Coincidentally, upon checking my email I found some recent discussion on the uw-photo mailing list about Dominica, so I posted these comments to the list;
Hi all,
It has been awhile since I have posted here, mostly because my underwater photo activity has been in a funk for awhile. But the title of this thread prompted me to post since I JUST returned from 8 days in Dominica last night. Stayed at Castle Comfort and diving was with the Dive Dominica on site operation. We also took many island tours and hikes throughout the week to see some of the more jaw dropping sites in the rain forest. I can only just add my 2 cents of emphasis on top of what Michael has already stated. Definitely one of the most beautiful islands out there, with just as many land treks for the nature lover as there are beautiful reefs. I am not up to writing a full trip report being still a bit tired from traveling, but thought I’d pass on the highlights..Big Pluses;
- Heard sperm whales and humpback whale songs on several dives (never saw them u/w though..)
- very healthy reefs (at least to the south end where all of our diving was) – with wide variety of corals – very large sponges, beautifully covered walls, many turtles and seahorses. Nice variety of fish life, but not very many big schools – only a few on occasion. Mostly smaller type reef fish. Largest animals seen u/w were barracuda.
- House reef at Castle Comfort is quite good, but more sea urchins than you can imagine in the shallows 0-35 ft. Bulk of the reef doesn’t start until 75 ft there, mostly small scattered coral heads in the shallows. HUGE area of garden eels, and one of the largest turtles I have seen – shell was appx. 3-3.5 ft. + Squid, many varieties of eels, scorpionfish, flying gunnards. I only did 1 day and 1 night dive at the house reef, I wish I did more – but afternoons were generally filled with island treks.
- We visited 4 of the islands popular waterfalls, Trafalgar, Titu Gorge, Emerald Pool, and Middleham – all beautiful with each a unique character. All have views of ‘island paradise’ with lush rainforest surroundings. One in particular, Titu Gorge was more for the experience – as you have to actually swim (short distance) through a gorge to get to the waterfall – very cool experience. Our guide, Lambert, was superb – an excellent naturalist, full of national pride and appreciation of what Dominica has to offer, walks were highly educational, and he brought to the experience the ‘essence’ of Dominica.
- Food at Castle Comfort was generally excellent – with very accommodating and friendly staff.
- Whale watching tours leave directly from the resort’s dock – scheduled for 2 times/week, cost 135 EC. We ended up seeing 3 sperm whales – 2 quite distant, and the other within about 100 ft of the boat. We also had large pods of dolphins visit us on 2 separate occasions while on the boats (never u/w though).Other notables;
- Castle Comfort itself is not a isolated location on this rain forest island (just to check your expectations). Instead it is at the far end of a major, rather densely packed town, sandwiched in between a couple of other small resorts. So it is fairly small as far as its waterfront footprint. Since we were there 1 week prior to Carnival, many activities were already starting – including a lot of all night parties/music which made it difficult to sleep at times. Great if you liked to party, but no so much if you just wanted to relax. I don’t know if this is a typical week, or just due to the upcoming festivities. Bring earplugs just in case!
- Although you could probably rent a vehicle – I would not recommend it! Driving on this island is an acquired skill due to the very narrow, winding, steep roads, fast passing traffic, blind corners, and many pedestrians. Driving is on the left side. This means you end up hiring a guide to really see the island and waterfalls, other than walks to town. Small buses and cabs are available also close to the resort – but generally seem for transit to/from town.
- Diving from CC/DD was completely at the southern end of the island, supposedly due to better visibility. The northern island has a lot of stream / river runoffs. Visibility was still only about 75 feet or so. I don’t know if this limited the variety of diving or marine life since I don’t know what is ‘up north.’ Most of the dives were on the Caribbean side, with one on the southern end in the Atlantic. Seas were rougher, but we did see larger schools of fish there.
- Dive masters were good at pointing out critters – especially seahorses and kept a good eye on everyone for safety sake, without being intrusive. They tended to want everyone to stay in a group, but weren’t overly strict about it, especially once they grew comfortable with your skill level. Although diving was by computer, restrictions were placed at 100 ft. I rarely saw any need to go deeper than 75.
- Dive boats had camera rinse tanks on board, rooms have 115V outlets, along with 220V.If anyone has any particular questions, I will be happy to answer from what I know..
Very nice trip and recommended!
Mark Graf
http://www.grafphoto.com
