Roseau, Dominica
Known as the island of waterfalls, 29 I believe, and unlike many of the neighbouring islands in the region which encourage lounging at the beach with a cocktail in hand, for us a full itinerary in Dominica did not include a beach day at all. The key value of visiting this unspoilt tropical paradise is the lush greenery of the rainforest which covers about two-thirds of the land, and it also has nine of the Caribbean's 16 active volcanoes located on it
We opted not to go trekking through the rainforest, we don't mind a nice trek but passed on that one this time, as on one of our last trips recently we were a tasty meal for the bugs and the bites hurt for ages afterwards. So we opted for a scenic rainforest drive, visiting the Emerald pool and then some river tubing along the Layou river.
The drive through the rainforest was breathtakingly stunning, and the road to Emerald pool consisted of lots of tight hairpins and steep climbs, if only we had been in the sports car!!!.
After about 1 hrs drive we arrived at the National park stop for the Emerald pool stop, on leaving the minibus it was then about a 15 minute walk along a trail through the rainforest to get to the Emerald pool. Emerald pool gained its name because the tree canopy reflects in the water giving it a lovely emerald colour, here also there is a 40-foot waterfall that cascades down into the pool, and legend has it a dip in the pool will make you 10 years younger, maybe we weren't in long enough 
After spending about an hour here, it was back into the minibus to continue our drive through the rainforest to Layou River for the river tubing.
After signing the all too familiar waiver, a safety briefing followed, after that we were given the paddle, jacket and hat. Then it was off down to the river to be seated in our tube. We had such a laugh doing this, we tried to stay close to each other but that didn't happen, the many water rapids soon split us up.The staff here were brilliant and they worked hard to make sure everyone was having fun, the experience lasted just over an hour, and at the end we were treated to a refreshing rum punch and a tasty fish snack.
Tomorrow we're back in Barbados to catch our flight home. We had never been to the Caribbean before and a cruise is a fantastic way to see some of these beautiful places.
#robandann
