We sailed into Dominica on Sunday
The 4th day of our Caribbean Tour
Columbus had discovered them on Sunday
He did it though 510 years before
He called it Domingo which means Sunday
I was blown away I have to say
We got out of the ship at 7.30
And met up with young Curtis for the day
It cost us a bit much we think
But any way we tried to make the best
Of what we saw
Curtis came from Canefield
And he taught us a lot more
I wanted to see the Emerald Pool and village
And the Caribe Territory and Morne Trois
But sadly we just couldn’t fit it all in
Curtis said in essence it’s too far
And so we learned that Canefield
Grew Bananas, and Sugar Cane originally
But they,realised that it was a lot cheaper
to make rum with their sugar anyway
They have a first rate wonderful big island
Un-spoilt, a natural wilderness and we
Were on our way through Springfield
To the Emerald Pool located in a forest
magicly
We learned about the Caribe’s name for Dominica
And why they named it whitey kubili
The local beer made only on the island
Was given the same name amazingly
Remembering what Karib said in Bonaire
I wanted to meet Caribe’s and too see
Around the Pagua River , the Central Forest Reserve
And talk to them about what interests me
The Emerald Pool was a hike into the forest
An eco-forest full of ferns and palms
Trees with massive long supportive root stock
Wet and warm and full of natural charms

The Parasol Agouti
the gum tree that makes fire
its used by Caribe’s
when they make canoe’s
it took about 10 minutes
hardly life threatening
and there below the waterfall
to choose
the blue pool was below it
if we’d wanted, we could swim there but
we thought
although we’re very early
we could do it but
it began to rain
and we were caught
the water spilled straight out
from the green forest
and it cascaded into this small pool
all around were creepers, vines and
pretty flowers ,its quite high up
so you have to be so careful not to fall
we climbed back to the top
and saw the photo’s
of the trees and birds and mammals
in this place
remembering we’d seen so many of them
but now of course we ended up at base
back inside the taxi into Belles we drove
it was raining and much cooler here
water fresh clean water poured from bamboo tubes
it was used to make the islands beer!

On up to the Caribe’s, to the place
Where they all live
It takes a while to get there
But I wanted to give
Some time to them
A lot of bends and steep hills
Out the way
And I was feeling pretty sick
Round and round all day
Curtis stopped and pulled a wodge of lemon grass
It grows along the roadside here and there
He told me just to smell it
If I felt sick anymore
I didn’t, natural medicine works wonders
And there it is for anyone to share
All sorts of lovely flowers
Big red poinsettias, amaranth’s
Its paradise up here
Up to Monkey Hill
And Crayfish River
My head clear
Really I felt better
We stopped and then we met
Dennis, he made baskets
Spliced the cane
And then he let
Us see just how he did it
With a razor sharp small tool
He didn’t have pencil
And he didn’t have a rule
He understood the forest
Every creeper every cane
Sustainability he knew about
And so again
These people of the forest
Don’t need a big degree
For they were born with instinct
And still have it
Thankfully
It was wonderful to meet him
His hands were soft but he
Wove cane and cut it all the time
So they really shouldn’t be
Their skin was brown and wrinkled
But no blemishes at all
Clear bright eyes
And very wise
And nor particularly tall
We bought some of his baskets
That the least that we could do
The ones where he used swamp water
To get a shade of blue
And a tree leaf that he boiled up
To get a shade of red
So much effort, so much care
And all out of his head

No Books, No Universities
Just the forest where he stayed
Very macrobiotic
And again great on first aid
His hospital the forest
The flowers, the roots, the vines
He knew and understood them
All the tell-tale signs
A ways down from his workshop
Another place and they
Were selling local fruit
Like soursop’s ,yams and sorrel
Coconuts, dasheen
These are leaves a bit like spinach
When cooked very green
Mango’s,pumpkins, eddoes
Banana’s, pidgeon peas
Grapefruits, sweet potato’s
All growing in the trees
Bread fruits come from great tall trees
With spiky kinds of leaves
Living water filtered through
The forest just achieves
So much for those now living there
For the water many drink
Including us in Britain
Is not good as we think
Dominica has so much going for it
Its eco-system just as it should be
Natural as nature had intended
And not exploited one bit thankfully
Montaine and submontaine forests
Prosper
Impenetrable many are and so
The crowns of these trees host
A lot of epiphytes
where man finds it more difficult to go
back to the ship we’ve seen a lot of country
but missed out on the Morne Troix Piton Park
never mind next time we’ll go and see it
at 6’oclock it just gets very dark