Each day, we think we’ve hit the pinnacle of vacation. And each day, we see something new and different. The whole experience hiking to Boiling Lake was great! I haven’t had a good climb like that since before Talli was born. Beautiful (yet different) rain forest again; we saw a parrot close up, and it was definitely the very rare sisserou. Down a steep valley to the Breakfast River, up the steep other side, up over a big ridge with a beautiful view at the top.
Down an incredibly steep ravine into the Valley of Desolation. Volcanic vents were everywhere; steam, heat, and smell of sulphur.
Up and over another ridge, than up to the top and Boiling Lake.
It’s full again, after emptying Christmas Eve unexpectedly. The water is black, with just one rolling boil in the middle. Evidently, after it’s been boiling for awhile longer, it will turn a milky greyish white, and boil in many places. On the way back, we stopped in a hot stream with a little waterfall, and that felt GREAT!
Our guide was Julius. Very nice-lived in England for years working on an automotive assembly line. At first, he was frustrating; seems to have read “The Tortoise and the Hare” many times, always identifying with the tortoise! The way in was S-L-O-O-O-O-O-O-W-W-W-W-W. Very slow stride, lots of breaks to point everything out. He had a weird whistle he did the whole time while walking. I finally got used to his speech pattern: “Young Lady. Do you see that tree up there?” Long pause. Then he’d tell us about the tree. We just settled in and enjoyed it. Evidently he was much more used to traditional gender roles. Elaine’s doing all the driving, since the roads are so twisty, so she won’t get car sick. When we loaded up the car and she got in the driver’s side, he said, “Oh!” When we got to the trailhead, I realized I’d left the rechargeable batteries back at the cabins in the recharger. We found some disposals in the backpack, and Elaine put them in. “Did you put them in the right way?” Julius asked. As we walked down the trail, he’d start by saying, “Young lady. How are you doing?” And I finally said, “Look, she’s fine, it’s ME you have to worry about!”
The vindication was as we drove home. A car came flying around a bend, halfway in our lane. Elaine honked and calmly moved over, and Julius said, “The young lady can take care of her
self!”
TiTou Gorge at the end of our hike was just amazing. You swim up a narrow ravine, sometimes so narrow you can spread your arms out and touch both sides. But the cliffs go up 40 feet above your head! We swam up to a waterfall, and it was just heavenly-one of the coolest places I’ve ever been.
Great dinner, as usual, and we talked with Ron and Jean a long time afterward, about Dominica, the States, cohousing, community living, and their story. Very enjoyable conversation!