Dominica's UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Boiling Lake, is a two-hour hike through cold, wet jungle, over wind blasted hills and thought the aptly named Valley of Desolation. It was to be one of the highlights of our trip, and the main reason for going to Dominica.
The night before our hike was spent stranded on another totally unfamiliar island, Antigua, thanks to the lies and general incompetence of inter-island airline Liat. After a night of international phone calls, paper thin walls and sleeping on the bathroom floor, our Dominican hosts graciously managed to collect us from the airport and get up to our jungle-bound convoy by 7 am. They even managed to recover my lost baggage while we were on the trail (I can't say enough about Jungle Bay). The experience was wild, other-worldly and completely worth all the trouble.
We entered Morne Trois Pitons National Park from a site called Titou Gorge and began our trek through the rain forest. We experienced a bit of rain and a whole lot of moist, dark muddiness, but it was relatively clear when we crossed Breakfast River, above.
However, the wind, rain, and fog picked up at higher elevations, severely limiting our visibility.
These photos were taked on the trail above the Valley of Desolation.
See the video at bottom for a sense of how strong the winds were here.
Incredible mountain view--a last flash of green before we enter the sulfur valley.
Clouds follow us down a slippery slope...
...into a hellscape of steaming, foul smelling vents.
But the warm steam is a welcome change from the frosty wind above the valley.
We search among the vibrant rocks for the source of all these fumes.
Sulfur hydroxide bubbles, leaks, and spews from the floor.
It's superheated, so we have to watch our step.
But it's not harmful.
We even indulge in a little face-painting.
It's a ghostly, picturesque land. Sulfur and other volcanic minerals discolor rocks, streams, plants--everything in their paths.
Through the valley and back into the jungle. Another river.
After much terrain too dark for pictures, we arrive at hilltop again. Above, the Valley of Desolation from viewed from afar through lush green.
And more evidence of volcanic activity along the trail.
Finally, after steep rock climbs, the lake itself.
A sunken, steaming cauldron viewed in glimpses though the mist.
We eat lunch huddled in the warm steam, among the mud shrines of previous visitors.
And are glad to have done it together.
Dominica's UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Boiling Lake, is a two-hour hike through cold, wet jungle, over wind blasted hills and thought the aptly named Valley of Desolation. It was to be one of the highlights of our trip, and the main reason for going to Dominica.
The night before our hike was spent stranded on another totally unfamiliar island, Antigua, thanks to the lies and general incompetence of inter-island airline Liat. After a night of international phone calls, paper thin walls and sleeping on the bathroom floor, our Dominican hosts graciously managed to collect us from the airport and get up to our jungle-bound convoy by 7 am. They even managed to recover my lost baggage while we were on the trail (I can't say enough about Jungle Bay). The experience was wild, other-worldly and completely worth all the trouble.
We entered Morne Trois Pitons National Park from a site called Titou Gorge and began our trek through the rain forest. We experienced a bit of rain and a whole lot of moist, dark muddiness, but it was relatively clear when we crossed Breakfast River, above.
However, the wind, rain, and fog picked up at higher elevations, severely limiting our visibility.
These photos were taked on the trail above the Valley of Desolation.
See the video at bottom for a sense of how strong the winds were here.
Incredible mountain view--a last flash of green before we enter the sulfur valley.
Clouds follow us down a slippery slope...
...into a hellscape of steaming, foul smelling vents.
But the warm steam is a welcome change from the frosty wind above the valley.
We search among the vibrant rocks for the source of all these fumes.
Sulfur hydroxide bubbles, leaks, and spews from the floor.
It's superheated, so we have to watch our step.
But it's not harmful.
We even indulge in a little face-painting.
It's a ghostly, picturesque land. Sulfur and other volcanic minerals discolor rocks, streams, plants--everything in their paths.
Through the valley and back into the jungle. Another river.
After much terrain too dark for pictures, we arrive at hilltop again. Above, the Valley of Desolation from viewed from afar through lush green.
And more evidence of volcanic activity along the trail.
Finally, after steep rock climbs, the lake itself.
A sunken, steaming cauldron viewed in glimpses though the mist.
We eat lunch huddled in the warm steam, among the mud shrines of previous visitors.
And are glad to have done it together.
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