Anybody use Fredos recently?

[Trish Traveler]

Anybody know if Fredos is still a tour guide in Dominica? We used him a few years back and I have tried to contact him again with no luck. I know there are some other excellent recommendations here on CC, but I thought I would first try to give him our repeat business if he is still doing tours.

[Trish Traveler]

I can aswer my own question now as we have returned from our cruise and used Fredos for our touring on March 6, 2010. He responded to our email shortly after I had posted that first inquiry, and apologized as he had been very busy. We highly recommend him for private touring. Here is the description from our cruise review:

 

We booked a private tour with Fredos Taxi & Tours who we had used previously in 2007. Yes, you can do similar tours through Princess or private group tour operators, but we choose to splurge this way to see exactly what we want, stay as long as we want and stop anytime we want along the way. It really doesn’t cost that much more for such personalized service. Fredos met us promptly at 8am to greet us warmly with his big smile and begin our adventure. Dominica is one of our favorite islands, as we love lush tropical rainforests and all the unspoiled beauty that this island offers. Fredos is extremely knowledgeable and proud of his homeland and shares this with us along the way. Dominica is also experiencing some drought, but is much more green and lush than Grenada right now. There is a lot of road construction going on right now which will improve the roads greatly. It slowed us down somewhat, but not too many delays. The roads are hilly and windy with some tight squeezes when vehicles need to pass, but Fredo is an excellent driver and we feel quite safe.

 

We head first to TiTou Gorge to beat some of the crowds. From where you park, it is an enjoyable short hike through the forest and across a narrow footbridge spanning a lightly flowing river. We stop along the way to learn about the flowers and take pictures. At the gorge, we can here the echos of one group of people already enjoying its splendors. TiTou Gorge has become much more poplular since it was used in a scene when Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed here in Dominica. I was able to rent a waist float belt for $2. Well, its time to take the plunge into the shockingly cold water. DH lets out a howl! It takes your breath away at first, but we got used to it pretty quick (we actually expected it to be colder than it was). You can walk for a short distance, but then it is over your head and you need to swim. It looks almost like you are entering a cave, but it is really rock walls forming the gorge. As you move through the rock tunnels, you have beautiful glimpses of the greenery and sky above. It is breathtakingly gorgeous. As we reached the area with the waterfall, the other group was just finishing up and made their exit. We are delighted to have the peaceful beauty of this place all to ourselves! There is a rock ledge opposite the waterfall where you can rest and enjoy the scenery.

 

I had my water camera along and took lots of pictures trying to capture this awesome place, but it was acting funky, placing dots on everything. At first, I thought perhaps the waterproof seals had been breached, but it cleared up later – so I think it might have had to do with going from being hot to so cold. So my pictures are not that great, but the ones in my minds eye are fantastic. We were reluctant to leave as this place is mesmerizing with the waterfall rushing around you. We were careful not to get too close and chose not to jump from any ledges as we have done that before at other waterfalls and felt this space is too small to feel really safe doing so. We slowly made our way out, soaking in all the views through the crevices around us. In the pool outside the opening is a pretty trickling waterfall to sit by on the warm rocks. By now the water felt really nice and refreshing, and we weren’t cold at all. We exited as another group was preparing to enter. I imagine this place could get really crowded if a lot of tours were there as it is not really that big of an area.

 

Back in the van we head along the scenic roads enjoying the countryside and the views off the cliffs to the lush valleys below, as we listen to commentary from Fredos. Along the way, Fredos greets people he knows all over the island. From the Grandma walking her grandson to school to the construction worker on the side of the road, everyone seems to know Fredos. He tells us that he also sings Calypso music, so many people know him because of that. I even bought one of his CD’s that also includes his son and daughter singing some nice positive message island songs to enjoy at home and remember our special time in Dominica.

 

Next stop Trafalgar Falls, which we have been to before, but wanted to take the time to hike to the base this time. We paid our site fee of $5pp and agreed to have a tour guide lead us down. We had a sweet woman who explained plants and such along the way. We bypassed the overlook platform because it was packed with people, and continued to the base of the falls. You really need sturdy shoes to do this like water shoes (we wore), gym shoes or Teva type sport sandals. We saw people unsuccessfully attempting it in flip-flops. You have to climb over, on and around lots of rocks and boulders. The guide lead us and held my hand for stability over the rocks. It is an awesome adventure and finally we reached the pool at the base. We jumped into the cold water with a squeal. Very few people were in this area. Another amazing place as you look up and around to see the powerful waterfall plunging down and cascading into the river, the lush foliage of the mountain rising up and the boulders all around you. Our guide was helpful in taking many pictures of us together. After a refreshing swim, we headed back over the boulders to the smaller natural hot springs pools. Ahh, these are so relaxing and warm. There are several of these pools, cascading into each other. The Garden of Eden must have been similar to this slice of paradise. Naturally, we were reluctant to leave these warm pools, but the tour must go on. On the hike back we stop at the less crowded platform for waterfall pictures. Back in the van, Fredos treated us to his special Rum Punch from his grandmother’s delicious recipe.

 

The Botanical Garden was our next destination. We had been here before on our last visit but weren’t able to see the Sisserou Parrots because they were mating; so we were happy that we could view them this time. Although they are found in the wild on the island, the ones here are caged for your viewing pleasure. As we approached the cage, Fredos talked to them because he said they like to show off for people; and sure enough they started flying around and coming closer so we could see their vibrant colors and get photos. The Botanical Garden has some interesting plants, flowers and trees, including the enormous banyan, and the tree that fell on the school bus during a hurricane. But the area was pretty dry and the grass brown. I think it would be nice if they would make a portion of the garden an area where you could walk a trail and see numerous identified island plants/flowers. It seems like this would be easy to do in such a lush place and I believe many tourists as well as locals, would enjoy something like that, which you find on many other tropical islands.

 

Up next to the Morne Bruce overlook to enjoy the scenic vista including the Ruby ship at the pier. There are also some vendors up there and some interesting ruins of some historical buildings that are very photogenic. Our journey ended back in town as we thanked Fredos for an excellent tour. I would highly recommend him for your own personalized tour.

 

We had planned our day so that we would have plenty of time to explore and enjoy Roseau by foot. Our path took us first to the Ft. Young Hotel which is a lovely, quaint property overlooking the harbor where we read Johnny Depp stayed while filming “Pirates…” in Dominica. We visited the local cemetery, watched some boys practicing soccer, snapped pictures of colorful buildings including the Library and the Anglican Church. Further up the street we found the Catholic Cathedral that was open for viewing. From there we made our way to the cobblestoned streets of the Craft Market where more vendors are located, to make a few souvenir purchases including Dominican coffee. There is also a nice Visitor Center located here if you need a cool place to rest. Our last stop was to a colorful, funky bar called The Ruins where we enjoyed some ice cold Kabuli Beer and recalled our terrific day in Dominica. On the way back we stopped in the liquor store for some Dominican Rum to take home.