Discover Dominica

After the dives, we head back out on another Anchorage Dive Center boat, this one a big motorcat equipped with hydrophones able to listen in on some of the locals. Just a mile offshore, a chattering burst of clicks spits out of the speakers. Sperm whales. “They’re close,” says the captain scanning the water. A moment later, “There she blows!” And it is indeed a she. Dominica has a year-round resident pod of sperm whales made up of females and their calves. The big males come down in the winter to challenge each other and to mate with the females in the warm waters off the island.

After one mother whale arches her back and lifts her broad, trademark tail to propel her deep into the abyss to hunt squid, her young calf approaches our boat. The canoe-size newborn rolls onto its side to look up at us through a shallow curtain of water, one side of its tail fluke lazily breaking the surface like a shark’s fin. From just a few feet away, I can clearly see the whale’s eye. It looks like it wants to play, and I almost expect it to wink and ask if I’m up for an adventure.

Bob Friel

Where to Stay: Dominica

At Anchorage Hotel & Dive Center (767-448-2638; www.anchoragehotel.dm), 32 oceanview rooms, a restaurant and a fresh-water pool provide comfort. The onsite dive center and tour company can arrange excursions.

At a primo spot in downtown Roseau, the Fort Young Hotel (767-448-5000; www.fortyounghotel.com) boasts 53 guest rooms and suites, each with a private balcony. This recently renovated property includes three restaurants and a bar, a health and beauty center.

Author's note: Since publication of this story, Boiling Lake has mysteriously, and scientists feel temporarily, stopped boiling.

Caribbean Travel & Life is the magazine for anyone in search of the perfect tropical getaway. Each issue presents expert insider’s advice on where to find the Caribbean’s best beaches and attractions, its finest resorts and spas, liveliest beach bars and activities, and its friendliest people.

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