Dominica - A Slice of Paradise in the Caribbean

The last port during our Semester at Sea adventure was the untouched island of Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic.  Dominica is a mountainous island with only 70,000 people, mostly descended from African slaves brought to Venezuela.  This small island gained its independence from Britain in 1978 and is within eyesight of Guadeloupe and Martinique. 

We only had two days to enjoy Dominica’s paradise.   Our first day was spent in hardhats, lifejackets and inner tubes as we tried to avoid rocks and other obstacles while cascading down a fabulous river where scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean had been filmed.  We enjoyed the experience – kids too – and still had time to swim under waterfalls and explore the quaint capital of Roseau.     

The second day, we snorkeled in Champagne Bay, where bubbles float up from the seabed and eels and octopus play.  We also watched dolphins dance beneath the sea during our whale and dolphin excursion (no whales that day—but we saw plenty from the ship).

While Dominica was a beautiful and welcoming place filled with adventure, our time there took a sudden turn and will forever also be associated with the tragic death of one of the students, Casey Shulman, in a boating accident.  In one short afternoon, the mood of the ship switched from celebrating our last port to a sense of bewilderment and loss.  We all spent time thinking about the fragility of life and comforting the students who were close to Casey and at the accident scene.  Luke and Ryan were among those hurt and confused since it was the first time they had lost a friend. 

In 2009, as on most voyages, the last few days of the voyage focused on reflections about the trip and the things that we had all shared through the course of three months.  It was a time of excitement looking forward to reuniting with old friends and family and a time of sadness saying goodbye to new friends.  This time we shifted between those usual emotions and grieving for the loss of this beautiful young woman.  The community on board was unbelievable as the tragedy was handled with grace, respect and love.  The deep emotion, maturity and even humor which Casey’s friends brought to her memorial service in their speeches and songs demonstrated just how remarkable Casey and her fellow students are.  They managed something rare – to celebrate the life AND mourn the passing of one taken from us too young.  Our hearts go out to Casey’s family in a difficult time.  Give your kids an extra hug today.