23 May, 2003
My Sunday walk
or again about how dreams come true
I had lived in the Dominica already two months and two days, when I decided to see another side of the island and make certain that at the Portsmouth city is located beautiful beaches and Indian River is a one of two best places in this paradise (the first, how told me some native, is a Trafalgar falls).
The first means of conveyance, which was remembered by me, was a bus and by reason of having experience of travel to unknown place I decided that it would be easily to reach the fairy city.
But in any case I phoned to my acquaintance Alex and asked him on which buses better to get this place. And with the knowledge of the English language, which I got from school and institute, I understand from our conversation just one thing: it's not a good day to travel on the bus in such far away town. The word described a reason of that was not known by me. But my wish was insurmountable.
I inspected the map, counted that is possible to go to the middle of the way and come back to home just by walking. Thought, that the return way will be harder, held just on the one-minute and dead. I recalled moreover that I'm not living in the tomorrow, yesterday or next weekend - the decision was made: if I want to see the Portsmouth and Indian River today, nothing can stop me, especially as buses.
I gathered my small rucksack, and stamped to familiarize with new land.
Went on the road straights from my home to Roseau I was walking by foot and did it right, because no any bus passed by during 20 minutes. In the capital I collided with jolly taxi-driver, who offer to take me to Portsmouth for 140 Eastern Caribbean dollars. Keeping on mind do not have a business with taxi-drivers, I passed all capital during 5 minutes and walk out from a border of the region, where I have never been by foot, but saw places from the car.
Later five minutes of walking and thinking about strange Caribbean buses, which didn't want to stop, I was tempted by the shade of a beautiful tree inclined above the bridge through purling river. Stopped, cooled down under humid wind from water, took a time to think and decided that buses didn't stop because I was walking and they thought that I wanted to have a walk. At this moment I noticed a bus, rose up my hand and miracle happened: the bus had braked. That means I was right at my thoughts: they were just waiting when I will stop…
Later ten minutes I realized that I had no been in this place before even in the car. I didn't want to check my map to know where I was going exactly. When the bus was empty I guessed that is the last stop and asked the bus-driver where I am and showed where need to be. He returned me back on the two bus stops to the seashore, place is called Rodney's Rock – that is one thirds part of way to Portsmouth and the one hour didn't pass yet. The Correlation of elements in the map and in the life doesn't cease to wonder me: it's so small island!
Next part of the way I got over with strange taxi-driver, who inquired 40 Eastern Caribbean dollars (EC) at the beginning and when I told him that half of way I paid just 2 EC – he was agree to drive me to Salisbury for 2 EC.
In next thirty minutes of the way I noticed that the locality had changed: palms was hidden, plants rarely somewhere, but passing several towns, which disposed long the coast, my darkness driver told me that place have nice beaches and I was agree with him. The sand shore attracted especially in such hot day, at time around 12-13 o'clock.
The last part of the way I started to rise up on the mountain and flapped to passing buses. The sea was close, the heat acted on nerves and the wish to jump down from mountain to the cold surface of blue sea, but I spitted on my shoe which start to break up and told to invisible somebody close to me: "baa" and then smiled to the sun. At this moment a motor voice was heard and a bus is almost empty (just one passenger and the driver) stopped close to me.
In the next hour I was enjoy of great wind and Beatles music. Soon, showed up a valley with palms and beautiful straight road, at both sides of it was houses and people, especially, wonders the big amount of white men (the U.S. based Ross University Medical School has a large teaching center here) - I had guessed right: it was the beginning of the Portsmouth city is the second largest town in Dominica.
There I met the funny guide, who called himself double-7 and sat me in a boat, which cast off from the shore. He described me any words, which I can't understand. It seems during the time, when I was enjoying nice thickets, lianas, broken by "high wave" French boat, birds and fishes in the clear water of Indian River, I had improved my language knowledge.
Here, by my tradition, I took three nice rocks from clear streams of river, and at the bush bar along the bank I quenched one's thirst by location juice, admired the flowers on which usually humming bird sits, wondered the quantity of lizards, and set the return way to the civilization.
At parting I knew from double-7, where theirs amazing sand beaches locate.
Later 20 minutes of walking I was enjoying the sand, inroad of emerald wave and line of steps on the wet sand. Here are really great beaches. Alongside is the Cafe-Bar, where you can have a snack and listen the music. On the shore located summerhouses, benches, people playing with a ball and children build sand castles. Beautiful view to Islands Mountains, but the most things – the sea is here.
Two hours of a full relaxing and the sensation of flying, then I had got to gather to go to home: that was about five o'clock; at seven it is darkness here. Time to go to Roseau. I was coming back, but no bus stopped. I had reached the most beautiful road of Portsmouth already. It was the despair: at this moment I realized that Alex had a point to speak that today is not a day for walking to distance places. But I told me: “My harmful or lucky crazy mind would save me again”. I decided for myself: I had reached this place, so I will have got back somehow. Somewhere the despair was forgotten on the road.
Several seconds later my shoe was torn and I had started to go with one barefoot leg like the Caribbean Cinderella. Some man noticed me and asked me: “What's happened with you and where are you going? Roseau?”. Then he explained me why buses didn't go: it was the holiday – Mother Day, when people with family going somewhere to have a rest and celebrate, and buses don't work by principle. That was true: at this day everybody congratulated me with that holiday and I returned congratulations to them.
Five minutes later my new interlocutor stopped the car of his friend, who was working at the Dominica Customs and Excise Division and had to go to Roseau too. I smiled silly, because my shoe was broken at the right moment and this kind man noticed that and helped me.
After two hours with the wind in my hair from the speed of car, setting red sun on the bottle of Coca-Cola and conversation with new acquaintance, I had got my home, fell with joy to arm-chair and thought how is beautiful when the dreams come true and how is great that we write our tales by ourselves.
P.S.: if you are not sure, that your friends will call you later at this evening and will able to take you from any point of map, don't do what I did. :)
The first means of conveyance, which was remembered by me, was a bus and by reason of having experience of travel to unknown place I decided that it would be easily to reach the fairy city.
But in any case I phoned to my acquaintance Alex and asked him on which buses better to get this place. And with the knowledge of the English language, which I got from school and institute, I understand from our conversation just one thing: it's not a good day to travel on the bus in such far away town. The word described a reason of that was not known by me. But my wish was insurmountable.
I inspected the map, counted that is possible to go to the middle of the way and come back to home just by walking. Thought, that the return way will be harder, held just on the one-minute and dead. I recalled moreover that I'm not living in the tomorrow, yesterday or next weekend - the decision was made: if I want to see the Portsmouth and Indian River today, nothing can stop me, especially as buses.
I gathered my small rucksack, and stamped to familiarize with new land.
Went on the road straights from my home to Roseau I was walking by foot and did it right, because no any bus passed by during 20 minutes. In the capital I collided with jolly taxi-driver, who offer to take me to Portsmouth for 140 Eastern Caribbean dollars. Keeping on mind do not have a business with taxi-drivers, I passed all capital during 5 minutes and walk out from a border of the region, where I have never been by foot, but saw places from the car.
Later five minutes of walking and thinking about strange Caribbean buses, which didn't want to stop, I was tempted by the shade of a beautiful tree inclined above the bridge through purling river. Stopped, cooled down under humid wind from water, took a time to think and decided that buses didn't stop because I was walking and they thought that I wanted to have a walk. At this moment I noticed a bus, rose up my hand and miracle happened: the bus had braked. That means I was right at my thoughts: they were just waiting when I will stop…
Later ten minutes I realized that I had no been in this place before even in the car. I didn't want to check my map to know where I was going exactly. When the bus was empty I guessed that is the last stop and asked the bus-driver where I am and showed where need to be. He returned me back on the two bus stops to the seashore, place is called Rodney's Rock – that is one thirds part of way to Portsmouth and the one hour didn't pass yet. The Correlation of elements in the map and in the life doesn't cease to wonder me: it's so small island!
Next part of the way I got over with strange taxi-driver, who inquired 40 Eastern Caribbean dollars (EC) at the beginning and when I told him that half of way I paid just 2 EC – he was agree to drive me to Salisbury for 2 EC.
In next thirty minutes of the way I noticed that the locality had changed: palms was hidden, plants rarely somewhere, but passing several towns, which disposed long the coast, my darkness driver told me that place have nice beaches and I was agree with him. The sand shore attracted especially in such hot day, at time around 12-13 o'clock.
The last part of the way I started to rise up on the mountain and flapped to passing buses. The sea was close, the heat acted on nerves and the wish to jump down from mountain to the cold surface of blue sea, but I spitted on my shoe which start to break up and told to invisible somebody close to me: "baa" and then smiled to the sun. At this moment a motor voice was heard and a bus is almost empty (just one passenger and the driver) stopped close to me.
In the next hour I was enjoy of great wind and Beatles music. Soon, showed up a valley with palms and beautiful straight road, at both sides of it was houses and people, especially, wonders the big amount of white men (the U.S. based Ross University Medical School has a large teaching center here) - I had guessed right: it was the beginning of the Portsmouth city is the second largest town in Dominica.
There I met the funny guide, who called himself double-7 and sat me in a boat, which cast off from the shore. He described me any words, which I can't understand. It seems during the time, when I was enjoying nice thickets, lianas, broken by "high wave" French boat, birds and fishes in the clear water of Indian River, I had improved my language knowledge.
Here, by my tradition, I took three nice rocks from clear streams of river, and at the bush bar along the bank I quenched one's thirst by location juice, admired the flowers on which usually humming bird sits, wondered the quantity of lizards, and set the return way to the civilization.
At parting I knew from double-7, where theirs amazing sand beaches locate.
Later 20 minutes of walking I was enjoying the sand, inroad of emerald wave and line of steps on the wet sand. Here are really great beaches. Alongside is the Cafe-Bar, where you can have a snack and listen the music. On the shore located summerhouses, benches, people playing with a ball and children build sand castles. Beautiful view to Islands Mountains, but the most things – the sea is here.
Two hours of a full relaxing and the sensation of flying, then I had got to gather to go to home: that was about five o'clock; at seven it is darkness here. Time to go to Roseau. I was coming back, but no bus stopped. I had reached the most beautiful road of Portsmouth already. It was the despair: at this moment I realized that Alex had a point to speak that today is not a day for walking to distance places. But I told me: “My harmful or lucky crazy mind would save me again”. I decided for myself: I had reached this place, so I will have got back somehow. Somewhere the despair was forgotten on the road.
Several seconds later my shoe was torn and I had started to go with one barefoot leg like the Caribbean Cinderella. Some man noticed me and asked me: “What's happened with you and where are you going? Roseau?”. Then he explained me why buses didn't go: it was the holiday – Mother Day, when people with family going somewhere to have a rest and celebrate, and buses don't work by principle. That was true: at this day everybody congratulated me with that holiday and I returned congratulations to them.
Five minutes later my new interlocutor stopped the car of his friend, who was working at the Dominica Customs and Excise Division and had to go to Roseau too. I smiled silly, because my shoe was broken at the right moment and this kind man noticed that and helped me.
After two hours with the wind in my hair from the speed of car, setting red sun on the bottle of Coca-Cola and conversation with new acquaintance, I had got my home, fell with joy to arm-chair and thought how is beautiful when the dreams come true and how is great that we write our tales by ourselves.
P.S.: if you are not sure, that your friends will call you later at this evening and will able to take you from any point of map, don't do what I did. :)
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