Carib Territory/emerald Pool

[elou]

Wondering If Anyone Has Done This Tour. Seems Great To Me. One Thing Though; Is The Walking To The Emerald Pool As Slippery As The Tour Books Say? I'm 62 And Walk Alot, But Do Not Know About The Slippery Bit. Any Help Would Be Appreciated. I'd Love To See This, Though Not Go Swimming In It. Thanks.

[Stillfloatin']

I LOVED visiting the Carib territory but would hate to do it on a large cruiseship tour because then you miss all the special moments that only a private tour can provide. Following is an excerpt from my Destiny review that relates to Dominca. Hope it helps you!

 

"Again, thanks to cruisecritic recommendations, I had arranged for Augustine Pascal (just call him Bay-no), to be our tour guide for the day. We wanted to take advantage of the fact that Dominica is still an unspoiled beautiful under-developed rain forest island and really see the non-tourist part of the island before it gets discovered and all the condos are built, so Beno knew that we wanted to go to the Carib Indian territory which is on the northeast part of the island and requires about 2 hours of driving through the rain forest to get there. And be warned, this is a narrow winding road. Beno was just an amazingly sincere and knowledgeable local who just got so much pleasure out of showing us his island. He often takes cruisers to Trafalger and Emerald, because they are usually requested, but he loves adding something different. He began the tour by handing each of us hand-made miniature sandal keychains.

 

The drive to the Carib territory was incredibly beautiful. Everything was so lush and green and colorful flowers grew wild everywhere. Beno told us all about the local flora and fauna, and he even identified some unusual birds for the bird-watcher in our group (and it wasn’t even boring for the rest of us!). For much of the ride, we followed alongside a stunning river, with frequent stops to get some great photos. Everything grows in this lush forest. We got some cool photos of bright red coffee beans on the trees, just growing wild by the road. But the best part was when we stopped at Moses’ home. Moses is a Carib that Beno has known for many years and he graciously shared his family history with us and explained the process of the weavings that are known world-wide for their unusual and distinctive patterns and technique. He had a few he sold to us and they are just amazing. Then, Beno went in to the forest and used their machetes to cut down some coconuts so we could get our first taste of “jelly juice” which is the sweet water that is only found in the young coconuts. Then, using the top of the coconut as a scoop, we were able to taste the coconut in its soft form. They also cut down ripe coconuts so we could refresh ourselves with the coconut water and then chew on fresh coconut pieces. Now THIS is why I love going on independent tours!"

 

If you want to hire Beno, here are his numbers: Augustine Pascal , 39 Solomon Lane, Goodwill, Dominica. Email: benox265@hotmail.com. Tele: 1(767) 235-2625 or 1(767) 448-0625. I did all my arrangements through email. Give him a day to respond to emails.

[hadleys9538]

It sounds like you had an awesome tour. We're like you. We really don't like the cruise ship tours, and enjoy having adventures on our own. Dumb question, but I'm wondering if there is anywhere to stop for lunch.:o

[Stillfloatin']

Yes, Beno took us to a really cool place alongside the road. It had just opened and was run by a local family. Very tasty!! And the beer was cold too!