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Dominica is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been. I recently returned and realized I had omitted an important fact when I originally did this page. I made this web page several years after I had visited Dominica for the first time. On my last trip in February of 2002, I was reminded of how great the people are which adds a lot to the charm of the island. The island itself has changed a little bit, but it's still an amazing place. I stayed at the "Castle Comfort Hotel", which has a dive shop "Dive Dominica" on site at the hotel. They had a great staff and without a doubt, the best food I've ever tried. Most of it was completely new to me. If you ever go there don't be afraid to try anything. I enjoyed the diving, but there was so much more. After the morning dive there was always an activity planned. Most of the activities involved some hiking. I went swimming in an extinct volcano crater. There are hot and cold running waterfalls (thanks to dormant volcanoes). There's a dive or snorkel site right off the island where the seawater looks like champagne due to sulfur bubbles coming up through the ground. Of course the water at this site is incredibly warm. If you don't like the color green this is not the island for you. I visited this island shortly after seeing the movie Jurassic Park. The whole trip I kept waiting for a dinosaur to pop it's head out of the foliage. When you arrive on this island it definitely feels like you've stepped into the past.
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If you've seen one arrow crab you've seen them all, but I never seem to get sick of them. This really isn't a very good picture, but these little guys aren't very cooperative. Some people will pull them off of the reef to get a better shot but I don't like to risk injuring them.
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I took this shot while I was hanging around the anchor line at the end of a dive. I always have a hard time ending a dive because you never know what you'll miss. |
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I don't remember actually taking this picture but I know it's rare to see these shrimp out in the open. They're usually tucked in a dark hole. |
These flowery looking things are actually worms. People generally refer to them as tubeworms, Christmas tree worms or feather dusters. They attach themselves to a rock or a coral head and filter food out of the water. They're especially beautiful when there's a surge current. They continually wave back and forth with the current. |
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Here's some more tubeworms. A lot of divers seem to enjoy waving their hands in front of them so that they retract leaving behind what looks like an empty tube. I've been known to do this occasionally with my video camera (I'm pretty sure it doesn't harm them in any way). |
This picture was taken on a night dive. It's "wings" are usually retracted against its sides but when you get too close it spreads them open probably either as a threat or to try to appear larger than it really is. We saw these fish during the day flying out of the water. It seemed as if they could travel well over a hundred yards out of the water. |
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