November 10th – River Tubing in Dominica

The lush green mountains of Dominica provide plenty of rainfall that feeds 365 rivers on the island, so what better way to explore these rivers than climb onto an inner tube and float downstream. If that sounds relaxing, that doesn't give the full picture – the river we were tubing down was full of boulders and would alternate between gentle passages which you glide serenely down, and plunging rapids, where you are bounced around mercilessly by the white water.

On the gentle bits, we got to appreciate the lovely scenery as we floated down a deep gorge overhung with vines and ferns, although when the water got rough, all you were doing was concentrating on where the next boulder was (even though you had absolutely no control over where the water would take you.

This was a really enjoyable trip that alternated between relaxation and exhilaration – everyone agreed that they were glad to have come through unscathed, but would have wanted to do it all over again if they could.