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Purely Dominica

Purely Dominica


Black Sand Beach

Dan

My most recent beach review was of Napier’s White Sand Beach, at Point Baptiste, Calibishie. In it, I mentioned that it was near the beautiful Black Sand Beach and in fact could be reached by walking paths. Therefore, I’ll give you a view of the Black Sand Beach and a few descriptive paragraphs this time around.

Black Sand Beach is nestled in a cove bounded on the west by the cliffs that overlook Napier’s Beach and by Red Rocks on the east. It is reached by trails, with the decent made fairly easy by well-cut steps.

The beach is tiny, and the off wave will wash over it, so you can’t lie out on it. It is sunny in mid-day from May to August when the sun passes to the north of overhead. You might think that the black sand in the sun would be too hot to walk on barefoot, but because it is constantly wet by the sea, the beach sand is cool.

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Even our miniature schnauzer dog “Ranger” enjoys the Black Sand Beach. Ranger is a smart dog, that’s why when his not on the beach, he is shows-off his 16 tricks to the kids in the nearby community (Calibishie and Paix Bouche) schools.

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Another interesting thing about this sand is its texture and weight. I don’t know its geologic composition, but it is jet black, very fine and smooth, not at all sticky, and quite dense. Incidentally, there are some beaches, Woodford Hill, or one, that have places where black sand like this can be found an inch or two below the white sand in some spots.

It’s possible to enter the sea for a dip at one end of the tiny beach, and there are interesting corals for snorkeling at the other end. But even if you don’t swim or snorkel, Black Sand Beach is worth visiting juts to drink in the visual beauty. Coconut palms shade the beach, the contrast between the black sand and the red rocks is visually striking, and the gorgeous blue sea breaks onto the coral, the red rocks, and cliffs nearby, providing not only sights but a sound track as well for any nature lover.

Getting To Black Sand Beach

The easiest route to Black Sand Beach is as follows: Turn off left onto the Point Baptiste road as you take the main road from Calibishie towards Melville Hall Airport. Take the left fork in the Point Baptiste road at the top of the hill. Continue past the last house and onto the dirt road, which curves to the right and ends in a meadow. Park at the end of the dirt road and look for a pathway that heads towards the sea. Take the first turn to the right on the pathway, and follow the path you’ve taken. It will go downhill and across a flat rock area, from which you can see Red Rocks on your left as you face the sea. Take up the path again as it enters the bush and proceed slightly uphill. You will come to the Napier grave sites. Look for a trail heading down to the sea from there; it leads directly down to the Black Sand Beach.

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