The beauty of Dominica continues

I notice there is confusion about where exactly we are. Dominica or the Dominican Republic? Dominica, where we are now, and the Dominican Republic are similar in that both have coasts on the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. The population of both countries is of mixed European, Indigenous and African descent. Dominica (with an area of only 750 km² and less than 70,000 inhabitants) is a small island nation in the Windward Islands that lies between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante to the north and Martinique to the south. The much larger Dominican Republic (48,442 km², nearly 11 million inhabitants) occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles. The western third of the island of Hispaniola is Haiti. Today is a day with several walks, for which Kish gave us an extra hour of sleep. Thank you, Kish, we really needed that one. At 8.00 am we are all eager to enjoy another beautiful day of Dominicans nature beauty’s.

Botanic Garden
We slowly start driving to the Botanical Garden. In 1892, Joseph Jones began a lifetime of developing Roseau’s Botanic Gardens with the help of botanists from Kew Gardens in England. He created an atmospheric oasis of exotic trees and flowering shrubs with ornately decorated wrought iron gates, ponds, a cricket pitch and a small pavilion. Time and hurricanes have affected the botanical garden and Hurricane David (August 1979) left its mark forever. A brand new and never used yellow school bus was crushed under a giant falling baobab tree. The school bus was completely flattened, just like the Baobab tree. The special thing about a Baobab tree is that it is a succulent plant, which means that it absorbs water during the rainy season and stores it in its huge trunk, which allows it to produce a nutritious fruit in the dry season when everything around it is dry and barren. Hence, this tree is also known as “The Tree of Life”. In Africa, where it grows in 32 countries, this is a very important tree.

Middleham Falls
From the Botanical Garden, it’s a short drive uphill with lots of sharp turns. Located in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, Middleham Falls is one of the tallest waterfalls (70 m) in Dominica. The hike is classified as intermediate level, but the time is underestimated in my opinion on the signs and by the locals: the advertised 45 minutes are for hikers who want to escape the Coyotes I think. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the falls (one way).

The trail starts by crossing the Providence River: Like real young Gazelles we jump from rock to rock. Then we cross a landscape of crops before entering the rainforest populated by impressive species: gigantic trees with sprawling roots. You wonder every time how many years they have been there before they have this colossal size. They are essentially White Gum trees (Dacryodes Excelsa), trees whose trunks were often used to build boats. The path is muddy and climbs gradually. After about half an hour of walking, we see a sign indicating Middleham Falls, we are still heading in the right direction. From here the rather steep descent to the falls begins, the sound of which can finally be heard! High kicks, slippery rocks, it gets a little trickier. At one point, you will see the Middleham Falls appear between the high tops of the trees and see the waterfall from above. We continue to descend. It is steep and the rocks slippery, we hold on to the tree roots and every now and then see a lizard dart away. As long as it stays with a lizard and not a boa constrictor, which are also hiding somewhere around here, I’m fine with it. You can hear the splashing of the waterfall getting closer and closer and when we get to the observation platform, you know for sure. Everything has been worth it.

Titou Gorge
Titou Gorge, meaning “little mouth” in Dominica’s second language, French Creole or patois, is a narrow river gorge on the edge of Morne Trois Pitons National Park. We swam through the canyon, surrounded by sheer cliffs that faded into a soft, mossy, green surface higher up. Jungle branches and leaves hung over the canyon, colouring the sunlight an emerald green. The water inside is deep, clear and cold, and the walls, smoothed by water for thousands of years, are dramatic and beautiful. This spot was also used as a filming location for the Pirates of the Caribbean scene where Captain Jack’s crew hide from the bow and arrow cannibals after falling off their bone hamster ball into the Dead Man’s Chest. Pretty special if you swim here yourself now. A short, eerie swim through the gorge, lit only by beams of sunlight from above, ends at the waterfall.

Traffulga Falls
Surrounded by sheer cliffs and forests, the twin falls – affectionately known as “mother” and “father” – can be viewed from a platform at the end of a short and easy hike. If you would like you can climb and scramble to the waterfall pools. We didn’t do this because of time, but the “father” has the best pool and is easier to get to. Just below, hot springs join the main river to create a cascading hot and cold shower.

Screw’s Sulphur Spa
A charismatic Rasta Screw, also known as ‘Irie Man’, has spent years building this colorful open-air retreat. Here we slip into one of six sulphurous pools of varying temperatures on a lush, leafy hillside pierced by waterfalls and water features. We rub ourselves with volcanic sulphur scrub, and let it soak in for 10 minutes, which is good for your skin and will make you 10 years younger. Fortunately, we all smell the same and we don’t even notice that our body odor is not really pleasant at the moment.

Dinner at Madiba restaurant (Christmas eve)
Tired and satisfied we arrive at tonight’s restaurant, on the beach at our dinghy dock. In restaurant Madiba we enjoy our Christmas Eve meal. While enjoying, a nice rum punch we close this wonderful day.Tomorrow is Christmas Day and we have a “free” day. This is followed by two more days full of adventure and fun together with Kish.