Tag Archives: Roseau

Southern Caribbean Cruising — Dominica; Soufrière back to Roseau


That charming church you see above is Saint Mark in the northeastern quadrant of Soufrière just yards from Bubble Beach Spa. The colors and architecture of Saint Mark may at first appear stark until you recall how colorful the surrounding buildings and boats are in this small village. Sat Mark is just a fun, fun structure to photograph when the light hits it right, as it did in this afternoon shot.

Saint Mark closeup

I’m going to present three more images of Soufrière sights, then take you to a couple of attractions in Roseau:

After Soufrière we headed back north to Roseau for eventual reunion with our ship Grandeur of the Seas. But before we reboarded we had two additional places to see starting with a hilltop overlook of the capital city. This is the view from Morne Bruce Garrison and Viewpoint:, which is 400 feet/122 meters above sea level:

Roseau, Grandeur of the Seas (upper left), Windsor Park Stadium (right)

As I noted above, this is the former location of the Morne (Mount) Bruce Garrison, which defended Dominica from the 1770s until July 1854:

Morne Bruce Garrison historical marker

From Morne Bruce we descended back toward Grandeur of the Seas, but not before passing through the Dominica Botanical Gardens. Doesn’t this look delish? It even has a delicious name, sausage tree:

Sausage tree (Kigelia africana)

But let neither the name nor the appearance of this large (up to 15 pounds/7 kilograms) berry lull you into taking a nibble. Kigelia africana is poisonous to humans if eaten unprepared! But elephants and baboons love them straight off the tree.

Sausage tree berry

And here’s an example of a banyan fig tree:

Banyan tree in Domina Botanical Gardens

Fun Photo Friday will conclude not only this visit to Dominica, but completion of this series on cruising in the Southern Caribbean. Starting next week I’ll be taking you to place I’ve reviewed before, but which has since gotten a complete remake.

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Southern Caribbean Cruising — Dominica; Reaching Roseau


The above panoramic is of Roseau, the capital city of the Southern Caribbean island nation of Dominica. Dominica was not on our original Grandeur of the Seas itinerary, but that’s okay. We were originally slated to hit Trinidad before heading back to Barbados, but we’d stayed on both Trinidad and Tobago before. And, as you would expect, this last-minute substitution was related to the pandemic.

Bahamian “Courtesy Flag” on Grandeur of the Seas

We didn’t spend any real time in Roseau, as Ursula had us signed up for another tour. So, today I’m going to show you the sights of Roseau as seen from the decks of our ship Grandeur of the Seas before we take off on Wednesday’s article and start heading south. Let’s begin with this shot looking east on Church Street containing both the Bethesda Methodist Church (foreground left) and Our Lady of Fair Haven Cathedral:

Bethesda Methodist (left) and Roseau Cathedral (background)

In this closer view you’ll notice that the cathedral is missing its steeple, which was lost in Hurricane Maria in 2017:

Roseau Cathedral missing its steeple

Looking south from Grandeur give you a view of the outlying suburbs:

Town of Loubiere in the distance (right)

Looking east along Dame Mary Eugenia Charles Blvd. you’ll see the remains of yet another church. These are the still standing ruins of St. George Anglican Church, which was nearly destroyed by Hurrican David (1979). Hurricane Maria finished off the roof and interior 38 years later)

St. George Anglican Church ruins (right)

As you may have noticed above, Dame Mary Eugenia Charles Blvd. is a pretty colorful street in its own right. Let’s line up for a better look and going heading aft. The green building is the Garraway Hotel: (official unsecure website: Garraway Hotel)

Dame Mary Eugenia Charles Blvd.

And looking north, towards the Roseau city cente, you’ll see in the foreground a bunch of neat, touristy stalls with a bunch of neat, touristy merchandise:

Cruise port vendor stalls

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