Dominica's Northern Sites

   ~Cabrits National Park and Fort Shirley~

Kelly made her first trip to Cabrits in late October first semester, when she went with Amy and her friend Theresa for a morning hike. Cabrits is on the Northwest Coast of Dominica in Prince Rupert Bay (just outside Portsmouth). This is the site of Fort Shirley, a once impressive military compound held on and off by the French and English (depending on which nation was currently in control of Dominica), until it was abandoned in 1854. The compound fell to ruins, and the forest quickly engulfed the entire peninsula, leaving a very scenic and interesting hiking area for visitors like us. Kelly returned a few more times throughout our stay in Dominica, including once with her RCF spouse group, once with Ian, Cathy and Harry, a couple times with Ian for the Dean's List Dinner, and a trip with Ian and his parents. It is a very well-maintained park and great for picnics, light hiking and sight seeing.

Pictured below: (first two rows from Kelly's trip with Amy): Kelly on the canon, the canon overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Prince Rupert Bay, Kelly and Amy, and scenes from Fort Shirley; (the third row): Cathy, LaRaine, Kelly and Karen from a trip to Cabrits with the spouse group; Kelly and Ian standing at one of the scenic points; part of the fort ruins on the hike; and the Cabrits pier at night.

   ~Secret Beach~

Secret Beach is a small strip of (almost) white sand and crystal clear water tucked away behind a cave on the northwestern part of the island. The best way to get there is by boat from Coconut Beach, and although Coconuts and Secret Beach are located very close to where we lived on the island, it took nearly ten months before we were finally able to visit the beach together. We kayaked there and had the whole thing to ourselves for a little snorkling. The waves cooperated, and the water was clear and beautiful. We even saw an octopus, which Ian was very excited about. The pictures below are from Secret Beach. Kelly was also able to go a couple times with her friends, and Ian returned with his parents during their visit. It is a small, but beautiful little place on Dominica, and a fun kayak ride.

   ~Portsmouth and Ross University School of Medicine~

Ultimately, we were in Dominica for Ian's medical school, so we spent most of our time close to home. We had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people, get involved in campus life, and take some nice pictures, so below is the part of Dominica that is personal to us. The first panoramic was taken from the top of Safehome (a big green apartment building across from campus where our friends live), and you can see Cabirts, Prince Rupert Bay, campus and James Store from this picture. The second row includes a picture of our main group of friends hanging out at Safehome for a St. Patrick's Day party, and three shots of Ian's Saturday morning volleyball game. The third row includes: Ian sitting on our balcony and studying, Kelly and her sister Jackie at Coconut Beach, the bookstore girls (Veronica, Kristen, Kunjan, Karen and Kelly), and a picture of Karen, Kelly, Cathy and Kristen at the RCF 4th of July Cookout.

Below are pictures of our home on Dominica. We lived in the second apartment from the right on the top floor (see first picture below) for 16 months while staying in Dominica. It was a two-room apartment, and we even had DLS and cable. We felt like we were right in the middle of the jungle, but it was a nice 10 minute walk from campus - the most difficult part being the steep hill that led down to our apartment. Hot water only ran in the shower, and as in all of Dominica, we had problems with bugs and heat. We also had a family of pigs that lived in front of our apartment (see first picture below). But overall it was a good place to live. Also pictured: our bedroom, our kitchen, and the road leading to our apartment.

There is a nice creek close to campus that Kelly liked to visit with her friends. During the spring break, we both took a walk to visit it and spent some time climbing around on the rocks and taking pictures. The pictures below include a nice freshwater pool, the two of us perched on a rock, and the cascading creek.

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