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Great frogfish pic! I love frogfish but the only places that I have ever seen a lot of frogfish have been Dominica and at the Fredricksted pier in St. Croix. I have had rare sightings in a couple of other places like Bonaire and Curacao.
We were in Dominica a long time ago (Oct/Nov 2002) and we stayed at the Castle Comfort Lodge and dived with Dive Dominica. The lodge was pleasant, the food was unusual but interesting. The dive op was good and we saw many rare sea critters on dives including frogfish, sea horses, flying gunards and quite a number of octopus and eels even during the daytime. We didn't see many large animals except a few rays and turtles. However, we did have a close encounter with some Humpback whales, and a juvenile male Humpback actually circled our boat, looked us in the eye, and gave us a tail slap - very exciting!
Dominica is one of the prettiest islands we have visited in the Caribbean but we haven't been back. It was difficult to get there and we had to spend a night in Puerto Rico en route and we were a bit underwhelmed by the CCL accommodations. (Is it still true that you have to overnight in PR or can you fly there more directly now?)
I am interested in your report because it sounds like it might be a good place to re-visit. We like to take 2 weeks for our annual dive vacation but I am not sure that I want to spend 2 weeks on Dominica - maybe a week in Puerto Rico doing touristy things and then a week in Dominica?
Where die you stay, and how did you like it?
Did you do any topside attractions? Rainforest hikes, etc...?
Do dive tourists to Dominica mostly eat in or hit restaurants? Does it have much in the way of nice grocery stores?
I'm thinking the way people size up Bonaire for trips.
Richard.
Richard--I don't think most folk consider Dominica the way they do Bonaire. IMHO, it is a somewhat odd place that is reflected (again, IMHO) in the reviews. We went several years ago and stayed at Castle Comfort Lodge and dove with the adjacent dive op. We enjoyed the boat diving and saw some great things (especially frogfish which were abundant during our visit), but on the whole I think Bonaire offers more and that is particularly true with respect to shore diving opportunities. There is a very nice shore dive from Castle Comfort with things to see that I have not seen elsewhere (flying gurnards, shortnose batfish). There are other shore dives, but I think it is a fairly undeveloped part of the diving scene on Dominica. The topography and geology of the island are really interesting. It is a fun place to explore, if you are into hiking, or just to visit with a guide (which we did). That part of Dominica makes the place special. One thing to gauge while reading the reviews and forming your own opinion is whether the folks writing the reviews (myself included) state whether they would return. While we were very glad we went to Dominica, we would not return. There were a number of characteristics that we found inhibiting. No streetlights at night in many places. No sidewalks in many places. Attempted daylight theft from a pedestrian. An overall sense of darkness and pessimism in Roseau, rather than lightness and greater optimism felt in Bonaire. In addition, there are some political things that we found upsetting, e.g., Dominica has sold its soul (again, IMHO) to China which funded the expanded airstrip in return for UN votes regarding Taiwan and to Japan which provided resources of some sort in return for allowing whaling in Dominica waters (despite the fact that whale tourism is a fairly big deal in Dominica). I am quite sure many divers will disagree with our impressions and conclusions. That's fine. To each his/her own. I encourage everyone to experience Dominica for themselves. One thing I can pretty much guarantee is that you will find it memorable.
Would you go back if it was easier to get to? e.g.: I really enjoyed the diving in Bequia but it was hard to get to from western Canada snd sirfare was expensive due to the flight from Barbados. That's one of the biggest reasons, I've not been back. For thst kind of time snd money one could go to the Phillipines.