Friday night.  If we were back in Wisconsin, Sarah and I would likely be out with friends having a traditional Wisconsin fish fry and a Brandy Old Fashioned.  But we're in Dominica, so instead we spent last night drinking Bush Rum and playing Dominos at Toto's Rum Shop. Toto's--The Reason I Slept in Today Every Dominican … Continue reading Bush Rum & Grandma in the Bathtub

Between 1600 and 1870 approximately 4 million West African people were imported to the Caribbean as slaves.  A mind boggling number.  Many of these people fought against and escaped their captors.  These escaped slaves, known as Maroons, often set up their own communities out of the reach of the planters and European powers of the … Continue reading The Jacko Steps

Going to church in a foreign country is a great way to meet folks—especially if your son gets over-heated and passes out in the entryway.  More on that below. This past Sunday we accepted an invitation from Isalene George to attend Catholic Mass in Calibishie, the town where we are staying. A Three-Hour Mass This … Continue reading Your Boy Fell Down

I admit it. I tend to over plan vacations. As my family can attest, I'm the guy that reads everything in the guidebooks and then sets a withering pace during our trips. Each day starts early and includes multiple pre-planned activities.  Think Clark Griswold and the world's largest ball of twine and you won't be far off … Continue reading Serendipity

"Wow, that lake is actually boiling," I said out loud, but mostly to myself.  The sight in front of me was so incongruous, so strange, that I needed to explain it to myself I guess.  Our family had just made it to the overlook of the Boiling Lake here on Dominica after a pretty muddy … Continue reading Yep, that is a Boiling Lake

We made it to the first official destination on our trip—Dominica. Dominica (dom-ah-nee-kah) is not the Dominican Republic. It’s a mountainous, wild island, about halfway down the Eastern Caribbean chain of islands. From our guidebook: “With its unspoiled, pristine rainforest-shrouded peaks, it has been said that the island is the only place in the Caribbean … Continue reading Arrived in Dominica