What does your country mean… and surely it isn’t as lyrical as Dominica where tall is her body?
The good people of Dominica came-a-calling yesterday as part of our Caribbean Tourism Organisation conference.
And we kicked off, of course, with their biggest calling card, the Waitukubuli Trail.
At 115 miles long, in 14 segments, it is the longest trail in the West Indies and will take you ten to 14 days to compete.
Named by the indigenous Kalinago people it showcases the 29.2 miles high north-south island.
With peaks as high as 4,747ft.
What’s in a name?
And Waitukubuli is, of course, where the poetic Kalinago came up with the name.
There are other appealing place names and attractions across the island such as Boiling Lake, Champagne Reef, Trafalgar Falls…
And wellness, spas and warming springs aplenty.
Our friendly smiling Dominicans put up with good grace when people mistake them for the Dominican Republic.
Which is about 600 miles from Roseau, the capital of Dominica!
Your best way (and what a way) is by a short boat ride from Guadeloupe where Death In Paradise is filmed.
And Guadeloupe is served by American Airlines from Puerto Rico.
Then Nevis
Our friends in Nevis, a twin island with St Kitts & Nevis, has to field similar calls.
With mountaineers mistaking this island in the sun with my island in the snow and its largest mountain, Ben Nevis.
And Hamilton, of course
Scotland and Nevis, of course, have a very topical association through a son they both share.
And he spawned the most famous opening lines in the history of musicals when Alexander Hamilton’s nemesis Aaron Burr sang:
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
Spot in the Caribbean by Providence, impoverished, in squalor
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
Of course it is forgotten no more and not just because of its association with the Founding Father and hero of New York, but it all helps.
And his birthplace on Nevis is a must-see for fans of Hamilton.
A better Montpelier
Holiday hopefuls too get a pleasant surprise when they go looking for Montpelier in France…
And find the luxury Montpelier Plantation & Beach hotel in Charlestown set on a 300-year-old sugar plantation.
While Restaurant 750 offers diners views of St Kitts.
And yes, we’ll meet you on the road.
And reveal more of these lyrical islands.
Such as Dominica where tall is her body.
