Retreat-Holidays
2-island stay: Dominica and Antigua
10 nights on the "nature island" of Dominica plus
4 nights on Antigua, "the land of sea and sun"
(Please note that the Commonwealth of Dominica is NOT the same island as the much larger Dominican Republic!)
The garden of creation
We are excited about adding this retreat-holiday to our programme in 2009. Dominica richly deserves its title of "the nature island of the Caribbean": it boasts mountains, 365 rivers, waterfalls, rainforest, a boiling lake and wonderful tropical flowers as well as Caribbean beaches! You couldn't find a more appropriate setting for a retreat-holiday on the theme of "The Garden of Creation".
As if this wasn't enough, we are also going to spend three nights in Antigua on the outward leg of this trip - a chance to rest from the journey and go to two of the white-sand beaches there before flying on to Dominica for the rest of the retreat-holiday. We shall also be spending one night in Antigua on the way back. You can read about Antigua by following the link below, so these pages will concentrate on Dominica.
Dominica is an independent island nation situated between the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. It is approximately 47 kms long by 26km wide. The population is about 70,000. It is a relatively poor country and has not yet experienced the same influx of tourists as some of the other islands of the West Indies, despite being (many would say) the most beautiful of the lot. The local languages are a French-based Creole and English, and many of the place-names have French origins.
For more info on the island, see Dominica, by Paul Crask, published by Bradt - see www.bradtguides.com
For more info on our retreat-holiday there, follow the links at the bottom of this page.
All of the pictures below were taken in the grounds of the retreat house where we shall be staying:
This one is of a humming bird. They beat their wings up to 70 times per second - hence the blur in the photograph!
In March, the average daily maximum temperature is 31°C (87°F) at sea level; the average minimum is 20°C (68°F). As the retreat house is at an altitude of 1200 feet, temperatures are likely to be a little lower than that. February-April is the driest season of the year, but this is an island of lush vegetation and rainforest, so we must expect some rain too.
Holy Redeemer Retreat House
Dominica dates, price and flights
(Click on the map to enlarge it. The retreat centre is in Eggleston, in the south. On this map, it is just under the words "St George".)