Daring In Dominica
Dominica. We had no idea what to expect. The anchorage was rolly and uncomfortable. The dinghy dock was a local fishing port. Cruise ships come here. We dodged cars on small sidewalks, found a supermarket with lots of American foods (yay!), and signed up for two back-to-back adventures and got more than we bargained for.
Having heard about canyoning from our friends on SV Minty who were a few weeks ahead of us, we contacted the guide and were able to get a spot for the next day. We invited our German friends on SV Sahrzad, Juergan, Petra and Frieda who is Rosie’s age, and the next morning we were off in a taxi climbing up into the mountains to a narrow river canyon.
Our guide Nathalie and her partner do this full time, and we were suited, harnessed and helmeted up in no time. The entrance into the canyon was a 30+ foot rappel directly into the water. Not for the faint of heart! I’m deathly afraid of heights, my palms are sweating just writing this, but I did it. Nathalie lets the kids down slowly but the adults she plops the last few feet into the water. But it’s fresh water! So exciting and clean-tasting after our salt life.
The canyon was a series of jumps, rappels and slides as we wound our way through the cracks and crevices and cliffs that make up the river bed. It was beautiful, shady and an absolutely epic adventure. Jordan and Rosie soaked up every second, blessed as they are to not have my fears. I refused all the jumps and Nathalie patiently rappelled me down. In my defense, in some instances we were required to jump in exactly the right deep spot. I wasn’t risking it.
After about 2 hours, our group made it to the end and celebrated with local orange juice and banana bread. It was a team-building exercise of huge proportions and our group cheered and encouraged and congratulated each other throughout the process. We are so glad we shared the experience with new friends.
Our second big adventure was scheduled for the very next day: The Boiling Lake Hike. I had done my research. We got the guide recommended in all the google and AllTrails reviews. We understood it would be long and hard and that the weather would get cold once we were in the low clouds. We packed snacks. We brought Gus who carried so many liters of water and all the trail mix. He was excited to learn that our trail mix contains chocolate.
The Boiling Lake in Dominica is the second largest in the world next to the Frying Pan in New Zealand. It is a fumarole, or a hot flooded sinkhole, that is nearby a volcano. The roundtrip hike is over 8 miles and traverses several peaks and valleys for a total climb of about 3000 feet.
We set off with our guide, Chadi, and one other hiker at 830am. After about an hour, Chadi announced that the warm up was over as we crossed our first river. Another hour in and we were in the clouds, starting to make our way downhill in the path of a muddy stream. It was slippery, humid, sometimes hot and sometimes cold. We made slow progress. In the third hour we descended into the Valley of Desolation, where the volcanic riverbed percolates boiling water and sulfur steam through an eerie landscape.
For Rosie, the entire hike was an endless valley of desolation. She hated it from the get-go, complaining, crying, and generally walking about ten minutes behind the group, begging us to please let her turn around or take a taxi home. Her head hurt. Her stomach hurt. Her legs hurt. She was going to die, right there on that trail. There was no amount of chocolate in the trail mix that was going to make our day better and definitely no roads for her taxi.
In the Valley of Desolation, Chadi showed us where we could put volcanic clay on our skin for all of its healing and therapeutic powers. We wrote our name in the sulfurous soot in the hot geysers. We splashed warm, slippery water on our hands and arms and dodged the hottest parts. It was absolutely surreal.
Just when you think you might almost be there, it’s nearly another hour to the Boiling Lake involving some rock scrambling and light climbing. We refilled our water bottles from a mountain spring. We thought we’d never make it. And finally, we crested a hill and low and behold we saw…a big pile of steam.
The Boiling Lake is so hot that it can barely be seen through the steam rising from its surface. Every now and then, the wind blows and you can make out the rolling boils, like a massive pot of hot water - nearly 250 wide- to be exact. We ate our sandwiches, sat for a minute, and quickly got back on the trail home. It was at this point I felt Rosie’s desolation. There was only one way back and we knew how hard it was.
Up and over and up again and through the valley and into the clouds and down the hill and over the river and another 45 minutes through the forest and we finally emerged around 430pm, muddy, exhausted and proud. That is why I force my kids to do what they think they cannot do and why it’s worth 8 hours of complaining. Next time you’re with the kids, ask Rosie about it so she can tell you, proudly, just how hard it is. But she did it, and if you’re ever in Dominica, I say go for it.
