Roseau is Dominica's most important trade port, with roots going back to the 14th century. It's heavy French influence from the arrival of Europeans in the late 18th century is evident in the architecture and the teeny, tiny, illegible little streets.  The beautiful racket of daily life paired with super vibrant, gorgeous colors on the buildings is a mix of Caribbean and French that is totally charming. Oh and the breeze-in, breeze-out smells of cooking food on this island are incredible.

Roseau is excellent for walking around and sightseeing, which is primarily what I did in this town. Here, stand outside of this door and listen to the music.

What's curious is that this little port city has little to almost no green space. As in, it's a bit of a concrete jungle on an island. I did find a tiny spot of beach on the edge of town, only to be hugely disappointed. With all of this talk about the missing Malaysia flight 370 being lost in a sea of rubbish, I stood on the beach, stunned. There is plastic washing up everywhere.

This is definitely not the island to visit if you're a beach bum. That's not a criticism of the people here or the island - in fact, quite the opposite. Our oceans are littered with trash. The white sand beach islands have people constantly combing them, I noticed. Therefore, this is what everywhere in the Caribbean would look like if there was no one to pick up our U.S. garbage off their beach: 

It's simultaneously astonishing, disgusting and humbling to see so many American brands washing up on shore here. And, it makes the documentary work Chris Jordan is doing all the more relevant and pertinent. Careful, this one's a doozy:

All in all, Port of Roseau, Dominica, is a place for your nose and eyes to fall in love with. It's a place to discover exactly what aglobal impact of an individual means in a tangible way. There's a feeling of inclusiveness that is heavy on the spirit in this town, too. I encourage foodies to come gorge themselves here as well. It's a lovely place that will leave you feeling full.



Next stop: Deshais, Guadeloupe! 

For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr, if you're into the travel philosophy thing read my website, and to see a bunch of random and fun travel videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel!

Zero, zilch, none and no part of this post is sponsored by any of the above mentioned company or companies, nor would I ever present such a thing.