Indian River
Once into the river, Albert lifted his outboard and took out his oars, diesel/petrol engines not being permitted in this now protected area, the boundary being the road bridge passing into the town. Within only yards of passing under the bridge though you could soon forget that you were near civilisation at all, with thick grow covering both banks, there is a branch heading into the swamp area to the south which is now no longer passable even by kayak. Albert told us how the large areas of swamp which surround Portsmouth prevented it from being the main settlement on Dominica it having the better harbour, as at one time the mosquitoes carried yellow fever and malaria though both now have been eradicated. He also explained that the river was once the reserve of the Carib Indians who lived in huts along the shore and fished the waters being thick with mullet especially which we could see just below the surface through the tour. The Carib people have now been resettled on the Atlantic side of the island in an area to which entrance is restricted. Albert said that if a local Dominican man wished to settle with a Carib lady then they would not be permitted to stay in the settlement but apparently local Dominican women are allowed to settle there with a Carib husband.
Tropical Garden
Bar down river
Hummingbird
Bougainvillea - apparently used locally to make rum punch!
Hand feeding a cheeky bird in the bar
We were paddled up the river for over a mile pausing to see herons poised to dive and iguanas which in these forested areas rest at the end of tree branches hidden amongst the leaves to catch the sun and would never have been spotted without Albert’s keen eyes. The roots of the trees are intricate and lie on the surface if the bank helping to prevent some of the soil erosion which is nonetheless making the navigable sections of the river sorted with each rainy season, the high land mass of Dominica getting more than it’s share of rainfall. Apparently part of the Pirates of the Caribbean films were shot in the river – the part where they visit a witch in her house. The houses were built and then dismantled on the rivers edge and the haunted look was manufactured by smoke machines. Albert proudly described how he was part of the crew of local boats recruited to help deliver props etc to the sets up river.
Now there are little signs of human life except one small gauge rail bridge installed by the British as part of the sugar plantation infrastructure when the island was under British rule. However, only a year after independence was granted in 1978 vast parts of the infrastructure of the island was destroyed by Hurricane David which took a direct hit on the island. Finally however we did arrive at a clearing where something of a garden has been formed with recreations of the Carib Indian huts have been made with a very rustic bar with tree trunk stumps as seats and tame finches flying throughout. We stretched our legs here and saw some of the beautiful plants and lots of hummingbirds and the sound of distant parrots before returning back to the boat to head back to modern day once more.
In the afternoon we went ashore briefly, this time leaving the dingy at a bar with a jetty and heading from the other side of town. We got a few provisions though the supplies are fairly limited and the prices relatively high. There is a certain amount of hassle from locals wishing to sell souvenirs as this island definitely has more signs of poverty than others which we have visited. However it was pleasant afternoon, a quick beer ashore as a thank you for the use of the dock and back to the boat where we got to see one of the tall ships which do cruises of the islands setting off under full sail towards the setting sun.
Cruise ship under full sail
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