Instead of staying another day in the bay of Rousseau, we decide to head up a little further north along the coast of Dominica to Portsmouth. With only a light breeze, we motor all the way. Without any waves it is a pleasant three hour trip before we make a turn into Prince Rupert Bay. While we slowly approach the other boats to find a good anchoring spot, Andy all of a sudden yells “Dolphin”. We were hoping to spot one on our trip, since they are not very common here in these waters. But we certainly did not expect to be escorted into the bay by a very playful and curious animal.

We are surprised, that even after anchoring the Dolphin stays close by and makes its rounds around an old abandoned fishing vessel next to our boat. Asking one of the locals who drives by, we learn that this single dolphin arrived about two years ago in the bay and hasn’t left since. Within a few minutes we find ourselves in the water for a magical experience, swimming with this dolphin.

We are super lucky that there is so little wind, which makes for great visibility. For some twenty minutes we have this magnificent creature to ourselves. It is playful and curious and swims around us, dives down with us, and gets incredibly close. It wouldn’t let us touch it but otherwise this is the closest we have ever been and maybe will ever be to a dolphin in the wild. We are overwhelmed and can’t believe our luck. It is truly a very special moment that will be remembered forever.

After some more snorkeling at a nearby reef we decide to treat ourselves for dinner on the island. We find a very small place right at the waterfront where we enjoy some delicious local food and beers while the sun sets.

The next morning we join another couple from a neighboring boat to a three hour boat excursion up Indian River.

This slow-flowing stream meanders through the thick jungle-like forest and empties into the bay where we are anchored. It is lined with mangroves at its estuary and by beautifully ornate bloodwood trees further upstream where soon the canopy closes completely above us. Even in broad daylight it is a spooky twilight in here. There are iguanas and land crabs and all sorts of birds along the way.

We also pass by Calypso’s hut from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. The movie set built in 2005, with local woods in the original island style, is slowly taken over by nature again.

Alexis, our guide, is doing a great job explaining to us everything and telling wonderful stories about his childhood and how it was growing up on this beautiful island.

A lot has changed, the modern ways of living also took a toll on this environment. More frequent hurricanes like “Maria” in 2017 added to the damage. Certain plants and animal species have been drastically reduced by the disasters. We still find it very beautiful and learn a lot about the life on Dominica.

Later in the afternoon Andy makes a quick run to the local market and returns with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Prince Rupert Bay is a wonderful spot and we enjoy our two days here a lot and vow to come back soon!

Tomorrow it is time to move on to our next destination Iles des Saintes, a small group of islands south of Guadeloupe.