International Destinations

Dominica may be one of the Caribbean's best-kept secrets

By Søren Lindquist

Dominica may be one of the Caribbean's best-kept secrets.

Known as the "Nature Island of the Caribbean" for its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, it also possesses a unique creole culture.

Located between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Eastern Caribbean, the independent nation of Dominica (capital: Roseau) is the largest and most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, encompassing an area of nearly 290 square miles. Its volcanic peaks, which reach 5,000 feet, are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest thermally active lake in the world.

The island's natural heritage, which is protected by an extensive park system, includes rainforests that are considered among the last true island-based rainforests in the world, more than 365 rivers, waterfalls and pristine coral reefs.

Dominica is also culturally unique. Historically occupied by several native tribes, only a Carib tribe remained by the time European settlers reached the island. It was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the Caribs.

Today, some 3,000 Caribs live in a traditional manner on a reserve on the island, the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean.

Both France and Great Britain claimed the island, with France ceding possession in 1763, and the island being made a British colony in 1805.

Settlers imported slaves from Africa, and the mix of Carib, French, English and African cultures has made Dominica culturally rich and diverse. Along with English, the official language, a French patois is spoken.

The famed novelist Jean Rhys was born and raised in Dominica. She depicted Dominica indirectly in her most widely-known book, Wide Sargasso Sea. Rhys's friend, the political activist and writer Phyllis Shand Allfrey, set her 1954 novel The Orchid House on the island.

In 1978, Dominica became independent. Two years later, citizens elected a government headed by Mary Eugenia Charles, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years.

The national economy is still largely based on banana production, along with some off-shore banking. Tourism hasn't been a major because the island doesn't have an international airport that will take large jets.

However, there are a host of eco-tourism options, which include scuba diving, snorkelling, mountain biking, kayaking, horseback riding, nature tours, hiking/trekking, whale, dolphin and bird watching, sailing and fishing.

On Dominica, as is true of many Caribbean islands, Carnival in the spring is one of the highlights – if not the highlight – of the year. Known as Mas Domnik, Carnival celebrations begin early in the year and run until Ash Wednesday. Events include pageants, costume parades and performances of calypso and Dominica's bouyon music.

For more information on Dominica, contact the Dominica Tourist Office in New York at 888-645-5637. Or, visit Dominica's official website: www.dominica.dm.