All is lost in the belief that deriving maximum materialistic satisfaction to be the whole meaning of human existence.

Let the father of the four winds fill your sail and take you across the seas. No fright or hindsight let your spirit voice find what your body needs.

Do you want to be your own king or just another pawn? The feeling inside you says its time you were gone.

So start a new chapter and find what you’ve been after. Leave behind that empty feeling that lingers with the dew. Your Shangri-La lies beneath summers sun across oceans blue, and come rekindled romance with nature in Dominica.

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Sand Bay, also sometimes called Middle Bay, is an Atlantic beach in Marigot, the town just to the east of Melville Hall Airport. We only learned of it this year after coming to Dominica for the past 20 years by seeing a beautiful photo of it taken by Dominica’s leading author and historian Lennox Honychurch that appeared on the HHV Whitchurch 2007 calendar.

Sand Bay is a wonderful beach. There’s plenty of soft clean sand and areas to play and picnic. You can opt for sun or shade under coconut (watch for dropping fruit!) or almond trees. The swimming is excellent, with very gentle wave action, no current to speak of (at least not in the bay), and a fine sandy bottom. There are coral-encrusted rocks you can swim to; we snorkeled to them but did not see anything interesting. Mainly the rocks tend to mitigate the wave action, and they make the bay a pretty sight from higher vantages.

There are paths leading from the road to this beach from near the Marigot police station, from the Marigot hospital (but you will have to wade around a rock at the end) and from the old fishery harbor. Every path has steps cut into the area’s characteristic red clay, because the bay is sheltered. That means you’ll have to go up and over and down again from the old fishery. The easiest path begins near the police station. Just park there and ask for directions.

We’ve been told that it is not a good idea for us (we’re white Americans) to go there by ourselves because the men who have a hut on the beach “aren’t friendly”, but they seemed quite nice and friendly when we went there on a Sunday with our friend and neighbor (a woman and her three children). Perhaps they were disarmed by the tricks that our dog Ranger performed for them. Also, on Sunday the beach had other local families present, and both cricket and soccer games in progress. And the guys at the hut may have juices, soda, or even beer to sell, as well as their own CDs.

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OK, beach fans, back to the south we go this week, for a review of Scott’s Head beach. In fact, this beach is the southernmost in Dominica. As you can see in the photograph, taken from Scott’s Head itself looking back toward the village of Scott’s Head, the Atlantic Ocean is on the right and on the left a boatload of tourist SCUBA divers and snorkelers is departing Scott’s Head Bay,which opens to the Caribbean Sea.

On the narrow isthmus connecting Scott’s Head to the village of the same name, one can stand in the bay and easily throw a stone from the Caribbean to the Atlantic. The next landfall to the south is Martinique, about 35 miles away, and only faintly visible with binoculars in perfect conditions from the Head or the village’s highlands. To the north, only about 4 miles, is Roseau and one can easily see the city, the harbor, and visiting cruise ships.

Snorkeling in one of the main reasons to visit this beach, because the beach itself is small. To reach the beach, simply follow the main road. You can drive over the isthmus and park where the hill begins, then walk along the bay to the beach at the rock cliff face. It is a small sandy beach. The bottom straight out is also sandy. There’s a natural arch at the left end of the beach (photo below) that a snorkeler can easily pass through.

There’s always a small school of 3-inch-long shiny silver “hatchet fish” below the arch that make a pretty sight. Snorkel out from the beach (into the Bay; I’d beware of the Gulf Stream’s Martinique Channel current out toward the ocean) and you will see spires of coral and many beautiful tropical fish species. At the village’s rocky beach the snorkeler will be likely to spot beautiful multicolor eels, no two alike. You never know what will be in the Bay; we once saw a humpback whale enter the bay and stay and play for a day.

If you’re adventurous and have the time, inquire at the waterfront and you should find a boatman who, for a reasonable fee, will take you to a beach reachable only by boat (or daredevil cliff climbers) a short distance to the north. Be sure to bring some water and possible a snack with you; you’ll have nothing else until the boat returns.

Two more great things about Scott’s Head Beach are the wonderful place to eat, Roger’s, and to stay, Ocean View. You simply can’t get a better dinner anywhere in Dominica than at Roger’s and the bill won’t pinch your wallet. The Ocean View is clean and airy, and has outstanding gardens. It also has a lookout over the Martinique Channel. One evening we saw hundreds of spinner dolphins leaping as they traversed the channel just before sundown. By the way, a climb up Scott’s Head is fun. This is one of the few places in Dominica from which you can see both the sunrise and sunset from and into the sea.

I hesitate to conclude on a negative note, but Chris told me not to pull any punches in my reviews, so I’ll say this: The amount of litter at the beach is upsetting to me. I realize that Dominica has scant budget and resources for cleanup, and that cultural changes come about slowly, but I certainly hope that cleanup comes and with it ecological awareness – because Scott’s Head is a treasure of the Nature Island, and must be safeguarded and cherished. Also, if you drive to Scott’s Head, be aware that in places the main shore road is only one lane wide, and the road has several deep rain runoff dips in villages that must be crossed only at very low speed.

BTW-There is a spot on the main road on your way where, if you look carefully, you can see where a suspension bridge was built for the “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men’s Chest” film, and also the “Cannibal” village. It may be possible to ascent up the steps to the filming site.

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