A helicopter buzzes back and forth near Trafalgar Falls, one of Dominica’s prized natural sights. It’s putting in a shift to help build a cable car that will whisk tourists over the island’s Boiling Lake – a spectacle which normally requires a three-hour hike.
Meanwhile, work continues on a new international airport (built by the Chinese and paid for via a ‘citizenship by investment’ programme), which may or may not tempt the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to fly direct.
In the capital, Roseau, the government is keen to increase the number of cruise ships docking daily from October to April.
And what used to be known as Princess Margaret Hospital (Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonised) is now called the Dominica China Friendship Hospital.
Change is afoot on this beautiful outpost, which brands itself as the ‘nature island’ – although cable cars, international airports, Chinese investment and a fleet of cruise ships coming and going might not sound like the most obvious gifts of nature.
There are those who worry that Dominica may not be heading in the best possible direction, and that any moves towards mass tourism will backfire.
‘We need to play to our strengths and give people an experience that they can’t find anywhere else in the Caribbean,’ says Dr Lennox Honychurch, 71, a conservationist and undisputed authority on the island’s history and its place in the wider world.
Those strengths are awesome. Dominica (pronounced Dom-in-ee-ca and not to be confused with the Dominican Republic – although many people do) is roughly the same size as Barbados but with half as many people.
Covert comfort: On a visit to Dominica, Mark Palmer checks into Secret Bay resort (pictured)
Baywatch: Secret Bay boasts uninterrupted views across the Caribbean Sea. It’s ‘truly special’, says Mark
It has a higher concentration of volcanoes per land mass than any other country in the world, there’s a resident sperm whale population, some 365 rivers, dramatic waterfalls, elaborate reef systems and the bird life is such that one morning when we hook up with Dr Birdy – aka Bertrand Jno Baptiste – we spot all four varieties of hummingbird.
Then, with the help of Dr Birdy’s telescope, we see the endangered imperial parrot, also known as the sisserou.
Dominica’s landscape is more lush, more verdant, than any other Caribbean island. During our trek deep into the forest around the base of Morne Diablotin, the island’s highest mountain (which attracted both George V and Theodore Roosevelt), we don’t see another soul.
That might change once the new airport opens (scheduled for 2026), but the brutal truth is that Dominica is not geared up for mass tourism – and its appeal is precisely that it’s not a fly-and-flop destination.
You come here because it’s different. You come here because you don’t need Whispering Angel rosé at London prices. You come here to look and learn – and discover that the Dominicans are quieter, less confident than their better-known Caribbean neighbours. But there’s a charm in that, too.
The place to stay is Secret Bay, just ten minutes south of Portsmouth on the north-west coast, a project which has bought into the ‘nature island’ ethos, added a twist of luxury and come up with something truly special.
It’s the creation of entrepreneur Gregor Nassief, whose grandfather fled Lebanon a century ago, settled in Dominica and began selling clothes and other household items door-to-door.
As a child, Gregor used to cycle with his brothers in the woods where Secret Bay now has 22 villas cleverly hidden among the trees. All are built on stilts and have outside kitchens and fridges that miraculously get filled every day with all manner of goodies.
‘Dominica’s landscape is more lush, more verdant, than any other Caribbean island,’ writes Mark. Above, the impressive Trafalgar Falls
Marks visits Red Rocks (pictured), one of Dominica’s natural wonders
Above, a purple-throated carib hummingbird, the largest variety on the island
There are two beaches. One is below the spa and has a pool, bar and various water sports (although nothing as crass as noisy jet skis), and the other is only accessible to those who swim or take a kayak.
There are four dining options, including two in a brand new building called Bwa Dann (bay leaf in Creole), where there’s also an art gallery, kombucha brewery and shop.
At the top-notch Terrezza restaurant there are no actual menus – instead, you’re offered whatever the French chef decides to conjure up and, frankly, he’s a culinary magician.
Exploration is what Dominica is all about – so we hire a car, stopping regularly to marinate in hot sulphur springs, potter in villages where the multi-coloured wooden houses match the vivid wildflowers, and marvel at Red Rocks, an extraordinary landscape of weatherworn cliffs that look down on deserted beaches.
The east coast is home to the Kalinago Territory, where the indigenous people of Dominica – who came originally from South America – occupy some 4,000 acres of land and do their utmost to preserve a distinctive identity.
The country’s current president is the first woman and the first Kalinago to hold the post.
We come to love Portsmouth. More shabby than chic, it was once a major seaport and the British named it the capital in 1765, but the swamplands to the north and south resulted in too many cases of malaria and yellow fever, so Roseau took over three years later.
Cabrits National Park, just outside the town, is where you’ll find the partially restored and still mighty 18th Century Fort Shirley garrison. It’s a gentle climb up to the fort, from where there are commanding views back down the coast.
I can just about make out Secret Bay in the distance, embodying so much of what’s unique about this fascinating island. Let’s hope the Chinese aren’t eyeing it up, too.
