Batalie and Syndicate

Roseau to Batali 26 April 2014

We spent Saturday visiting the Roseau market, the best we have seen so far in the Caribbean. The choice of tropical fruits and vegetables is wonderful. 

On Sunday (April 27), we sailed / motored to Batalie Beach, 17 miles to the north, a small bay with three or four moorings in deep water, a dinghy dock, a dive shop, an hotel, Sunset Bay and the best (!) Belgian Restaurant in Dominica, the Lobster Palace.

The whole is owned and operated by a genial Belgian couple. 

With a steady local following and many med students, the restaurant gives full credit to its name. The grilled lobster with garlic sauce nearly defeated us. 

The owner gave us a yachtie discount and brought us a big bag of papayas, mangoes and grapefruits, together with our digestif, a citrus infused rum reminiscent of limoncello.  

Enjoying such hospitality, we spent 3 relaxed days, returning each evening to explore the menu further...

Meanwhile, fishermen were seining ballyhoos nearby, and JP rowed out to get some (half a bucket for 2 beers, although the fishermen wanted to give them away) 
Half an hour of cleaning later, voila, la petite friture. If this starts sounding like a food blog, you should see our real food blog....

Seining for ballyhoo

We arranged an excursion with "Doctor Birdie" who specializes in ornithology excursions and is real knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of Dominica (and many other places). He is a fun guy who real enjoys nature and touring, and takes his vacations birdsighting in the Galapagos, South America, Alaska...

We set off in the early afternoon for the area called the Syndicate, an old orange plantation long converted to small farms and to national park, which has reverted to secondary growth forest.

Our first stop was Syndicate Falls, a short half an hour walk from the end of the agricultural road.

Armed with binoculars, the walk let us observe a dozen different birds plus the endemic gecko whilst getting upriver.





We also enjoyed getting to know better the vegetation, including the many different ferns, arborescent or otherwise.


Then, with a bird scope, we went into the national park to see the Dominica endemic parrots, the Redneck Amazon Parrot (no cars on blocks in front of his tree) and the national bird and flag emblem of Dominica, the Sisserou (population about 600) or Imperial Amazon Parrot. The Redneck obliged in several spots, but the Imperials we sighted hid behind the trees, half a mile away across a valley. 

We returned to Batali at night and prepared to move back to Roseau on April 30 to clear customs and make our way to Martinique.