Dominica, Named after the Lord

This was our wildest and best day yet.

We started early with a rushed breakfast and a very wet walk to the whale-watching tour just down the pier. The tour ship was fairly large and comfortable, but the rain came sweeping down the mountains around Roseau time after time.

We had barely made it into the harbor and listened to the captain talking about a 95% possibility of seeing a whale when one of the crew shouted “Whale on the surface!” We saw our first sperm whale about 15 minutes into the tour. It was followed by at least eight more sightings. Some of the sightings were of the same whale which they have named Sophocles. They know the whales and the four or five families that they tend to hang out in. We had a great, terribly wet time and came back before Rob had to go on his dive. Before we got to the pier, the captain had told us about the volcanic activity under the sea off Dominica (Do-ma-NEE-ka). Rob was hoping he might get to see one of the seeps that was mentioned. Turns out he did.

Rob:
The first dive was down to a ledge over the l’Abym, (the abyss). It is a 1,000 foot cliff from the top to its base. It has a thin ledge about 15 feet underwater. This was my first dive. Life was everywhere! There were multiple kinds of fish, crustaceans, and corals. The kind of abundance I had expected to see in the Caribbean and hadn’t up until now. They covered every surface extending as far as the eye could see. We were told we could go anywhere along the wall down to a depth of 70 feet and to enjoy the ledge as a safety stop before ascending. There were divemasters pointing out items at various depths as well as leading and trailing the party. And it WAS a party!! We saw frogfish, blennies, and other fish with some as big as your head. Some were two feet long.

The second dive was the “Champagne Seeps”. So named because when you are in it, you feel you are in bottle of just-opened hot champagne. We were actually over a submerged ACTIVE volcanic caldera. The bubbles are methane and other gases seeping up to the surface. The water doesn’t taste like champagne. Trust me on this.

The life here was distinctly different. Although there were several types of bright yellow fish that shared the two environments. As we reached the bottom (30 feet or so), there was a flounder that wound its way through our party. Just over the lip we entered the champagne. There were a few hot areas. We were warned that if the water was too disturbed, not to fight our way into it. The disturbed areas were especially hot vents rising from the bottom. Most turned back before approaching any too closely.

The caldera bottom was brown with some kind of algae, but there was lots of life. Wherever there was a rocky outcrop, one would see various forms of creatures that weren’t coral. Most likely fungal mats. Small fish would dart into the “champagne” to nibble. Amongst the creatures were lobsters, sea horses, and very plain-colored fish. At the edge of the caldera, I found an eel everyone else had missed. I was at the back of the pack and the others were looking at a lobster. I couldn’t get their attention. Everyone ran their air as close to the limit as they could. The divemasters were prodding us back to the boat at the end. When I surfaced, my dive watch switched back to timepiece mode and I realized it was 4:55 p.m. The Emerald Princess was due to leave Dominica at 5:30 p.m. We were supposed to be aboard in 5 minutes! (Yes, Connie was pacing the cabin.)

The return trip was a mad scramble to strip, pack and boogie while the dive boat was cranked up as high as it could go. While still tying off the dive boat, we were jumping onto the dock and high-tailing it for the Princess. Lucky it’s a short pier. The security people gave everyone a dirty look. Like we cared after that experience!!!

Oddly enough the local divemasters on the dive boat were complaining that today was some of the worst diving they had experienced. No big fish, lousy visibility (only 75 feet), and no whales. Can you imagine that?

Well, we are exhausted and we’re going to go to dinner. Whew!