Dominica

Dominica was my least favorite island. Having spent the previous day at such a beautiful island as St. Thomas, Dominica was like eating boxed macaroni after having prime rib the night before. The moment we stepped off the boat the venders swooped down on us, like vultures diving down to their unlucky prey. Everywhere we went, people tugged, pulled, and baggered.

Dominica is not known for its beaches, it's more of a rainforest island. However, we had heard that Champagne Beach had some of the best snorkeling. Not only that, but this beach was highly unusual as it had underwater vents that bubbled up hot water. So, off the beaten track we went, looking for a taxi that would take us to this natural wonder.

Now communication is important in any relationship. When communication lacks or there is an interference with the transmission, communication break-up occurs thus leaving one if not both parties frustrated. As fate would seem fit, this is what happened in Dominica.

Having not vacationed a lot together, I knew at one point, this would come into play, I just didn't expect it so soon. Marco is an incredibly nice guy. He'll never say an ourtright "no", rather he'll use the expression "Oh okay, thanks, we'll get back to you just now"... literally translation I've learned, I'll get back to you within the next decade.

The first and only time I've seen Marco deal with hawking vendors was in Bali when he began to speak Afrikaans and flail his arms like a chicken at them. At that point I didn't know if I should laugh or be horrified... As Marco put it, that is not part of a stress-free vacation and he absolutely detests vendors like that. Looking back, that should have been a clue. After wandering around the streets of Dominica to get a feel, and promising every vendor we met, "we get back to you just now", I was beginning to get a little irate- Just Say No! I mean, that's one of the biggest campaigns we have here in the US...

How were we ever going to make it to the beach? Every driver we spoke with wanted us to do a rainforest tour and were not interested in taking us to Champagne Beach - it's not the local tourist route. At this point, completely frustrated I turned to Marco and said, "Would you stop telling everyone thanks, we'll get back to you just now! I'm feeling like Paris Hilton.... we've got the paparazzi on every corner waiting for us to make a decision because you've promised every cab driver in the area we'll get back to him! Just choose one cabbie and bargain with him."

Well, let's just say that if one person doesn't like hawking vendors, bargaining, and is just trying to be generally polite he or she would not be the person to send to bargain for a taxi ride. As soon as Marco left my side, I realized that was probably not the wisest move. I quickly bargained with a guy for $15 a piece roundtrip for Marco and I to the beach, but alas I was too late. Within a few moments Marco had returned, his face flushed and eyes flashing like I had given him the job from hell.... "Here's your taxi driver, $15 a person we're going with him." Now although I might fail in the communication department from time to time, there are certain looks I understand without words.

Upon arrival to the beach, it turned out our cabbie was charging $15/ person per direction.... $60 poorer, I realized that for that price, we could have done the rainforest tour and stopped off at the beach....