The Aerial Tram Ride

So I was looking through all the pictures I've accumulated since we arrived in Dominica and was surprised to find these pictures from the aerial tram ride we took several weeks ago. My deepest apologies for not bringing you the most current news in the Chronicles of Justin & Ashley. Will you ever forgive me? We took a bus to a place near Roseau where there was a small gondola ride over the Breakfast River. It is a new installation in the growing list of tourist activities now that cruise ships are landing on the island. We were pretty shocked to find out exactly how small of a ride it would be. Yes it lasted an hour and a half, but it wasn't even a mile long (okay, okay, I'll cut them some slack. It is almost a mile in each direction). But still, you don't have to do the math to realize that we were going SLOW!

Now I was kind of hoping I would see a boa constrictor riding down to the station where we were loading. Apparently that never happens. At least that's what our guide told us. Not that I'm asking for trouble or anything, the snakes at Cabrits were enough for me. But it would have made for a better story... and that's the truth. Wouldn't a great story about the snake that rode the gondola have made up for forgetting to tell you about this sooner?

Loading up for the snakeless tram ride.

The ride takes you up through the rainforest, and since you are traveling at a frustratingly slow speed (really speed isn't the right word here) you have a LOT of time to check out the flora and fauna. Well, maybe just the flora. There was a hurricane that passed through this part of the island ten years ago and all the birds and snakes (that's pretty much all the wildlife around here) relocated to the north of the island. So our guide told us about the two hundred species of ferns. Here is a picture of the view we had riding through the rainforest. All I could think of was the movie Apocalypto when everyone is running through the forest for days on end. I much prefer a gondola ride in the raiforest to running for my life.

Our guide was totally bummed out when we decided to get off at the top to see the suspension bridge because it was pouring down rain. Rain in the rainforest? Most definately. And yes, we did have an umbrella, but our frequent use of umbrellas has only proven to us how ineffective they can be when a.) sharing with your spouse and b.) you are walking forward (maybe it is just me, but I can't keep my legs dry when I walk under an umbrella). The walk was totally worth it though.

Ashley, Norah, and Lauren at the suspension bridge.

Here we are on the bridge... Justin thought it would be fun to swing the bridge right as we took the picture. In case you couldn't tell, it was SUPER fun!

I guess since you've made it this far, you aren't really upset enough to boycott this fashionably late edition of the Chronicles. Admit it, you love me!