Geography and directions are not my forte. In the days when I lived in UK and visited Dominica on "far too short" holidays, I had no idea where places were or the directions to some of the most common visitor attractions...errr...like Trafalgar Falls (don't laugh). Driving from Roseau to Portsmouth, my husband would get fed up with me asking "where are we again?" after every village we came too.
It seems ludicrous now, having been back for several years and knowing the island pretty well, but back then (I am soooo embarrassed to say) I did not know Mahaut from Marigot . I still get Dublanc and Dubique confused and I'm sure there must be two Savanne Paille's ;-)
Nowadays, I take driving all over for granted but I can so imagine what it must be like for a first time visitor landing at Melville Hall, picking up their hire vehicle, and being faced with the daunting task of finding their accomodation in somewhere like Wotten Waven or even Roseau.
Anyway, for an island so small, trust me, it's easy to get lost and driving "into" Roseau on the "out" bridge is not for the faint-hearted. So back then, as soon as we landed, I would search out a Sky Views pocket map. Not only were the maps essential for me to get around the island and save the sanity of my husband, but I was always drawn to the images or artwork of Dominican culture and landscape on the front cover. This was way before I came to live here permanently and discovered my passion for photography, so it never even crossed my mind that one day photographs of mine would be on the front cover of these maps.
I have kept a copy of each map since 2005, it's a good chronicle of things that have changed on the island. I just wish I had kept the maps from when I used to visit.
Things have improved a lot from all those years ago and many companies have sponsored much needed road signs but a map is still an essential item if you are new to the island or have not visited in a long time. So thank you Sky Views for literally putting Dominica "on the map" and my images too. :-)
11 years ago
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