Welcome to the jungle.
Dominica, West Indies. They said it was an ”easy” hike, which I suppose it might have been had we started at the beginning. Instead the taxi van delivered us to the foot of the mountain just a few hundred feet above sea level. Kish, the owner/driver/tour guide was reluctant to proceed further owing to the deterioration of the road into a rocky mess. However, as soon as our group of 8 cruisers walked around the bend a solid, unbroken imminently drivable surface reappeared and was maintained the 2-1/2 miles and 1800’ elevation rise right to the actual trailhead. Colihaut Heights is Segment 10 of the Waitakabuli National Trail and runs north 4-1/2 miles from a road near the village of Colihaut on Dominica’s west coast along the shoulders of Morne Diablatin, the island’s tallest peak, to near Syndicate Falls (a side trail and an amazing place to soak weary feet). Originally we had planned to do the 3-1/2 mile Segment 11 (Partial) down the mountain slope from the falls area to near Picard, just south of Portsmouth where our boats were anchored. But research indicated that this segment might be impassable. Hurricane Maria in 2018 created many landslides, treefalls and washouts on Dominica, as well as the severe damage to buildings and roads, and the trail system is understandably fairly low down on their list of priorities. Plus, I had the bright idea that it would be nicer to hit the falls at the end of the hike rather than the beginning. So began our ascent and education about the lush, wet landscape of the central mountains of Dominica.
The Waitakabuli Trail was pieced together from traditional paths, roads and walkways that connected the villages scattered around Dominica. The beginning of segment 10 was quite well groomed, and wide, as if it were perhaps a former cart road. Indeed in one steep area there was a short section of concrete road amidst the mud and dense undergrowth. Numerous large trees had fallen over the trail and some of these had steps carved into them. Others we had to clamber over or wiggle beneath. Giant leaves made for convenient carpeting to allay the mud on these underpasses. It was a strenuous obstacle course and Helen’s and my legs screamed in protest at the long overdue exercise. Amazingly, there were no mosquitoes to worry us, although we did come across a busy looking red ant colony along with numerous termite nests. The famed parrots were extremely elusive and only fleeting glances were granted, although we could hear their occasional squawking in the canopy.
The group managed to stay together and soon we found ourselves on the down side of the hike. Here the trail deteriorated and the bush was very dense, with many rocks and stones hidden in the undergrowth, ankle breakers for sure if one didn’t stay focused. Slowly we made our way down to another concrete road which promised to connect us to the top of the Syndicate Falls trail. A local banana farmer graced us with a gorgeous bunch of bananas and we feasted on these golden goodies, still warm from the sun. We came to the approach to the falls trail after about a mile of road walking and paid a farmer 10EC each for access across his land. At least we supposed it was his land! The trail to the falls crisscrossed the stream and rather than removing my boots I just plowed ahead. The others removed their boots and tiptoed across the slick rocks while I enjoyed a solitary swim before their arrival. The 70’ water fall created lots of spray and quite a wind. The sun had disappeared behind clouds, so it was a decidedly chilly dip. Half of the group declined to get wet, their loss, as the water was very refreshing.
Soon we had to set out again. We had already hiked about 10 miles and it looked like another 10 back to Portsmouth, so we called Kish and in half an hour she showed up in her van to whisk us home- but not before stops at the ice cream store, her mother’s house / street bar, backtrack to get some ice, then swing by her sister’s house, along with her narrative of how the Anglican Church got it’s start with Henry VIII, whew! It was an amazing, exhausting and satisfying day, a hike unlike any we have ever done.
Looking north towards Prince Rupert Bay
