Portsmouth, Dominica.
Saturday January 3rd 2026
Our day started with Lawrence on his boat “Lawrence of Arabia”, going boat to boat, picking all of us up and taxing us to shore. SV Ego Domi, SV, Windfall, and SV Seashell which included six adults, four teenagers, a preteen and two littles piled into a van for a day of exploration. A tour was arranged to visit a waterfall, a chocolate factory, red rock and an Atlantic side lunch spot.
On our way to the waterfall, Ansum, our driver pulled off to the side of the road to grab some lemongrass. Apparently crushing the leaves and rubbing it on your body helps prevent the attraction of mosquitoes. I already sprayed head to toe with bug spray so I can’t actually say that I have evidence that it worked. But the locals use it. I’ll have to try it on another island or at another time.
After about a 15 minute walk from the parking lot, we came upon the waterfall, cascading off the side of a cliff about 40 feet up. The power at which the waterfall hit the pool down below created such a wind event that it was difficult to get close to the base of the waterfall. Best guess 15 to 20 mile an hour winds. The water seemed slightly chilly at first, but very refreshing. Kevin and Chloe fully submerged at the base of the waterfall and I was only able to get so close but not all the way, the wind really did push you away and a way that I can’t really explain. Paige went about halfway into the pool and Lily went in as far as her belly button claiming it was too cold.
Our next stop was Coral Reef restaurant in Calibishie which is on the North East side of the island. We had a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean along with views of Guadeloupe. We were offered a few dishes. Chicken, shrimp, ribs and provisions. Most of us got the chicken; it was 2 full chicken wings that had spent time in the crockpot so the meat fell right off the bones. The provisions consisted of yellow rice, potato salad that everyone loved, greens, and slices of ???and black beans. We cleaned our plates!
Next stop was Red Rocks. It was a beautiful hike down through a muddy jungle covered trail while you hear the crashing waves and suddenly you break through the foliage unto the red rocks that you would find in the State of Utah except surrounded by the Atlantic ocean and her refreshing breeze. The teenagers spent most of their time trying to get a picture of the waves crashing behind them. Of course every time they looked away crash and more crash.
Next stop, Pointe Baptiste Estate Chocolate Factory. Toured the drying racks, and the small two story factory. We tried the different flavors. The favorites were the mint, tangerine, coffee. The most interesting was the Ginger Chocolate. At first you didn’t taste nor smell the ginger but a few seconds of chewing and it hit. It was flavorful and spicy. If you like ginger then you would enjoy it.
All day Ansum pulled the van over and picked bay leaves, cacoa pods, basil, ginger. The kids devoured the cocoa seeds and the adults were amazed by the freshness of the bay leaves and the ginger. We returned to the boat dock about 16:30. We were all exhausted. It was a good day!!!!!
out.here.chasing.sunsets 