's collecting one from every country) and we got some
postcards. We also went to the post office to buy a bunch of stamps and
got some more varieties of bananas. We got back to the ship about 2
hours before our "on-ship time" (when we have to be on the ship by
without being penalized) because we were nervous of how long the
security lines and things would take. So we grabbed our computers and
sat outside on the deck, trying to scam the free wifi that reached our
boat. It seemed like everyone else had that idea too though, and nothing
on the wifi actually worked. 100% of our voyage was actually on board
on-time, which apparently is pretty rare. Anyway, we weren't going to
actually depart Dominica for a few more hours, so a few of us grabbed
dinner and went back outside to enjoy the views for the last time.
Dinner was a pretty interesting experience for me. It started out
totally fine, but about 10 minutes in I just started to sneeze
uncontroably. This was followed by coughing spells, sweating, watery
eyes and a sore throat. I ran downstairs to wash the makeup off my face
and take some cold medicine, and then went back upstairs. None of those
symptoms got any better over the next hour, and I actually devoloped
some more. My throat started to close up and I started to get itchy from
head to toe in every part of my body. Exhausted, dizzy, and naucious, I
excused myself and went downstairs to lay down. About half an hour
later, Dain came knocking on my door and told me he had gone to the
Purser's desk and had the doctor paged and I had no choice but to go see
him. Reluctantly (since I am way too stubborn), I went and it turned out
to be a bacterial infection I got from swimming in the Reef. I don't
know if it is from something I may have accidently swollowed or touched
in the water or the equipment itself, but thankfully it wasn't something
more serious. I was given a few different meds to take for a week, and
was told I should feel better within a few hours. I went back to my room
and tried to do homework, but couldn't really focus. However, after a
few hours I did start noticing significant improvements to how I was
feeling, although the medicines were VERY drowsy-making so I was
exhausted. I ended up going to bed without doing my homework, but at
least I was feeling better. I am really sad that I missed us leaving
Dominica, but I guess there's nothing I can really do about that and my
health has to come first. I haven't met or heard about anyone else on
board that got sick in Dominica, so I'm guessing I may very well be the
first one to have contracted something. This doesn't surprise me at all,
though, as I tend to contract a lot of diseases. I guess it could be a
lot worse than a bacteria, though.
Dominica was definitely a memorable experience for me. From my camera
breaking, to getting sick, to seeing things more beautiful than I could
have ever imagined and meeting wonderful locals who were just so full of
life, I had a wonderful two days and hope to see American cruise ships
or airlines venturing here in the future.
Just a quick note on safety. This is something I will try to do for each
country for future SAS-ers or any traveler: I felt pretty safe in
Dominica. All the kids said hi to us and were super friendly, and
drivers actually use their horns as a sign of friendliness rather than
anger (like I am used to back home). I didn't fear getting robbed or
getting hurt, but I also didn't carelessly leave things either. One girl
on the boat did get her back slashed and taken, but I don't necessarily
think 1 of 700 is that bad of a number. I am far more worried about some
later ports.
Gluten-Free - This is something I'll also try to do for any Celiac
travelers. People in Dominica didn't seem to know what gluten was, but
it wasn't a complete loss. Thankfully, the major crops here are fruits,
and they are sold absolutely everywhere. I'm sure a lot of the fish
would be okay in restaurants too, but the cleanliness wasn't good enough
where I felt comfortable ordering it and expecting it to be non
cross-contaminated. For someone who isn't a Celiac though, there are
gluten-free fish dishes to try. And I was able to order french fries in
a few places without feeling sick. Not the best for travelers wanting to
experience local cuisine, but it wasn't any better or worse than the
Bahamas, either. There were also plenty of supermarkets in downtown
Roseau, and since the language is English you can always find something.
We crossed the equator yesterday and arrive in our port, Manaus
tomorrow. My next post will about life at sea, followed by some posts on
my 4 days in Brazil!
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