The best of Rosalie Bay

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After kicking off our honeymoon with a few super relaxing days in Saint Lucia, we headed over to Dominica for a bit of adventure. We started our trip at Rosalie Bay, which was such a wonderful welcome to the island. Located on the island’s wild Atlantic coast and in the heart of the rainforest, it’s lush and green and full of outdoor activities. Although we loved the luxurious vibes and the fact that we had absolutely zero things scheduled in Saint Lucia, it was nice to be somewhere with a few more things to do and a bit more of an emphasis on wellness. Dominica in general, and particularly Rosalie Bay, isn’t really a place where people go to kick back with an umbrella drink all day: it’s much more of a hiker’s paradise! That said, here are a few of our favorite parts of our stay there:

Ok, ok, I know I just said it wasn’t a place for umbrella drinks BUT I have to admit that we were obsessed with this Belle Coconut concoction! Made of coconut rum, coconut water and coconut milk, it was so refreshing when we got back from a hike.And one of our favorite hikes of the trip was to Dernier Falls. It’s walkable from the resort, although it does involve about a 45-minute fairly steep walk up to the village of Grand Fond and then a bit of adventure trying to figure out where exactly the trailhead is and then how to stay on the not super well-maintained and very steep path that goes down to the falls and the pool. One thing we’re also grateful for: the recommendation to take a walking stick! Neither of us usually use one, but it was helpful for traction on some of the slippery parts of the trail. That said: we didn’t see one other person on the trail or at the falls. It was incredible to have such a beautiful spot all to ourselves. I loved all of these colorful houses tucked into the village of Grand Fond……and the goats we spotted on the side of the road! We didn’t get to spend as much time swimming at the waterfall as we would have liked because we scheduled ourselves an afternoon massage, and got back to the resort just in the nick of time for it–but oh my gosh, that might be the best trick! It’d been a while since either of us had hiked inclines like that (I think it was a total of 145 floors, according to David’s Apple watch!), and getting our calves massaged immediately after was heaven. Side note: the spa looks out over the river, just like in the photo above: super relaxing! Without a doubt, one of the best parts of the resort is Judy! She’s originally from New Hampshire, but moved down to Dominica and Saint Lucia to work in the Peace Corps and never left.I originally went to a yoga class with her on the first morning of our stay (which I highly recommend), and her energy and enthusiasm was absolutely infectious–so much so that I convinced David to join me on a tour of the property with her to learn about all the plants that morning! It was fascinating to see all of the different native plants that are thriving on the property and to hear how they’re used in food and medicine. One of my favorites was smelling flowers and leaves from the ylang-ylang tree: it really does smell just like Chanel No 5! To be fair, David got a bit of a sunburn in Saint Lucia so he was up for it as long as she covered off on some natural sunburn cures. Luckily, she did show us where the aloe plant was and encouraged him to take as much as he needed.

Another cool part about Rosalie Bay is how they have the activities organized: there are different outings planned and scheduled every day, which makes it really easy to explore the island (aka you get an activity, a driver and a guide all in one reasonable fee). We opted to do an activity on Tuesday, which was the day for Middleham Falls and Freshwater Lake–and I’m so glad we did! Middleham Falls is the tallest waterfall on the island, and it was absolutely gorgeous.

The hike was way easier and way better marked than Dernier, which was nice–especially since our calves were still burning from the day before! Our guide also took us on a mini detour through the capital city of Roseau to show us where Hurricane David CRUSHED a school bus back in the late 1970s. Luckily no one was on the bus when it happened, and it’s still there today–so nutty! Another pretty neat thing about the resort is the stone labyrinth: it takes about 30 minutes to complete and it’s wonderfully meditative. I did it a few mornings while David slept in, and it was such a nice way to start the day. Rosalie Bay is best known as being the beach where turtles come to lay their eggs in mid to late March. I had my fingers crossed that they would come a little bit early this year so that we could see the baby turtles, but no such luck. Wouldn’t that be incredible though? This beach was right outside our room, I can’t even imagine! That said, the Atlantic is pretty choppy and crazy over here, so it’s not really a beach that you can swim in–you have to go to the Caribbean side of the island for that. Overall, we loved our time at Rosalie Bay and would definitely recommend it if you want a bit more of an active and healthy time on the island. It’d be great for families with kids or yoga retreats too! The whole vibe is super laid-back, and it felt like a really great base to explore the many hikes that the island has to offer.