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Dive into Dominica's realm of fire
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Deco stops
Take a refreshing dip in the Emerald Pool, one of the most beautiful waterfall-fed oases on Dominica and an easy half-mile walk from the nearby visitors center ($2). Stop in for a bowl of dasheen soup with garlic bread and a plate of sautéed river prawns at Papillote Wilderness Retreat, located near the Trafalgar Falls, and then enjoy a guided tour of the retreat’s lovingly tended four-acre private gardens full of orchids, ferns and 19 species of butterflies. In the Carib Territory on the far northeastern coast, visit the new Kalinago Barana Autê, a cultural village where you can learn about this vanishing culture ($8). Nearby Beau Rive, a boutique hotel, serves delicious Welsh rarebit and fish pie with apple crisps for dessert (their house spritzers are a tart break from rum punch).
The guide to Dominica
Average water temperature: summer 84°F; winter can drop into the mid 70s
What to wear: 3-5 mm suit
Average visibility: 80-plus feet off the walls, less after rainstorms
When to go: The diving is good year-round; January to May is the dry season, and visibility tends to be better.
Must do
Head for the hills and hire a guide ($40) for the calf-busting, 12-mile roundtrip over ridges and into canyons to Boiling Lake, the second-largest solfatara — a water-filled volcanic crater — on the planet. On a cloudless day, the views from the high point, 3,747-foot Mount Nicholls, include the panoramic southern half of Dominica, including Roseau. Just before the lake, you’ll descend into the steaming Valley of Desolation, a barren swath of sputtering mud pots and hissing fumaroles. On the way back, wash off all the mud in the eerie grottos at Titou Gorge right beside the trail head.
Must dive
Champagne: A shallow mooring dive that can be done as a shore snorkel. Keep your eyes out for seahorses and a supposed 18th-century wreck.
La Sorcière: This wall drops 750 feet and is a favorite haunt of bigeyes and crimson clouds of blackbar soldierfish.
Dangleben’s Pinnacle: Starting at 60 feet and rising to within 25 feet of the surface, these five large coral cones are covered with yellow sea fans and black coral.
Soufriere Bay: This wall dive begins near the surface and plunges some 100 feet into the Soufriere Crater. Look for seahorses with their tails wrapped around sponges.
Point Break: Luck and timing when diving this northern site exposed to the wild currents coursing between Guadeloupe and Dominica will reward with beefy coralheads and hero sponges, and the possibility of Caribbean reef sharks.
Rigged & ready
Pocketwire Pack Multi-purpose compartments will keep you organized. And it comes with a hydration tube, sternum strap and safety whistle. patagonia.com
Gstarz Bluetooth Solar GPS Travel Recorder: With 48 hours of navigation time, you can log up to 200,000 records. Its dual power supply includes rechargeable Li-ion battery and solar power.
As the official publication of the PADI Diving Society, Sport Diver is the magazine divers turn to each month to find out what’s going on in their world. Sport Diver is the ultimate source for up to date information on dive culture, equipment, travel, training and PADI Diving Society activities.
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