Hiking in Dominica

 Dominica is truly a hiker’s paradise. We have spent 4 days out of 7 trekking up and down peaks and valley in a various state of wetness, sliding around in red mud and getting thoroughly dirty. What a joy!

We were fortunate to meet Yolene & Jean (Caffe Latte), extremely keen hikers and their friends and we were able to walk in company which is much more enjoyable.

Most of the trails are extremely well sign-posted and easy to follow. The paths are well defined and when dry a real pleasure with changing landscape, terrain and vegetation. The views at the top are always breathtaking if the rain has eased off.

The most demanding of our hikes, up to the Boiling Lake in the Trois Mornes National Park, will probably be the most memorable.

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Dominica – Portsmouth

Portsmouth is definitely the place to be if you are on a boat. It is the most friendly and welcoming place with everyone working hard to ensure that our stay in the bay is pleasant.The bay is very scenic and the small town has a laid back feel which is nice. Again all the local are extremely welcoming. The fresh fruit and veg market is well stocked and we have seen some beauties at the fish market…Mahi-Mahi that big!!

We also met some old and new friends here which is always nice and the hiking boots have been taken for an airing or more accurately a muddying…they don’t call it the rain forest for nothing!And whilst on the subject of shoes, Ian dropped his in the water by the dingy dock, before the party would you believe, 2 attempts to find it in barely 2 metres of water were unsuccessful… I guess Dominic

Dominica – Roseau

We arrived safely in Dominica. What a contrast, it really feels like we are back into the Caribbean. The island from the sea is just a jagged mass of green and luxurious peaks and deep valleys. A few villages dotted around but nothing as developed as in Martinique. Looking forward to explore it. The Doyle’s guide waxes lyrical about its wonders and we will definitely try to make the most of them… with 9 volcanoes, endless waterfalls, hot springs and a boiling lake, there is plenty to see. And that is before we start speaking about an extraordinary number of birds and flowers.Mind you given the steepness of the mountains around us,  not for the fainthearted. Going to be tough. Guess I better find my hiking boots!

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Stuck in St Pierre – Martinique

We have been pinned down for 5 days in St Pierre, Martinique. The weather forecast was for moderately strong winds when we left Fort de France on the 7th March so we decided to move up to St Pierre 10 miles further  up the coast, ready for the crossing to Dominica next day. The anchorage was very busy and we probably had one of the worse night with winds howling relentlessly. The next morning forecast was not much better, but we thought we would tempt crossing the channel. We had watched boats going up and we were prepared for a rough crossing but when we reached the top of Martinique the sea rally worsened. By this stage we had been soaked and buffeted by the wind for 2 hours. We had watched a boat going full speed ahead and noticed that they seemed to come back our way. It turned out to be  Pepper (Hattie & Phil)  and they emphatically suggested that this was no time to be out there with gusts up to 35 knots and waves of 3 metres, They had crossed the Atlantic 2 handed so were no scaredy cats and I was quite relieved that we followed them in and retraced our steps back to St Pierre. The weather was bad  for 4 days, it rained and rained and rained all day. But we made the most of it, more exploring….

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Leaving Martinique

This has been our view for the last 10 days….watching the clouds and the rain come and go over the hills surrounding Fort de France has been our daily occupation.

It will be hard but after over 5 weeks in Martinique, we have had a lot of fun here, carnival galore and good food…we now need to move on. Ian’s wounds are now healed, no more excuses.

We will be setting sail tomorrow morning. If the wind is favourable, we should be landing in Dominica in the afternoon.

Not sure how we are going to cope without French bread every day!