 |
| The cottage Julie and I stayed in |
 |
| The three missionaries from Omaha, Nebraska! |
 |
| This is Dom, the owner of the island |
It's very unfortunate, but Dom passed away on May 8th (just 2.5 weeks after our very enjoyable stay with him). All three of us were very saddened when we received the news.
Dom was an amazing man. So simple and so humble. He had a very generous heart, inviting folks to visit him and enjoy his island. He was so entertaining, with incredible true stories of his life. He was a great cook, making each of our meals a work of art. He told me so many things about the various birds on the island; he knew not only their common names, but their scientific names, as well.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet him and to stay on his wonderful island!
 |
| Dom cooking over a wood fire |
 |
| You can see Dom has both Julie and I grinning; it's a natural talent of his |
 |
| I think a person could sit and listen to Dom's stories for hours. We sure did. |
 |
| Dom uses a "torch" so we could see what we scooped up in the near dark |
 |
| Dom welcomes more guests as they arrive. |
 |
| Dominc Symes - a great host and a great guy! |
8 comments:
What a special man. Loved the island, but I think you said it best, Deb, that at least half the experience there is Dom himself. He is missed. -ry
I just happened upon this post when looking for pictures for a presentation I'm giving.
I am so sorry to hear this news about Dom. We spent some time on Banda a few years ago while researching snails (of all things!) for an undergraduate project. The subject seemed to amuse Dom and I have some wonderful memories of Banda. You are right that Dom made the island the experience that it was.
Hazel
Hazel, were you studying snails in relation to Bilharzia?
No, that would have been more useful I suspect but we were looking at the polymorphism of the shell colour/pattern of land snails. No one would have found it so funny if it had been bilharzia research...
Do you know what happened to Dom. I passed the news on to the couple I travelled there with and they too are sad to hear that there is no longer a Dom to go and visit in the middle of the lake!
Hazel
Dom was visiting a friend of his in Kampala. They were preparing to go out for dinner, when he suffered an aneurysm. I guess he died quickly.
Thank you for letting me (and many others) know. I hope banda remains a place where we can all visit as dom wanted and that someone finishes his castle :) Xxx
Dom's friend, Alex, will likely continue to run the place for the foreseeable future.
His "castle" seemed to be pretty much finished. His current project - when we were there - was the new bar and dining area. It was almost finished and ready to be occupied and used.
I'm glad Alex is able and willing to carry it on without Dom. I may have to return if only to see the castle - it had rubble floors when we were there (the only 'done' bit was a huge table and nice hand rails!)
Post a Comment