It has been raining almost non-stop since late last night and it is just showing signs of letting up at about 14:00. Thinking back over the past weeks aboard, this is actually the first time that it has rained longer than a passing shower or set of rain clouds. Luckily I have the 3-speed Caframo fans aboard to keep from melting inside with the hatches closed. As I’ve got internet connectivity here in the anchorage I’m using the opportunity to browse the web for the latest news and to respond to long-overdue e-mails.
At about 15:00 the rains stopped for what looked like the last time this day so I got into the dinghy and motored to the somewhat dilapidated cruise-ship docking facility close to the Cabrits national park and Fort entrance. I tied up to what looked like a dinghy dock and the security guard let me out of the locked facility (which really did look closed from the inside as well). I paid my park entrance fee and walked up to Fort Shirley to enjoy the view from the restored fortifications. I then took a walk up the hill, on what started as a wide path but which got progressively narrower as I got higher up the hill. After a half-hour climb I got to the summit and enjoyed the cool breeze (the path was under the trees and nary a whiff of wind made it through the canopy) as well as discovering an old cannon and some of the remains of the buildings which have been reclaimed by the rainforest.
Back aboard after my two-hour tourist trip I got in contact with a cruiser that I’d met in various islands as I recalled that he was trying to set up a business here in Dominica but couldn’t remember where. It turns out that he was sitting in Big Pappa’s restaurant just across from my anchorage position and I went ashore to exchange tall tales about sailing and have a meal from locally prepared vegetables and produce. After the meal and a couple of local beers, “Kubuli”, I headed back aboard and let myself be massaged by sounds waves generated by a bass rhythm from some massive speakers ashore that were pointed straight at my boat. I can now understand how those military sound-producing devices can shatter walls at a distance; despite earplugs and heavy rain the noise was pretty loud indeed. And I gather that Friday night is just a prelude to even louder Saturday nights…
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |
 |