Hiking Dominica's Peaks

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Hiking Dominica's Peaks -2

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN (NYTIMES)
The one thing the hotel did provide, however, was an excellent hiking guide, Peter Green. Granted, his safari outfit with the hand-painted waterfalls on it and cellphone number written on his chest might have been a little much. But Peter was incredibly knowledgeable about all things, well, green. And he knew the way to Boiling Lake.
"O.K., guys, let's get physical," Peter said as we set off into the forest on our seven-hour hike. The sun disappeared above the canopy and we soon found ourselves in a cool, dimly lighted world. The vegetation was incredible: 125-foot-tall gommier or "gummy gum" trees; jungle vines dangling like tentacles; spongy pillows of moss that we put our fists through; huge, waxy elephant ears with dime-size raindrops sliding off them.
The best part was that unlike most other jungles, there were no dangerous animals lying beneath the trees. The fiercest creature here is the yellow land crab, one of which tried to pinch me as I stepped through a stream (it missed).
As we hiked, we played Tarzan and swung from vines, sailing over mud puddles and watching the forest rush past us. We watched hummingbirds drink from lavender morning glories. Peter peeled cool, delicious oranges for snacks. The trail was perfectly marked and well cleared and sometimes aided by logs in the ground that functioned as steps. The best of them were scored with X's for grip.
But it was tough trekking. All of us - me, my girlfriend, Courtenay, and even Peter, a native Dominican - were often panting. There are really two types of hiking in this world: heads up or heads down. Heads up means the conditions are good, the trail is smooth and you can scan the treetops for birds or gaze off into the misty distance. Heads down means you ain't looking at nothing. Except your own two feet and where to put them next. This was clearly heads-down hiking.
As we cleared the top of a ridge, we caught a whiff of rotten eggs: sulfur. We shivered a bit as the sweat cooled on our bodies. We were close, with just one last stretch to go, called the Valley of Desolation. Dominica is a volcanic island (there was an eruption in 1997), and the Valley of Desolation is filled with bubbling mineral pools and frothy, milky rivers and steam shooting out of the earth. Finally we cleared the last pebbly slope and peered down into Boiling Lake.
"Unbelievable," Peter said.
Boiling Lake, apparently, is a shadow of itself, a muddy gray pool only half full with a few bubbles here, a few gurgles there. We were told that before, you could actually see and hear it boiling like a kettle. Locals think an earthquake ruptured the bottom and caused the water to drain. It wasn't that big a deal to us because the hike had been so invigorating. But Peter was crushed. To him, it was like Old Faithful drying up.
That night we stayed at the Papillote Wilderness Retreat, which was heavenly. The resort, which has only seven rooms, is nestled into the emerald hills and buffeted by sounds of crickets and frogs and the drumming of tropical rain. To make it even more perfect for the weary hiker, Papillote is built around natural hot springs. Ten lazy steps from our room was a little grotto with balmy waters that seeped into our skins and made us sleepy.
Our room could be described as Caribbean chic, with louvered wooden windows and a big blue-green colors-of-the-ocean quilt on the bed. Dinner was excellent. I had tuna soaked in coconut milk wrapped in some type of jungle leaf, and Courtenay had chicken d'orange. They were accompanied by a kaleidoscope of tropical juices.
The next few days we did a number of smaller, less ambitious hikes, just getting to know the island. And that's the thing about Dominica. You could easily spend a week here and not get bored. There's excellent scuba diving off the southern shore and hikes ranging from 15-minute forest strolls to the all-day climb of the island's tallest peak, Morne Diablotins, whose summit is reached by clinging to a curtain of jungle vines. The only gear you need for the hikes is a small backpack, a light rain jacket and a pair of hiking boots or running shoes.

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