Syndicate Nature Trail, Dominica (Cruise with the Royal Clipper in the Caribbean)

On the way to Dominica, we traveled alongside another, slightly smaller ship from the Star Clippers line.

The Star Flyer sailed next to us, and both ships waved enthusiastically.

We anchored off Cabrits and took the first tender directly to land.

A small footpath led us to a former fort that alternately served as a defensive installation for the French or English.

A small part of it has been restored and is accessible to the public. The installation was much larger overall, even though the rest has fallen into disrepair.

As we walked through the forest after our visit to the fort, we saw the ruins of the old Commandant's house.

On the way, we also encountered a large hermit crab crawling through the forest in its shell.

Otherwise, we saw many small lizards fleeing from our feet as we approached, since they were sitting on the path.

We hiked to a viewpoint from where Guadeloupe could be seen before we turned back.

Our excursion bus was already waiting at the harbor to take us for a hike in the rainforest.

Our bus had no windows, but it had charm with its colorful paint and the many years it had obviously been on the road.

It sometimes groaned a bit, but reliably took us up the hill.

The journey went through plantations where we saw bananas, mango trees, avocados, and nutmeg.

The road was more suited for one vehicle, but was used in both directions. So, before the curves, people simply honked loudly to warn of oncoming traffic.

We were held up a bit longer because an older gentleman had parked on the narrow road to fill his water bottles in the river. He was also not disturbed by the buses that couldn't pass because of his car. A longer discussion followed which further delayed our journey. Ultimately, he let us pass, but parked his vehicle so poorly that the bus almost grazed it.

The hike in the rainforest turned out to be more of a short stroll, during which the guide told us about the plants there.

She presented us with the “tree phone,” which hunters used as a distress signal: If one punched a hole in the bark of a specific tree and then knocked on the inside with a stone, it produced a very loud, deep sound that could be heard over long distances.

Our next stop was at a path leading to the waterfall.

There we learned that we had to cross four rivers on the way once again.

Since this hadn't been stated in the original description, we didn't bring water shoes and had to borrow some.

So we reached the waterfall, where one could swim after a somewhat rocky and wet path. However, we found the water too cold and preferred to just watch the cascading water.

To conclude, we enjoyed the typical Caribbean “Rum Punch” with rum, juice, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon.

When we were back at the ship, it was already time for the last tender.

Together with the Star Flyer, we departed again and sailed into the red sunset.