Dateline: Dominica. Since last post we have cruised north from Fortaleza to a stop at Devil's Island, and beyond to this stop in Dominica. This is our last stop before Ft. Lauderdale and the end of the cruise. It is always weird to hear Christmas music in the tropics, under the palm trees, and intermixed with reggae. Still, it is the Christmas season so it is to be expected. The environmental cues one associates with carols just are not present.
Most of the people on board our ship have a cold, coughing is rampant. I fear the memsahib and I have it too, mine is mostly gone but hers is just beginning. Small, contained communities like a cruise ship are great for sharing respiratory disease.
Devil's Island isn't devilish, rather pretty in fact. The ugly part of being a prisoner here was the tropical disease and heat/humidity. My guess is most prisoners contracted malaria and/or yellow fever and died in the absence of effective treatment.
Dominica is rather charming, not over-developed, and seemingly safe. Tourism is clearly the income source of choice, and luckily for the locals the cruise ships literally tie up downtown. I bet our passengers spend a bunch of money here, I will spend a few $$ for internet time. So typically, the day is semi-cloudy but very dark clouds hover over the island as volcanic islands like this create their own climate, forming rain clouds as they push warm, wet air up into the cooler regions where it forms clouds and rains. More later....
