Dominica - March 21

Pink house in Laudat (Mar 21, 2006, 07:53am) This house was at the side of the road in Laudat, where we stopped for a few minutes on our way to the trail head for the boiling lake hike.

Entrance to Titou Gorge (Mar 21, 2006, 08:05am) Titou Gorge (sometimes spelled "Ti Tou") is a popular tourist spot, and is located at the very start of the boiling lake hike. Here is a picture of the entrance to Titou Gorge. You can see the steps down, and the first pool. The water cascading down the rocks is actually warm (although the pool is cold). The gorge itself extends to the right, behind the stairs.

Start of the boiling lake hike (Mar 21, 2006, 08:05am) elevation: 1,690 ft This shelter is located just above Titou Gorge. During days that the cruise ship is in town, soem local vendors set up tables under the shelter. There is also one changing room so people can put on a bathing suit to go into the gorge. The stairs to the right of the shelter are the start of the hike to the Valley of Desolation and the boiling lake.

Trail starts in rain forest (Mar 21, 2006, 08:19am) hiking time: 14 mins The boiling lake hike starts off in the rain forest. The initial path is mostly flat and the vegetation is quite thick.

Easy part of the path (Mar 21, 2006, 08:41am) hiking time: 36 mins Another section of the path to the boiling lake from the early part of the hike. At this point, we are still deep in the rain forest, and the trail is mostly flat.

Path down to breakfast river (Mar 21, 2006, 09:12am) hiking time: 65 mins After hiking for just over a hour (with some stops for observing nature), we reach the "breakfast river" (the Trios Pitons River). The water is cool and clean for drinking and we have a brief chance to refresh ourselves before the steep part of the hike. The path in the background leads back to the start of the hike.

Dave at Breakfast River (Mar 21, 2006, 09:11am) hiking time: 65 mins Here is Dave standing on a rock in the breakfast river, looking towards the steep climb ahead.

Jeffrey teaches the group some botany (Mar 21, 2006, 09:31am) hiking time: 1 hr, 25 mins Jeffrey, our guide, points out some of the local plants. From left, Ben, Annie, Dave, Stephanie and Jeffrey. The trail here is starting to get quite steep as we get closer to the highest point of the hike.

Ben climbing stairs to ridge (Mar 21, 2006, 09:46am) hiking time: 1 hr, 40 mins Here is Ben climbing up to the highest point no the boiling lake hike. Most of the uphill/downhill sections had well maintained stairs.

Daphne on peak on boiling lake hike (Mar 21, 2006, 09:56am) elevation: 3,168 ft, hiking time: 1 hr, 50 mins After just under 2 hours of hiking, we reach the highest point on the hike (Morne Nicholls). At the top there is a clearing with 360 degree views of the surrounding hills and rain forest. In this picture you see Daphne looking at the rising stream in the distance, rising from the boiling lake.

Boiling lake seen from ridge (Mar 21, 2006, 09:57am) elevation: 3,168 ft, hiking time: 1 hr, 50 mins This picture was taken from the clearing at the highest point of the boiling lake hike. The steam you see in the center of the photograph is the location of the boiling lake (our destination). The Valley of Desolation lies off to the right. I believe that we are looking North in this picture.

Flat trail section across ridge (Mar 21, 2006, 10:02am) hiking time: 1 hr, 55 mins After leaving the clearing at the highest point of the hike, we follow the ridge above the Valley of Desolation. The trail is pretty flat at this point but that is about to change.

Jeffrey starts his descent (Mar 21, 2006, 10:08am) hiking time: 2 hours Ten minutes after leaving the top of the ridge, the trail starts to descend. We are heading into the Valley of Desolation.

Jeffrey on the trail (Mar 21, 2006, 10:09am) hiking time: 2 hours Here is another picture of Jeffrey leading the group on our way to the Valley of Desolation and the boiling lake.

Morne Watt (Mar 21, 2006, 10:14am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 10 mins For most of the morning, the sky was full of clouds. But some blue sky opened up for long enough for me to take this picture. I believe that this peak is Morne Watt as seen from the ridge above the Valley of Desolation.

Descending into the Valley of Desolation (Mar 21, 2006, 10:17am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 10 mins One of the steepest sections of the trail is the descent into the Valley of Desolation. I ran ahead of the group so I could get this picture of everyone else climbing down. From front to back: Jeffery, Annie, Dave, Ben and Daphne.

Valley of Desolation (Mar 21, 2006, 10:24am) elevation: 2,800 ft, hiking time: 2 hrs, 20 mins After hiking for two hours and twenty minutes, we finally reach the Valley of Desolation. This is a picture of the lower part of the valley, looking towards the boiling lake. The steam rising from the hillside in the center of the picture is coming coming from the boiling lake.

Valley of Desolation with boiling lake (Mar 21, 2006, 10:29am) Another picture of the lower part of the Valley of Desolation, this time showing the clouds of steam rising from the ground. The steam rising from the boiling lake is in the upper-center of picture.

Valley of Desolation (Mar 21, 2006, 10:50am) This is a picture of the upper part of the Valley of Desolation. You can see another group of hikers entering the valley. The path comes from the right. We first climbed down from the ridge (off to the right) and then followed the ravine (brown section of the valley wall) into the valley. If you look closely you can see the path in the center of the picture. The steam in the foreground is coming from a hot stream.

Valley of Desolation (Mar 21, 2006, 10:42am) Another picture of the upper part of the Valley of Desolation (looking away from the boiling lake). You can see one of the hot streams on the valley floor along with mineral deposits.

Jeffrey talks about Valley of Desolation (Mar 21, 2006, 10:34am) Jeffrey stops to talk about the geology of the Valley of Desolation, as he points out the hot stream that flows through the valley. You can see Annie, Jeffrey, Daphne and Ben in this picture. The women are all paying attention and the men are all playing with their camera equipment. There will be a test later.

Jeffrey washes in hot stream (Mar 21, 2006, 10:37am) Jeffrey takes some water out of the stream and washes off his arm. The water is quite warm, but not boiling. It is full of minerals that get all over your skin.

Stephanie gets a facial (Mar 21, 2006, 10:45am) Rumor has it that Paris Hilton uses mud from the Valley of Desolation for her facials. Whether or not that is true, Jeffrey demonstrates the properties of the mineral mud by applying it to everyone's face (except me).

Stephanie with mud covered face (Mar 21, 2006, 10:46am) Here is Stephanie after the mud from the Valley of Desolation has been applied to her face. Once applied, the mud has to dry before it is removed.

Annie gets a facial (Mar 21, 2006, 10:47am) While Stephanie's face is drying, Jeffrey applies mineral infused mud from the Valley of Desolation to Annie's face.

Ben gets a facial (Mar 21, 2006, 10:49am) Even the guys (except for me) could not escape. Here Ben gets his mud treatment in the Valley of Desolation.

Annie with mud covered face (Mar 21, 2006, 10:50am) Here is Annie after having mud from the Valley of Desolation applied to her face.

Daphne with mud covered face (Mar 21, 2006, 10:54am) Here is Daphne after having mud from the Valley of Desolation applied to her face.

Five mud covered faces (Mar 21, 2006, 11:00am) Everyone in our group (except for me and Jeffrey, our guide), took the mud treatment in the Valley of Desolation. From left, Ben, Stephanie, Daphne, Dave and Annie.

Annie gets her dried mud removed (Mar 21, 2006, 11:02am) Once the infused mud dries, it can be removed leaving refreshed, rejuvinated (and dirty) skin. In this picture, Jeffrey is cleaning off Annie's face.

Stream leaving the Valley of Desolation (Mar 21, 2006, 11:14am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 25 mins After spending 45 minutes in the Valley of Desolation, we continue the hike to the Boiling Lake. This picture shows the warm stream that flows through the Valley of Desolation. The lower end of Valley of Desolation is visible at the top of picture. We would follow this stream for a little while as we hiked towards the boiling lake.

Small waterfall on one of many streams (Mar 21, 2006, 11:17am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 28 mins This waterfall and pool are downstream from the Valley of Desolation. On the way back from the boiling lake, we would stop here and soak in the warm water of the pool before continuing.

Warm stream from Valley of Desolation (Mar 21, 2006, 11:20am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 30 mins Here is the last look at the warm stream that flows down from the Valley of Desolation.

A real steep section (Mar 21, 2006, 11:20am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 30 mins Here we are leaving behind the stream that flows out of the Valley of Desolation, as we make our way to the boiling lake. This is one of the steepest section of the trail, as we are forced to scramble up the rocks (with no stairs). From left, Daphne, Annie and Jeffrey.

Small waterfall on boiling lake hike (Mar 21, 2006, 11:32am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 42 mins Twenty minutes after the last stream, we cross another stream as we work our way to the boiling lake. This picture was taken under low light and moderately long exposure while hand-holding the camera and balancing on a rock. Thank goodness for a lens with vibration reduction.

Trail out of the rain forest (Mar 21, 2006, 12:46pm) After another uphill climb, we finally emerge from the rainforest. This picture shows the trail leaving the rainforest as we enter the last valley before the boiling lake. This picture was taken on the hike back (hence the late time); the boiling lake is behind me.

Final valley before boiling lake (Mar 21, 2006, 12:39pm) A picture of the valley just before we reach the boiling lake (or should I say just after we leave the boiling lake since this picture was taken on the way back). The boiling lake is ahead and to the right.

Hot stream near boiling lake (Mar 21, 2006, 11:45am) hiking time: 2 hrs, 55 mins Another warm stream runs through the last valley before the boiling lake. We will follow this stream for a short distance and then move off to the right; the boiling lake is less than five minutes away.

The worlds second largest boiling lake (Mar 21, 2006, 12:27pm) elevation: 2,640 ft, hiking time: 3 hours After three hours of hiking (not counting the 45 minutes spent at the Valley of Desolation), we arrive at a clearing above the boiling lake. Yes, the lake is really boiling (as you can see bubbling in the center of the picture). The Dominica boiling lake is the second largest boiling lake in the world, and is heated from underground volcanic activity.

Stephanie at the boiling lake (Mar 21, 2006, 12:08pm) elevation: 2,640 ft, hiking time: 3 hours When we got the boiling lake, we stopped for lunch. Here is a picture of Stephane sitting on a rock at the edge of the ledge that overlooks the boiling lake.

Another view of a small waterfall (Mar 21, 2006, 12:53pm) On the way back, I took another picture of this small waterfall on one of the streams.

The trail back to Titou Gorge (Mar 21, 2006, 02:16pm) This picture shows another section of the boiling lake hike. It was taken during the return trip. If you look closely you can see Dave and Annie ahead of me on the trail. This section of the trail was on the ridge above the Valley of Desolation.

Daphne descends steep slope (Mar 21, 2006, 02:19pm) Here is a picture of Daphne descending the stairs from the highest point on the boiling lake hike, on our way back to Titou Gorge. I turned around in this picture, facing back towards the Valley of Desolation.

Flower near Titou Gorge (Mar 21, 2006, 03:57pm) A picture of a flower growing next to Titou Gorge. I took this picture after we got back from the boiling lake hike.