Cab to Mr. Nice's fruit stand?...and to buy soap?

[journey0504]

I will be going to Dominica the week of May 2-9th on Carnival Destiny. My mom and I are going on this cruise to be beach bums and neither of us are planning to be real adventerous on this vacation and have decided to spend our stop in Dominica primarly on the ship for a pool/spa kind of day. I do have one question though, how far is Mr. Nice's fruit stand from the ship port? I would love to visit his fruit stand and try some of the fresh fruits of the island. Will it be possible to just catch a cab to Mr. Nice's, try some fruit, buy some soap from the guy across the street and return to the ship? Does anyone have any idea how much a cab ride to do these things would be?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[gdries]

Certainly is possible. As I recall it is no more than a half hour each way. Find a cab driver, set the price in advance and you should be set to go. Avoid Reyno tours!

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[tedjazz]

Does anyone know how far is Mr. Nice's fruit stand from Emerald Pool? Is it on the way or way out of the way? We would like to do both of these on a tour or cab or whatever. I hear that these two attractions are the best to do here, unless you are into some serious hiking. Thanks for any info. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]
Oh yeah and what's the deal with the soap? [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

[crisp1]

You can do It's Nice and the pool or the waterfall, they're all on the southern part of the island. As far as cabs go, DO not talk to cab drivers or dispatchers right off the ship. Walk past the information booth, and go to your right to go thru the security gate. This is where you can negotiate a price. Better yet, Call Arthur Thomas, one great cabbie, and tell him the 'holy smokes' family sent you. His number is 767-449-1907 and his cell is 767-225-0019



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[journey0504]

As for the soap thing, I am not real sure because I have never been there, but on a board I have read several posts stating to be sure and by some soap when visiting Dominica. From what I have read it is all natural and locally manmade. They stated that is was the best soap they have ever used. One name that was listed was a Coalpot soap. One person also stated that the old man across from Mr. Nice's fruit stand sold locally made glycerin soap 6 bars for $5.00. I thought they may make unique gifts to be bring back for people (espeically if it good soap).

[luxlady]

Okay, here's the deal on the soap. Its just plain old bar soap. Colgate Palmolive has a factory there. The soap is called "Castile - Beauty Soap with Cocoa Butter." I bought a few bars to take home and give as gifts, but believe me - it is really nothing special. There is so little in Dominica, that I think they promote the soap from the factory as one thing they can point to. We walked around the town, and as far as I can determine there are very few locally made handicrafts. I did buy some nesting bowls, varnished and made from some hard wood.

Mr. Nice's store is just a roadside fruit stand. He is very nice, and will be happy to give you samples of pineapple, bananas, and other local fruits. You can also buy cinammon bark. Most tours stop there after the Emerald Pool and the Rain Forrest for a break.

Glenda Madrid

[10X]

Luxlady,
I think you bought the wrong stuff. Coalpot soap is the right name and it is made in Dominica. We bought several bars of it from a gift shop in town. It was $3 a bar, at the time, but we did not feel like looking all over the island to save a couple dollars. The soap smells terrible, as far as I'm concerned, but it is great stuff. We still have a little left from our 2003 trip and I'm sure we'll buy some more sometime. Here's a link for it.

[url="http://www.caribbeansupplies.com/shop/00714.html?id=CTmjh6ZW"]http://www.caribbeansupplies.com/shop/00714.html?id=CTmjh6ZW[/url]

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[crisp1]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by luxlady:

Mr. Nice's store is just a roadside fruit stand. He is very nice, and will be happy to give you samples of pineapple, bananas, and other local fruits. You can also buy cinammon bark. Most tours stop there after the Emerald Pool and the Rain Forrest for a break.

Glenda Madrid
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wouldn't call Mr Nice's stand 'just another fruit stand'. At the emerald pool they were trying to sell bananas for $1 a peice. At his stand, you can sample fresh bananas, coconut and coconut water, pineapple, mango, as well as the warm 'candy' among other fruits and nuts. It's up to you if you want to 'tip'. I find that very refreshing and 'nice' [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

There is another soap you can buy. It's a glycerin soap with aloe vera. Many of the locals sell it



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