The book said it's a rainforest island, and it definitely rained a lot. We awoke as the boat was pulling up at the dock - the island looked very lush and green. Well, what we could see through the clouds and mist.

We ate breakfast in the dining room with a couple from Japan - they were going on the shore excursion to the rainforest.

We were still adamant about not doing the shore excursions offered by the ship. It was Christmas, so weren't sure what our options would be. Once off the boat, we found a cab driver and arranged for him to take us to Trafalgar Falls and do a bit of sightseeing - a three hour tour. Peter (driver) tackled the very hilly but well maintained roads and we were the first ones to reach the falls. Rather than hiring another guide, we asked Peter if he'd take us in (customary to go in with a guide, even though the trail is easy to follow). After a ten minute hike through the lushest green forest I've even seen, we reached the falls. We even hiked down to the base of the falls, but it was so wet I was afraid to have the camera out for too long. When we returned to the trail entrance, there were busloads of folks from the ship - all arranging to rent umbrellas or using garbage bags to shield them from the rain. Quite a sight :)

On the drive back from the falls, Peter pointed out the variety of trees on the island - seemed like they grow everything there (including pot because this guy downtown kept asking Andy "hey big guy - you want some weed"). We saw breadfruit, papaya, banana, coffee, mango, passion fruit, you name it. And wild ginger and birds of paradise like I've never seen! We also saw the botanical gardens and some other view points. The rain had stopped, but it was still overcast.

Since Peter dropped us back at the ship, we decided to have lunch in the dining room, take a shower to wash the rainforest off us, and then head back ashore to find internet and artwork. We had lunch with a man from Oklahoma - no matter how hard we tried we just couldn't get a table for two.

We found Cable & Wireless, and had a short wait since many of the crew were there and there were only 8 computers. We also called home to check voicemail - no messages so boys must be fine. We bought some pretty oil paintings of scenes from Dominica - one ocean/hut scene, one waterfall scene, and two "island marketplace" scenes. Bargaining successful! Couldn't find anywhere with calamine lotion or mosquito repellent though (must have gotten bit during the hiking in Virgin Gorda - several big nasty spots).

Back on the ship, we sat on deck for a while before getting ready for dinner. It is so wild how it can be bright and sunny and misting at the same time! We got ready early and sat on deck as the ship left port.

When we returned to the room after dinner, we were greeted by an...animal perched on the pillows!

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