The first thing you'll notice about
Dominica
(pronounced Dah-min-EE-ka) is how
intensely green the island is. Lush,
steep-sided peaks rear up 4700 feet
to meet cloud-capped summits that
receive enough heavy rainfall to
feed hundreds of mountain streams.
These in turn nourish the majestic
rainforest
vegetation that covers over sixty
percent of Dominica's center.
Lying halfway between Guadeloupe
and Martinique, Dominica's appeal
has nothing to do with fabulous
beaches - what few exist are paltry
- or idle days spent under a palm
tree. Rather, its abundant nature
invites rigorous hiking to
deep emerald pools, waterfalls and
bubbling lakes. Offshore are superb
drop-offs, volcanic arches and caves
busy with stingrays, barracuda and
parrotfish, making for some of the
Caribbean's best diving ,
while whales and dolphins
often play off the southern coast,
near Champagne , a unique
effervescent bay.
Despite all that Dominica has to
offer for eco-tourism ,
however, it's still vastly
under-visited, in no small part
because it's not easy to reach.
There are no direct flights from the
US or Europe, and ferries from
surrounding islands don't stop
daily.
