There was a 7 a.m. minivan bus to Rosalie Bay on the east coast which I wanted to catch.
I got to the spot near the fruit and vegetable market in Roseau, from where I had been told the Rosalie minivans left. The first one to Rosalie would be at 1 pm I was told, when I enquired a bus driver heading in another direction and waiting for passengers. My source of information hadn't been too reliable!
So, I did what the bus driver told me. Catch the first bus to Canefield airport just outside town and then wait by the junction for the cross-island road, for either a bus or a hitch. It was only 10 minutes before a minivan heading to the Pont Casse roundabout in the centre of the island turned up. And then, twenty minutes later, I hopped out with a woman who sold food to tourists at Emerald Pool (a waterfall and natural pool in the rainforest). A few minutes by the side of the road, chatting, and the first car on the road to Rosalie stopped and picked us up. It was a fun journey, listening to reggae, chatting to the young driver and looking out at mountains and rainforest. Rosalie Bay was another twenty minutes and I got dropped off just across the bridge at the Grand Fond junction. I was surprised at how smoothly and quickly this journey went.
On the rugged east coast, I wanted to follow the coastal road south, to see village life, walk past banana plantations and trek down to deserted beaches.
Here is the view as I walked along.
On one path going down to a beach, I managed to photograph one of the large lizards.
I got down to one of the black sand beaches, which true to its name was secret and deserted. At the back of the beach, there were lots of sprouting coconuts.
Here was the beach. Waves washed onshore.
And there was a stream heading out to sea. I felt like I was in a scene from Robinson Crusoe.
