“Never ruin a good story with the truth,” says Pat Kosick. “I’d rather be a liar than a bore.”
While that may not be entirely true, it is indicative of the former boat captain’s embrace of life.
Kosick is anything but a bore, as his adventures reveal. The truth is far more interesting than any story even he could fabricate – it is the odyssey he and his wife, Staci, took three years ago that found them taming an acre and a half of rain forest into a rough-hewn jungle retreat deep in the mountains of Dominica, today known as “Roots, The Natural Place to Stay.”
Great job pat and staci.. I am very proud of your success…great jobs kalinagos for helping them, however, I must say I was very dissapointed to see the way Pat and Stacy and Nora and Daniel blocked the road to the river. The natives can no longer enjoy a river bath. That is not fair, and that is not nice, that is being ungrateful to the kalinagos who helped you and hte customs officer who advised you to purchase land in dominica and that is not respect. The road to the river should be a public road.
We are pleading with you to please unblock the road to the river .. we used to enjoy the rivers long before you heard about our beautiful island…. the river should not be a private commercial river but it is definitley public.. you guys are not the owner of the river you own the land but not the river.. do what is right and unblock the river roads please
I’m sorry but you must have us confused with someone else. We are NOT blocking any river and we are not close to Nora and Daniel (the area you are talking about). We are up by the Bamboo River and in fact have begged and pleaded with everybody to help us to keep our road open and accessible. Pat and our friend Charlie have been out there recently with shovels clearing away the landslides to keep our river /road accessible. We are located on a farm road which continues a few miles past us and is in NO way blocked. come take a river bath if you like. It’s LOVELY up here!
I am in agreement with riverrose. It is just not fair for these foriegn people to come into our country and take full control of our rivers. We should be allowed to walk freely into our rivers that we were blessed with
We agree with your statement that people (foreign or local) should use the rivers as their own. That’s why we at Roots Jungle Retreat have taken great pains to preserve our natural beauty. We are located along the Bamboo river but we do not draw from it as we collect rainwater in cisterns. We went to great trouble and expense to import state of the art compost toilets to assure no pollution enters the river. We are a true eco lodge and appreciate your concerns and comments.
thats what we need in dominica more of those cozy cottages to just get away! great job.
Congrats to both of you! I look forward to visiting.
Many foreigners have tried to settle in DA or run a little business in the tourism sector.
Plenty have failed.
Several reasons :
1- unsecurity , roberries, attacks of tourists …
2- immigration and security services harassing visitors and treating them like offenders
3- political threat caused by DA relationships with leftist dictatorships
4- inconsistency between the so called “nature island” and the reality ( wild garbage dump, beer and juices bottles thrown anywhere, plastic bags, cars rottening by the road,…)
I do hope these issues will be seriously addressed one day, so that DA can effectively become an “Eden on earth”
Season greetings to all
If it is sooo great in Dominica, then why are the Kosicks selling? Check the link below:
http://www.viviun.com/AD-163354/
Remember his own words :
“Never ruin a good story with the truth,” says Pat Kosick. “I’d rather be a liar than a bore.”
Things that make you go “Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm”
Roots Jungle Retreat is currently not for sale.
Roots Jungle Retreat is NOT for sale. Storytelling is different than doing business. Pat is a storyteller and has many fans from his chartering years in the Virgin Islands. People love his stories. He’s also one of the most HONEST men you will meet. Hopefully you will get a chance some day but it’s good that you say hmmmm when new people come in to your country. You should do that. Don’t make a final decision until you get to know them.
Much love to u guys, Great island with lots of space lots of investors. Forget about the foreign thing/label. Most of those commenting here are away from DA as foreigners anyway. Good luck for 2012.
I meant to say ‘lots of space “for” lots of investors…
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK WHICH YOU HAVE STARTED AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO..OH! THOUGH I LIVE IN THE USA I LOVE TO BE WELL INFORMED OF THE BEAUTY OF MY ISLAND AND THE HOSPITALITY IT AFFORDS.DOMINICAN LETS LOVE OUR COUNTRY AND BE MORE PATRIOTIC..GOD BLESS THE NATURE ISLE.
How come only jungle people come Dominica? Why don’t we get big investors like Warren Buffet or Prince Alwaleed?
Because Jesus Christ was born in a manger and he was the most important man of all.
Great story indeed,Nature at it’s best, thank you so much Staci, can’t wait to visit ROOTS cause am a Nature lover my self. all of God’s blessing be unto you.
I am proud of you Pat. I am proud of you Staci. Very proud. You worked very hard and you are being rewarded. What an inspiration you are. Dominica would have been the poorer if you had gone on to another island. May God continue to bless you most abundantly.
Indeed….we Dominicans abroad do ponder on the treasure we have left behind in Dominica and though my body is in America, my heart remains in Dominica. I thank you Pat and Staci for making my home yours and hopefully it will inspire those on the Island who think the grass is greener on the other side to realize that Dominica is indeed a true gem. I refuse to allow anyone to criticize my Island and I embrace those who love it and call it home.
Amen sister!
Hi pat and staci,I live in toronto(yeah,I know what you’re gonna say)but the next time I visit home,i will make it my duty to pay you guys a visit & sip on some soca rum..and thank you for putting a positive spin(out there) on how beautiful & blessed Dominica is..cheers!!
Their Trip Advisor rating is as good as any I’ve seen on the net … The ‘best practice’ they are using should be learned and replicated … Pay them for the knowledge… and for goodness sake … we should encourage them and help them any way we can…. They point the way way should be looking to go.
hah!!!! no wonder the landslides happening… though i appreciate that our lovely isle can be an eden to us and foreigners…. such posts as “it is the odyssey he and his wife, Staci, took three years ago that found them taming an acre and a half of rain forest into a rough-hewn jungle retreat deep in the mountains of Dominica” should be disturbing to us and any lover of nature…
You must be a very disturbed individual.
please come see our eco lodge before you criticize. We have told we have the smallest footprint of any eco lodge in Dominica. We are off the grid, we work closely with the Central Forest Reserve, No hard wood trees have been removed from our property, we have planted mahogeny trees and we are definately not turning the rainforest into a concrete jungle. We reside in zion surrounded with lovely neighbors and we are trying to bring to…not take from…Dominica!
Pat,
Ignore some of these folks on here like mouth of the south. His name alone that should tell you what kind of person that there. All you probably taking better care of DA than them Dominicans.
Side note: My uncle lives in Zion been there since he turned dread a longtime ago. He loves his garden and herbs
up there. Enjoy yourself!
Where is Zion located on DA?
Mouth, I seriously hope you take up this challenge and go and see & experience the place. After that, report to us again so we can can evaluate your comments with a balanced mind. Thank you.
Both he and Traci are probably reading you comment(I hope not) and from your blurtings on every story, see you as the exception, just a fly on DNO’s wall.
agreed dont want dominica turning into another st lucia…
Mouth of the south are your really from the south of Dominica or from some racist southern part of America. Learn to be patriotic and less disturbed.
Where were you when some farmers (few) turned portions of the deep forest into heavily fertilized banana plantations!?! Ever seen a banana field feet from a river?
A typical example of the level of ignorance that holds the country behind. YIKES!
Dominica the Nature Isle of the Caribbean!! No doubt..We are a blessed Island and most of us fail to realize that!!
I tip my heart to the Kosicks…make yourself at home, this is your home
Lovely Dominica…
Well the customs officer is certainly Domiican. We hear the names of the bad ones so DNO heres a challenge – find out the name of the customs officer in question and lets give him the credit and his flowers.
Thanks for making Dominica your choice. We do hope that you enjoy it as we are looking forward to enjoying your business as well. All the best!
Thank you Mr Kosic and your wife, you are welcomed to stay as long as you wish. Enjoy nature to its best.
Best place on earth!
Indeed, the best place on earth. Let’s keep it that way. Stop throwing bottles and KFC boxes on the side of the road. Stop chopping trees down for no good reason. Stop throwing batteries and energy saving light bulbs that contain mercury and PCB’s in the regular trash. Buses and trucks stop leaving a big black soot trail behind when you step on the gas—get a tune-up! We can all help a little.
PS. And, dear Govt., as a new year’s resolution start regulating those roadside “garages” and dumps, which are not only unsightly but a health hazard!!