Jungle Journal 5~ Winter 2008

"A Footprint of Hope" by Sam Raphael

A little over a year ago a small delegation of residents from the nearby village of Delices visited Jungle Bay to solicit assistance to help them build a home for special needs children from the surrounding communities. The delegation, which was made up of five persons, included an organic farmer who supplies our resort with pineapples, two retired (UK trained) social workers and a tour guide named Justin. They had banded together a few years earlier to take care of an indigent child who had been stricken with Cerebral Palsy at birth. Since words of good deeds travel fast in rural Dominica other orphaned special needs children and young adults began turning up on the doorstep of the small rented house turned shelter which they called the "House of Hope".

We took the request for assistance to the staff of Jungle Bay and together we decided that this was a unique opportunity to enable our company, our staff and our guests to leave a meaningful footprint that will last for many generations. In October of 2006, thanks by and large to the generosity of our guests, the Jungle Bay Fund made a major contribution of $53,000 EC ($20,000 US) dollars as seed monies for the construction of the new "House of Hope". The government of Dominica was impressed by the community's commitment and donated over one acre of land for the project. Several other local entities and community members have since made contributions and in November 2007 the fund-raising committee reached its first goal of $100,000EC dollars which was the benchmark to begin construction of the "special needs" home. We are proud to report that physical construction of the House of Hope commenced on December 2, 2007. The House of Hope should be completed within a year if funds are forthcoming. The total net projected cost of construction of the House of Hope is estimated at $500,000 EC or $200,000 US dollars. This figure takes into account that much of the labor is being donated by the people of the community.

The first day of construction was somewhat of a spectacle. Heskeith Alexander, our organic farmer, was on hand laying foundation blocks and whatever else that was needed; even at 70 the retired former Minister-of-Agriculture-turned farmer demonstrated that he is as strong as the young "upstarts". Social workers, Ms. Sorhaindo and Ruthina passed around water & refreshments and kept morale high with their wit. Tour guides, volunteers, paid trades-people and yours truly, all worked with pride, knowing that Darcy, "the twins" and our other special needs kids from Dominica's southeast will soon enjoy their new, modern home.

Jungle Bay does not usually directly ask friends and well wishers for assistance however many of you have expressed an interest in trading your carbon footprint for something positive so we think that this is an exceptional opportunity to allow all of us to give to a most worthy cause. Jungle Bay would like you to help us raise $100,000EC ($40,000US) dollars by April 30th 2008 to support the ongoing construction of the House of Hope. Jungle Bay and the people of Dominica's southeast would like to thank you for your encouragement and support. If you would like to contribute to this initiative please make your donation payable to either House of Hope or The Jungle Bay Community Fund (and indicate that it is for the House of Hope). For tax planning purposes, you can make a donation through a registered nonprofit foundation and have them forward the funds to the House of Hope. If you would like to contribute via wire transfer or credit card please send us an email and we will send you the details.

Glenda and I would like to express our gratitude to all of you for the privilege of enjoying our lifelong dream of owning and operating a successful wellness/adventure resort while getting to know wonderful people like yourselves. As a former social worker turned Yoga instructor, spa manager and wedding planner this project is right up Glenda's alley. I am just delighted to be part a small part of it. Thanks again for your indulgence; we will provide you with House of Hope updates in our future newsletters.

Find out more about how you can help with this important community project.

Awards & in the Media

• The February 2008 issue of bon appetit Magazine features Jungle Bay in the Where to Go Section, calling us "Good for the earth, great for you."
  
  
• Modern Bride Magazine features Jungle Bay in the February/March 2008 issue on the 'Honeymoon Hot List'.
  
  
• Men's Journal Magazine calls Jungle Bay one of the '4 Remote Oases in the Caribbean' in the February 2008 issue.
  
  
• The Caribbean pull-out of the February 2008 Travel World News Magazine features Jungle Bay's 'House of Hope' project.
  
  
• Scuba Diving Magazine awards Dominica with First Place in the Macro Life Category. Read the details of the Scuba Award here...
  
  
• The November 2007 issue of Traveler +Leisure Magazine listed Jungle Bay as being one of "Our 20 Favorite Green Hotels" Also, they named Jungle Bay a Finalist in their Global Vision Awards.

Dominica was officially ranked as the top sustainable island in the Caribbean and among the top ten in the world when National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinations (CSD) surveyed conditions on 111 selected islands and archipelagos in its fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey, which appears in the November/December 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Upcoming Events

February 4th & 5th, 2008
Dominica's Carnival, held at the traditional pre-lenten time, is a feast of calypso, shows and two exciting days of street jump-up.
For more information visit http://www.avirtualdominica.com/carnival.cfm

March 1-8:
Reconnect with your own true Nature: An Iyengar Yoga and Adventure Retreat with Laureen Rueckner
For more information: http://www.yogaclasses.net

March 8-15, 2008
Women travel with Peggy Coonley's Serendipity Travelers to discover the Caribbean's best kept secret.
Yoga, Adventure & Pure Bliss in Dominica.
For more information: http://www.serendipitytraveler.com/home/index.php/site/dominica/

May 16th to 23rd, 2008
Relaxation & Adventure! Nia Retreat to the Nature Island of Dominica
For more information: http://www.bodymindnow.com/retreats.html

May 24 - June 1, 2008
Adventure & Yoga in Dominica with TerraMar Adventures
For more information: http://terramaradventures.com/

See more Upcoming Events details on our online Calendar: http://www.junglebaydominica.com/calendar1.cfm

Papaya Soup Recipe provided by our very own chef Joanne Hilare
A favorite recipe of the Pavilion Restaurant!

Ingredients

4 cups stock (more may need to be added accordingly)

2 lbs papaya, peeled, de-seeded and cubed

3 pegs garlic

1 medium onion

Salt (if needed)

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients in a stock pot or sauce pan. Cook until tender. Blend or puree in blender or food processor. Reheat before serving. Add more stock if necessary and adjust salt as needed.

Makes 8-10 servings

Enjoy!!!

Jungle Treats by Glenda Raphael MT, Spa Manager

We've successfully combined nature with Dominican culture to bring you a new experience at Spa du Soleil. Inspired by the wisdom of our ancestors, we've added two new spa treatments using locally made organic products, offering an even more unique and authentic experience at Jungle Bay. In addition to our popular Jungle Bay Massage in which organic coconut oil made right here at the resort is massaged deeply into the skin, and our Spa du Soleil Foot Scrub made from brown sugar, coconut oil and bush honey, you now have the opportunity to try our Island Rub Body Massage and Pied Mol (Soft Feet) Foot and Leg Massage.

This Island Rub is a full body massage which uses a combination of Coconut, Castor and Bay Essential Oil, a formula used by the locals for centuries to help rid the body of muscular aches and joint pain. Coconut Oil is well known for its nutritional and medicinal benefits in keeping the skin healthy and Castor Oil is a rich emollient skin softener. Bay Essential Oil, distilled on the island using the traditional fire wood technique, blends well with Coconut and Castor Oil to effectively aid the body in healing and restoring balance.

Pied Mol, which translates into Soft Feet in the local French Patois dialect, a second language spoken by Dominicans, incorporates the use of cocoa fat or cocoa butter. This treatment begins with a relaxing foot soak followed by a massage of the legs and feet using locally made cocoa butter. The ultimate skin moisturizer directly from the cocoa bean, cocoa butter has outstanding soothing and healing properties and is easily absorbed into the skin making this the ideal solution for tired feet.

Both our organic Coconut Oil and Bay Essential Oil are available in our Gift Shop, offering you, the guest, an opportunity to take a taste of Spa du Soleil home with you. So tell your friends and be sure to request one of our exciting new spa treatments during your next stay with us at Jungle Bay. The spa attendants at Spa du Soleil are looking forward to pampering you! See you soon!

Discover Unparalleled Diving with our New Dive Package!

Our new Jungle Spa Adventure & DIVE! Package comes at the perfect time. Scuba Diving Magazine's 2008 Dive Awards named Dominica #1 for Macro Life (see awards section above for details.

Along with Nature Island Dive, Jungle Bay now offers you the opportunity to experience Dominica's unique, award-winning diving in the Soufriere Scotts Head Marine Reserve, on the leeward coast. Build your very own customized package so you can hike, dive, relax, and enjoy yourself.

• Details of the Jungle Spa Adenture & DIVE! Package
  
  
• INQUIRE here about your unique dive vacation, the Jungle Spa Adventure & DIVE! Package

Don't wait another minute to discover Dominica, above and below the water.

Art at Jungle Bay by Anthea Robinson

Jungle Bay continues to be Jungle Bay. Brainstorming on new ideas of improvement; we're tapping into all kinds of local resources, skills and valuable feedback from our extended Jungle Bay family. This is what sets Jungle Bay apart from other properties on island. It's a promise; you will be pleasantly surprised with each passing visit.

We've earned our mark in history and culture, evident in our grassroots tours we'll be sure to challenge you in a few hikes, living life like our local people, and entice you to relax in the therapeutic waters of our natural mineral springs while you sip our moonshine cocktails, (made from our local bush rum) .. wha-at a life!

Intricately woven in this fabric of culture with no constraints to bounds of creativity, is what artist Hilroy Fingal has embedded in your hearts in a memoir of Dominica's rich cultural heritage: "Dominique C'est La Vie" now hung at our Main Yoga and Conference Studio. This stunning 24 ft. long 4ft. high cultural and historic mural is alive with movement and rich Caribbean flavour.

Descriptive Painting:

On the far left; a local fisherman scene with nets unveiled give rise to mountains set high above a backdrop drizzled with local houses. The excitement and festivity of carnival 'sensay' and 'bwa bwa' on parade down streets aligned with gingerbread-type lattice two-storey wooden houses fill the air. A change in scenery brings to the forefront the local's traditional river washing. Then to the extreme right stands an historic building in Soufriere; one of the oldest Catholic Churches- recently renovated. The serenity of the church scene fades into the unbreakable sweat and toil of field slaves on sugar cane plantations and, old mills ooze heavy aromas of molasses - post the arrival of the Christopher Columbus Era and the onset of slavery. As the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria draw near the native indigenous Indians look on. Never again would Waitukubuli* and the island people be the same again. What a sunburst of energy and light! As with slavery so came the Africans, and the drums. Echoed from the east they brought forth a culture rich in music, brightly coloured attire and the most provocative courtship dances which they did well to dance their gloomy days away under the illusion of moonlight. They gave birth to a new island people with skin the colour of the soil, who produce sweet tropical fruit, sold in the market places for an entire nation.

From deep within the forest preserves the rare and prestigious Sisserou* soars and silently keeps watch.

Sensay: Rope Costume with Cow Horns
Bwa Bwa: person in costume on wooden stilts up to 10-20ft
Waitukubuli: Indigenous peoples' name for Dominica
Sisserou: National Bird Amazon Imperialis

Abroad for the Holidays by Teal Richards

Not everyone takes the lyrics to "I'll be home for Christmas" particularly seriously.Throughout the season Jungle Bay was completely jam-packed with wonderful holiday guests ranging from singles, to couples, to large family groups. One of the highlights of the season was the Christmas Day Dinner. The halls were decked, transforming the Yoga Studio into a festive delight. The eastern wall glowed with the addition of our new mural. Joanne and her kitchen team put out quite the spread, teasing the guest's taste buds with a variety of local and seasonal flavors, whole Baked Turkey, Fresh local Fish and Garlic Rosemary Roasted Chicken, just to name the entrees. No Christmas dinner would be complete with out a bit of entertainment, which was shared by Gelina Fontaine of Petite Savanne. After dinner, folks migrated to second floor where the Coconut Bar was open in full swing. DJ Sherman shared hopping island music as family and friends danced, conversed, and played in the activities center.

The holiday festivities did not stop on Christmas Day. New Years Eve brought an exciting night of dancing and celebrating to the Tropical Sounds Band. Again, the drinks from the Coconut Bar were flowing. The evening climaxed at midnight on the Yoga Veranda as guests and staff alike toasted with champagne and counted down to 2008 amongst the sound of Atlantic waves crashing against Jungle Bay's coast.

Creature Feature: Whatever Happened to the Black-capped Petrel on Dominica?
By David Dimitrie

In the early nineteenth century, the villagers of Dominica were frequently startled in the night by the sounds of "little devils" in the dark. The "little devils," as the villagers called them due to the belief that they were evil spirits in the dark, were actually Black-capped Petrels flying above in the night. But over recent decades, the night-time skies have fallen quiet to such sounds.

The Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) is a small seabird with a grey-brown back, and long, swooping wings of the same color. On the underside, the Black-capped Petrel is mainly white with a black patch around the eye and some darker markings on its under wing, often visible as it plunges to the ocean surface to feed on plankton. To avoid predation by gulls, the Black-capped Petrel evolved into a nocturnal breeder, returning to land only at night to visit breeding sites and only during the breeding season (from November to March). Choice habitat for burrows is restricted primarily to steep cliffs on mountainous terrain. In fact, the title of "little devil" actually translates from the local name "diablotin," and thus the name of Morne Diablotin was given to the mountain on which they bred in the heart of Dominica.

But the breeding sites of the Black-capped Petrel have since dwindled, and the suggestions that they still breed on the cliffs of Morn Diablotin today have vanished away. Historically, the species was actually once widespread throughout the West Indies, including Dominica. It is now far less common. Habitat loss, introduced predators, and direct human harvesting have all been cited as causes of their demise. In fact, for many years the entire species was thought to have become extinct, but a large colony was discovered in the mountains of Haiti in 1961. Current verified data now only places it on Hispaniola, though recent evidence has provoked thought that the Black-capped Petrel could still be found breeding in a select location on Dominica. Since 1982, small numbers have been observed flying close to the southeastern coast of the island and some even flying inland after dark near the coastal hills, including former breeding sites on Morne Verte and nearby Morne Fou.. But does this conclude a breeding colony still exists or has since developed since their once apparent end on the island.

Surveys were conducted recently this century on Morne Fou on the Petit Coulibri Estate (Natalia Collier et al., 2001). Methods used were aimed at attracting Black-capped Petrels to a suspected breeding area at night and at determining burrow occupancy of potential burrow sites. However, the searches proved unsuccessful and showed no signs of Black-capped Petrel breeding along the coast. Further investigation and surveying of local residents produced mixed results some reporting having heard the bird in the area while others explaining they have never seen nor heard it in the past several decades. Interestingly, several separate residents have even reported seeing the bird in the Grand Bay area.

Is the Black-capped Petrel no longer a part of the diverse avian fauna of Dominica? That question still remains. It could still very well remain on locations throughout the island, though adequate surveys for the species need to be conducted. The Black-capped Petrel is a critically endangered species and providing further searches for the species could shed light on what has happened to this mysterious bird. We may not know what is to come. However, this is currently the heart of the breeding season and who knows? You can always keep a listening ear to the night time sky at Jungle Bay and on Dominica and perhaps catch the sound of the "little devil's" eerie cries in the night.

New at Peggy's Lounge by Steven Titre and Teal Richards

Rosemary, Poivre Ginet, Mint, Spice, Lapset, Jah Daniel. Does it sound like you are attending Jungle Bay's Herbal Presentation?

Far from it these are the new flavors of our very own rum collection at Peggy's Lounge. Different local Petite Savvane distillers, dependant upon production, have been contracted to make the rum, add the herbs, and bottle it. For a little extra flare we have adorned a Jungle Bay label. Staying true to our environmental roots (recycle, reduce, re-use) each bottle the rum is kept in is a re-used alcohol bottle of some sort. This variance adds to the character and meaning of each bottle. Steven, one of our talented bartenders (of Jing Ping), suggests mixing the spice (cinnamon) rum with coke adding a fantastic aroma to the traditional Cuba Libre. Do not forget our especially high grade of Jah Daniel which can be mixed with just about anything (those who have visited us know its claim to fame). For extra kick, mix it with Ginger Wine. Teal's personal new favorite it a twist on the Starbuck's Creme De Mint Hot Chocolate (no Starbucks around here) Mint Cocoa Tea. It far surpasses Starbucks and makes you feel good as well.

Stevenson's Bush Tea Herbal Remedy--Soursop

Boil one cup of water and pour over one large fresh soursop leaf (or use a smaller leaf for a smaller individual such as a child).

Cover the water and let it steep until it is cool enough to drink.

Strain the water so no leaf is left. Drink and Enjoy!

This "Bush Tea" is commonly used as a relaxant and sleeping aide. It can also aid in cooling a fever.

Scholarship by Kirvin Bateau

Sue McMillan and John McDonald of Toronto, Ontario, Canada issued a challenge to all guests of Jungle Bay in the last issue of the Jungle Journal. They challenged you to meet their commitment of providing funding for a Dominican student to obtain their five-year secondary education. They asked that others take a risk, make an effort and have faith so that a Dominican student may pursue their dreams.

Thanks to Sue and John, Kaelyn Baron is going to get to pursue her dreams of higher education. Kaelyn is a twelve year old student of the Delices Primary School. She is the 5th child of Alsaint and Lucy Baron of Delices. The Barons earn a living by farming. They depend on their 4 acre farm (which is leased from Government) to grow plantains, bananas, potatoes and arrowroot to feed their family and educate their children. With the passage of Hurricane Dean, virtually all crops were destroyed, making it even more difficult to earn a living.

Kaelyn is a rather shy but industrious and diligent student. She takes her work seriously and performs well in every subject area. She also has many commendable leadership qualities. The Delices Primary School Principal, Mrs. Vanya Eloi, has no doubt that Kaelyn will continue to work hard in secondary school, and is deserving of the assistance her family will receive to ensure her completion of her secondary education. Both the Barons and Mrs. Eloi are extremely thankful for the assistance in this most worthy cause.

To read more about the history of this scholarship story click here.

If you have stayed at Jungle Bay please consider posting a testimonial on TripAdvisor.com and upload your photos to our album at flickr or Snapfish group. Add Jungle Bay to your groups on Myspace and Facebook as well!