Maryhelen Shuman-Groh
On those rare days I am not working at DOWASCO, I have been trying to get around the island to see how things are done in different towns and businesses. I happened upon the Manicou River Resort in my web searches prior to arrival and was very interested in their efforts to be low-impact and sustainable.
So on Friday after work, a new co-worker volunteered to put me on the right bus headed north and I set out with my overnight bag and laptop wedged on my knees in the minibus for what would be a nearly 2 hour ride past Portsmouth to the north. Let me once again remind you that Dominica is only about 29 miles long…
I made it to Poonkie’s Restaurant before sunset and was picked up by my hosts for the 4 wheel drive up the mountainside to the cottage. I knew it was out there but hadn’t realized how ‘up’ there it was. Notone of my photos conveys the severe angles of the ascent.
I was given an orientation of where everything was in my cottage and then I was completely alone. Frankly, even this seasoned traveler was a bit taken aback by the seclusion. The individual cottages are set so that they cannot see or be seen by the other cottages or the owners’ house. There is NO electricity. The entire front 4 panels of the octagonal hut is complete OPEN to Douglas Bay. It really is quite unsettling for a bit.
But then the famous Dominican breezes set in, the view is breathtaking and as the sun begins to set, tranquility starts to set in. I saw my first bat in the wild in this hemisphere.
The view from the front 'wall' of the cottage.
Perhaps ‘Resort’ isn’t the best word for it as resort has coming to mean “a place to which people frequently or generally go for relaxation or pleasure, especially one providing rest and recreation facilities for vacationers: a popular winter resort.” However, when it comes to the relaxation part, it fully serves.
Entrance to the Cottage
There are two cottages with a third nearly complete and plans for a fourth. The owners have done most of the work themselves with a local staff. They attempted to situate each cottage to take advantage of natural views, light and airflow and to minimize the number of trees felled. Every tree cut was used in construction of the cottage.
This is NOT the balcony but the actual front wall of the cottage – no doors, no screens, no windows.
The front 'wall' aka the Wide-Screen TV
The kitchen and bedroom
This is ‘roughing-it’ at it’s most luxurious… Jenn-Air propane cook top, bio-degradable Dominican soaps, a king-size water bed. The more I thought about the water bed, the more sense it made – import costs for mattresses in Dominica are huge due to weight – the water bed only required ordering the bag; water beds in Dominica do not need to be heated; and regular mattresses must be replaced every couple of years in the tropics. (To be continued with information on WATER and other cool stuff!)
The kitchen
The waterbed