Something new

As scary/wonderful as it sounds, there are only 13 more weekends for us to spend in Dominica. There is still so much to see and do here we decided (thanks to the wonderful planning skills of Christina) our first weekend of the semester was a great opportunity to get out and see something new. Justin took a day off from studying on Saturday and we joined in on a trip to the south to snorkel at Champagne Bay and check out Screw's Sulphur Spa. Christina organized the trip which included two matching maroon SUVs, a cooler of Kubuli, and eight of us already ready for a break from the daily grind of fourth semester.


Champagne Bay is about 15 minutes south of Roseau and gets its name from the bubbles that rise from the rocks below the water. The location was easy enough to find along the road because there was a small snackette that also rents snorkel equipment. You walk down a path to a rocky beach that has a wooden bridge along the edge to save you from spending your whole trip picking your own path over the rocks (believe me it is not fun, quick, or easy). At the end there was a thin black mat that lead out into the water, again to aid crossing over the rocks.
The mat was super slippery and, yes, my flippers slipped out from underneath me so I decided to go with it and crawl into the water. I wasn't the only one who had problems. There was a small leak in Justin's mask. Okay maybe it was a big leak. Thankfully all he had to do was hike back up the trail to the rental shed and borrow some new ones. Of course that was after he was already in the water, so he had to brave the slippery black mat first.





The bubbles were really cool. As you can see from the picture, it was hard for Rachel to stop pretending she was a mermaid.


We stopped for lunch at River Rock Cafe, a local restaurant on the way to Screw's Sulphur Spa. We couldn't call ahead because the phone number was nowhere to be found. (In Dominica it is always a good idea to call ahead and make sure someone is there and that they are open for business) When we got there, the bartender had to call the cook at home and tell her to come to work. Five minutes later she came walking down the hill and proceeded to cook us a meal as authentic as you can get here. Justin and I both ordered fish (our other choices were goat or shrimp) and an hour later the plate came with an assortment of provisions including tania, plantain, yucca, rice, and dasheen. All we served boiled and sliced on the plate. Tasty! The fish was in an interesting red sauce, with a mild flavor that (for someone who doesn't like sauces) wasn't bad.



Screw's Sulphur Spa was the highlight of the day. The owner has built up a series of pools with the hot springs flowing from one into the other in varying temperatures. The water was murky, but felt so warm and relaxing. While it isn't something I would want to do in the heat, the weather has been really mild lately and it was wonderful.