Caribbean Recipes | Dominica Photos | Classified Ads | Search Jobs | Advertise here!

Purely Dominica

Purely Dominica


Have you ever wondered about what you should wear when you’ll come to Dominica? It’s not as easy question to answer as it may look to some of the newcomers.

Apparently, Dominica is a tropical island… So we got to grab our swimsuits and beach outfits, right? Not exactly. Won’t be enough. Think about it: An island is never all the coastline. Dominica does have beautiful and fine beaches of volcanic and white sand, but it also has mountains, towns, waterfalls, hiking tracks… This affects the choice of clothes.

Do pack active wear. It’ll surely come in handy, because Dominica is the right place for ecotourism and activities. The latter include diving and swimming, too, but these are not the only ones which you would go to Dominica for. Of course, you don’t have to miss them, but take them as additional fun.

What many people go to Dominica for is the hiking. There are good tracks and beautiful landscapes to explore. Imagine: Three hundred miles on feet… That is the common length of the tracks. So pay attention to your footgear, even if you’re not a big fan of hiking. Hiking boots will do the trick; they are good both on dirt and rocks.

scottshead, DominicaPhoto by Seth Sawyers via flickr

Tracks and landscapes… Is there anything else important? It wouldn’t be honest of me to omit the challenges. Such things as rainfalls, the sun radiation and the possible cold weather are all worth of consideration.

If you happen to be in the mountains during the rains, you are definitely going to discover what tropical heavy rainfall is. I don’t suppose you want to take forced baths, so you better have a slicker or a raincoat. An umbrella is a little bit worse, because helps less and you’ll have to hold it all the time. Plus, a tourist with an umbrella looks strange in the tropical forest.

The sun is another challenge. Beware. Its delusive tenderness may cause lots of problems, if you don’t take steps. Doesn’t matter where exactly you are, as long as you are exposed to its rays, so be careful. Sunglasses and hats have to become your best friends.

As for the cold weather, it might make a real problem. An average tourist thinks the tropical climate means eternal warm weather and most comfortable temperatures. The truth is this just can’t last. Pack your jackets, sweaters and long pants, if you do not intend to chatter every night.

Clothing is an important part of any country’s culture. There is some kind of public dress code in Dominica, and it says no beach clothes in when public (except for beaches and pools). It’s not like those people have something against that kind of clothing, they don’t just consider it enough. You shouldn’t wear outstandingly revealing clothes in restaurants, shops and on the streets; these are not beaches. And take into account there are no beaches for naturists.

That’s it. Active wear, beach clothing, warm clothing, casual wear, some protection of the sun and rain–that’ll do it. These make the necessary baggage, but you may take anything else if you want to.

Share this Dominica article with your friends:

Facebook Twitter Google Buzz Google Bookmarks Digg Reddit delicious Technorati Slashdot Yahoo My Web

Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Related Post

Photo by:Özgür Donmaz

Given high fuel prices all round the world, more and more airlines are charging extra to check a second piece of baggage, packing light has become a necessity – well unless you have your own plane.

Many of the international airlines (AirTran, American Airlines, Northwest, Delta, US Airways, United) are now requiring passengers to pay fee of US$25.00 if they can’t cram all their belongings into one bay to check. Those were the days when you could travel with 2-3 pieces of luggage, well it’s still possible but just be prepared to pay the price.

If you’re like me “a poor traveler” and you just hate paying more- well you’re in luck. I found a really great website called onebage.com where this packing expect says it is possible to put all your clothes, shoes, books and hairdryers 🙂 into on bag to check.

Doug Dyment of onebag.com is dedicated to the art of traveling light, and says that the key is to make a list in advance of what to pack and stick with it. He has developed a master list over the years that people can use as a starting point for creating their own.

Dyment motto is – “If it’s not on your list, it shouldn’t be in your bag.”

Many times I’ve traveled with stuff in my bags that I never use or wasn’t needed. I think what happens with people is that they pack before their trip and that packing activity consist of mostly talking to yourself and saying – well I might need this and I might need that and what if I invited to a party? And that’s death to light packing, trust me on that one.

He advises people to think of what their lists look like well before a trip — literally writing it down and then checking off one item at a time.

Two big tricks Dyment outlined for packing a bag correctly: Don’t let any space go unused, and wrap your clothes in bundles.

For example if you’re packing a pair of dress shoes, don’t forget there’s a lot of space inside those shoes that you can use to pack some underwear. When it come to clothing, travelers usually fold their clothes individually, stack them, and force them in the suitcase are making a huge mistake.

As an alternative, he suggests using a technique called bundle wrapping (never heard of it before); apparently it keeps clothes from getting wrinkled and takes up less space. Take a look at the diagram.

Diagram by:Doug Dyment

I know there will always be some wise-ass out there saying – how do you bundle warp shoes. Of course, you can’t bundle wrap shoes, the bulkiest item.

Suggestion:It’s better to just take one pair of shoes. A lot of shoes today are both casual and dressy looking at the same time. For women, may I suggest just taking a pair of dressy sandals and low heels – if you can control yourself? 😀

Share this Dominica article with your friends:

Facebook Twitter Google Buzz Google Bookmarks Digg Reddit delicious Technorati Slashdot Yahoo My Web

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related Post




Business Key Top Sites