First Day in Dominica ... Doggie Style!

Hi!  I'm Wanda the Wander-Dog and I will be your guide for the day with an introductory tour around Fort Shirley.  I got a babysitter for the pups today so when I spotted Catherine and Henry walking past The Purple Turtle (my restaurant) I figured they might need some of my help along the way.

We headed up to The Cabrits, those two hills just outside of town where some old dudes with English accents built a fort a ways back.  They seemed kind of interested in the Canadian connections.  I can tell you I've seen lots of Canadians around here and there's even a bar (competition to my restaurant) that flies their flag - I'm told it's red and white but you know us dogs and colour...

Anyways, the hill was a nice easy climb and the trees make for a great place to hunt land crabs...

I told them to take their time looking around the fort, I'd just wait for them here by the gates.

Henry checked out the cannon to make sure they were in place to defend the bay - he was interested in those little boats down there for some reason.

I thought they should have a look at the Officer's Quarters where I'm told they had some great parties back in the day, but I'm not supposed to go inside so I'll hang out here for a bit.

Under the big mango tree where they keep all their water in a big cistern.

Did you get a view of these walls - they're thick enough for me to turn circles on - I could have a snooze here in the sun!

These days they use the barracks for school kids who are here on trips.  I'm still hanging out in the shade here on the cistern while Catherine & Henry wander around.

Ok, now for some more fun, lets run up that hill and check out the big canon.  Ok Catherine, you can walk it and I'll play red light, green light with you.

Notice how crafty I am in leading this pack from behind - that way if anyone takes a wrong turn I can round them up.  I can also check out some of the local wildlife along the way like this little Anole.

We got to the top and there was the canon just like I told them.  Time for a chin scratch for all my hard work.

Catherine seemed to think it was pretty funny that someone actually had to put an arrow on a canon, but did she check out the 2GR insignia, and did she get what it actually means?  Kinda cool huh - King George II.

 Time to head back down the trail and I guess I better go check on the kiddos.  I think C&H can find their way from here, but I'll check back in on them later and get the rest of the story.

I did warn them about the grove snakes - harmless but very stinky if you touch them!

And I pointed the way up to the old Commandant's Quarters which are just about falling over now.

I've heard that there are bats hanging out there, but all that was found were some old iron shot, and a whole load of them in one of the cellars.  I'm amazed that other tourists haven't taken them all away as souvenirs.

I guess it was a pretty good hike up the second Cabrit Hill cause they said they felt pretty lucky to see a huge rainbow below them, bridging the two bays.

And in a sunny patch they had a great view up the north shore of my island before walking back down into town.

It's been raining on and off here for quite a while so they were pretty amazed at how green this island is.  It get's my coat damp but I don't mind too much when all that rain shakes down off the leaves.  At least the sunlight in-between the showers pretty much gets me dry.

They were almost back to my spot when they saw this sign on the side of the road.  We're pretty proud of our island here in Dominica and we've got lots of signs up reminding people not to litter.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but this sign is in a pretty funny spot...

Right across the road from this container with toilets and bidets!

Ok, time for a little sundowner at Chez Felix - he's just down the beach from the Purple Turtle and makes a real mean rum punch. They didn't move from these chairs for a while and enjoyed the view, including the little dock where they tied up their dinghy.

Remember - all those who wander are not lost... and these two seemed pretty happy with our wanderings today.

signed - Wanda ... woof!