Saturday 7 April: Hiking day today. We plan to take the trail up to the Boiling Lake. Reputedly 3 hours up 3 hours back, a total of 14 miles. Alarm goes at 06:30 to give us time to prepare food and everything we need. We are a bit concerned at the remoteness so we have first aid kit, VHF, torch, spare shoes (after our last experience), waterproofs, duck tape, etc etc! 2 small rucksacks full.
At 9am we are at the trail head ready to go. There is one local there who is asking us if we want a guide? He wants US$40 per person. But we prefer to be by ourselves and that price is a silly price to us. But as we get ready he kind of taunts us with “the trail is a problem after hurricane Maria” … “the Valley of Desolation can be dangerous” etc. Eventually, he asks how much we are prepared to pay. Glen says $50, he counters with $55 and the deal is struck. Looks like we will have a guide after all, Cassem. And we are glad we did!
Glen’s hiking trainers fell apart during the last hike, so we are both wearing our slip-on Sketchers which we normally use when flying, for comfort. Not really designed for 6 hour hikes through jungle and over boiling mud! But that’s all we have.
The trail is immediately rather wet and at first we try to keep our shoes dry as the going is gentle and easy. They have done a tremendous amount of work to clear all the fallen trees and rebuild the wooden walk ways. It’s all very clear where the trail goes. We are thinking “guide? Do we really need one?” But Cassem explains to us that this part is like a walk in the park. Later it gets tough. He does spend some time to explain the different types of threes, birds and flowers, but then generally goes quiet. Good, that’s the way we like it. We didn’t want a chatterbox for 6 hours!
It’s quickly clear just how deverstating Maria was on the rain forest. None of the big trees have any canopies left – most are just tree trunks stripped bare of branches and now covered in new leaf growth. Cassem tells us how the day after Maria not a single leaf was left on any tree. “All bare” he says. We also learn that we are the 4th hike he guides to the Boiling Lake since Maria, 6 month ago.
We cross several rivers and the trail is still clear and well marked. But then we start to come to parts where land slides have taken the trail away, or left it hanging precariously over a shear drop into the valley below. Other parts we find ourselves walking on a slippery muddy ridge just 40cm wide with shear drops both sides. The trail is crossing river valleys, so we walk down several hundred meters, through a river then back up the other side. As we reach the highest point The Lookout, we get great views down the side of the volcanic slopes to the Caribbean Sea. And the other way we looking into the crater with steam or smoke rising from the Boiling Lake in the distance. Still a long way to go!
Then it’s onto the Valley of Desolation inside the crater. A lot of the trail steps are now missing and it’s extremely slippery. Oana, who “doesn’t do” mud, is squealing as her shoes become caked in yellow clay. And not long after she slips and completes the scene with a muddy bum too! It’s all very tricky. In places we have to use ropes to get down the slippy slopes. In the Valley of Desolation, there are multiple smoking and boiling pools. The vegetation is burned and there is a strong smell of bad-eggs from the sulphurous fumes. And, the trail disappears. The guide shows us the way through and tells us where to be careful. One foot wrong and you could be knee deep in boiling hot mud. This is where we are glad we chose a guide.
After the Valley of Desolation we walk down a steep river which flows with hot water. Again the trail is not obvious and in many places the guide improvises where the river has removed the trail during Maria. Over another river, the White River, where all the stones and boulders are white and the warm water a milky white too and finally up through more hot springs to the Boiling Lake. As we approach it we can feel the heat – then all of a sudden it’s there in front of us shrouded in steam. It’s no small lake. It must be the size of 2 Olympic pools 150ft deep, and when the wind temporarily blows the steam away, there is a massive boiling cauldron in the middle. And we mean massive. The whole lake is at the temperature of boiling water. It’s a spectacular sight. A true reward for such a long tricky hike.
Then the rain starts. It really pours and we get drenched. But we are still warm in the steam which is rising from the boiling lake. We eat lunch then the guide advises we start down as this rain could start the rivers flooding. So we set off down again, now wet through to the skin. It’s a long hike back and it rains several more times making the trail even more slippery. By the time we are half way back neither of us are caring about what we walk through. It’s impossible to get our feet and legs even dirtier or wetter! The last hour is really tough. We both feel our legs like rubber and when we stop walking they are shaking uncontrollably! What we need now is a hot relaxing spa!
As we get to the car the guide leaves us, then the rain comes heavy so we just rest in the shelter of Titou Gorge and enjoy our alone time to reminisce on the hike. Definitely our most challenging yet rewarding hike ever.
On the drive down the valley we decide to head to Wotten Waven, where lots of hot springs are, and relax in a hot spa. As we enter the village we are greeted by a young kid who jumps in the car without being asked (!) and insists to show us where there is a hot spa. A short drive later he makes us park the car then walks us across a half built new metal bridge which crosses a steep ravine. The old bridge is lying, a twisted jam of metal, at the bottom of the ravine! This new bridge is held up by wooden logs on each corner and clearly not yet properly positioned! The spa he takes us to is only luke warm water so we insist he takes us to one that actually has hot water. Eventually we arrive to the right place and yes the water is indeed very hot. Apparently Maria had washed away most of the spas which themselves are situated beside the river. But this one had been rebuilt. Climbing into the huge hot pool was wonderful on our sore aching legs. And while in there it started to rain while the sun was out, treating us to a rainbow across the lush river valley. Quite a magical place to have a hot spa. After a while we are joined by another British guy. He is a volcanologist who come from Brightlingsea in Essex – just a few miles from where Glen used to live! Small world. He has lived on Dominica for 3 years, apparently house sitting for people. It was very interesting talking to him, but as the mosquitos starts buzzing around our heads after sunset we get out of the spa and head back to Cloudy Bay.
We have a quiet evening catching up on the blog and photos. It rains on and off all evening and a horrible swell is now in the bay, rocking Cloudy Bay quite badly. And as our spa treatment wears off, we find our aches and pains more prevalent than the rocking. Soon we are in bed and asleep.