Hiking， snorkeling， diving， kayaking and swimming are all popular on this beautiful island
In all， there are 365 rivers on Dominica——some easily explored； some strenuous. Emerald Pool， Dominica's most popular tourism destination is an easy one. The green-hued natural pool sits pretty in the island's UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a 15-minute walk through the rain forest， Stop even for e a minute and you'll spot parrots and hawks flapping by nonchalantly.
Perched above Grand Bay on Dominica's south side is the tiny village of Stowe. From here， conditions are nearly perfect for kayaking a half-mile out to Carib Point， then snorkeling along the reef below. The waves are relatively calm in this bay， even when mild storms pass through. Snorkeling in the rain isn't glamorous——few things on this island are——but floating just below sea level， looking down on schools of exotic fish while millions of little drops of water dot the ocean's surface， is surreal.
On my last day here， I went down to Soufriere Bay off Scotts Head for one last swim. As soon as I waded out to my waist， some kind of giant beautiful aqua-colored ray floated by， and a million little yellow and black fish fluttered around my bare feet.
There had been other snorkeling experiences on Dominica——the most spectacular was farther up Soufriere Bay at Champagne Reef， named for the underwater bubbles produced by small volcanic fissures leaking from the ocean bed. But that calm， quiet， overcast day on Scotts Head was just as special.
Afterward， bumping along that twisty， windy road one last time for the trek up the side of the island to the airport， driving was the easy part.
The hard part？ Leaving.
In all， there are 365 rivers on Dominica——some easily explored； some strenuous. Emerald Pool， Dominica's most popular tourism destination is an easy one. The green-hued natural pool sits pretty in the island's UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a 15-minute walk through the rain forest， Stop even for e a minute and you'll spot parrots and hawks flapping by nonchalantly.
Perched above Grand Bay on Dominica's south side is the tiny village of Stowe. From here， conditions are nearly perfect for kayaking a half-mile out to Carib Point， then snorkeling along the reef below. The waves are relatively calm in this bay， even when mild storms pass through. Snorkeling in the rain isn't glamorous——few things on this island are——but floating just below sea level， looking down on schools of exotic fish while millions of little drops of water dot the ocean's surface， is surreal.
On my last day here， I went down to Soufriere Bay off Scotts Head for one last swim. As soon as I waded out to my waist， some kind of giant beautiful aqua-colored ray floated by， and a million little yellow and black fish fluttered around my bare feet.
There had been other snorkeling experiences on Dominica——the most spectacular was farther up Soufriere Bay at Champagne Reef， named for the underwater bubbles produced by small volcanic fissures leaking from the ocean bed. But that calm， quiet， overcast day on Scotts Head was just as special.
Afterward， bumping along that twisty， windy road one last time for the trek up the side of the island to the airport， driving was the easy part.
The hard part？ Leaving.