Chapter 13 – The Wai’tu Kubuli Trail…

This we know. The earth does not belong to Man. Man belongs to the earth. All things are connected. Like the blood which unites one family. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself. Chief Seattle 1851 –Wotton Waven, Dominica

waitukubuli trail middleham falls dominica morne trois pitons

Middleham Falls

Dominica Photo Gallery

12/14

I woke up in the very hot (no AC) hotel room. The sun poured in the windows, roosters cackled in the narrow traffic filled streets three stories below. The ocean sparkled painfully bright. I did my laundry in the bathtub and after packing my backpack, hung it on the pack to dry. Then I shouldered it and hiked off.

From there I wandered into town and went to a real grocery store with a larger selection than just cookies, candy and cereal. Still the food selection isn’t great, it’s fairly expensive too, but at least much of what you can buy is made with wholesome ingredients. If you choose the right things you can find some delicious hidden gems mixed in with the junk. I got some thick, seedy bread, some fruit cake which turned out to be moldy, and some dense coconut cake. I really wasn’t able to find much healthy food that packed well, just a hard avocado the size of my head and a carrot. I sat on the ground eating ice cream by the ferry docks and felt like a spectacle around there with my big backpack. I was definitely sick of the city by the time I was walking out, still limping slightly. Overall though I really like Roseau, it’s got a rundown charm. Ragged, colorful and definitely thriving in its own makeshift way. My knee would feel alright in the morning and then get worse as I hiked. I felt a little lousy , so I decided I’d keep taking it as easy as possible. Still I had to hike. I don’t quite know why, but I came here to hike!

I hitched a ride with a great guy to the hotsprings, tropical rainforest, and eco-tourist town of Wotton Waven. From there I walked passed many vendors trying to sell stuff. I get targeted for being a foreigner, being asked for money or being asked if I want to marry their friend… I bought a char-grilled plantain from a girl, she asked where I was from. I told her Boston, she said “I wish I could go there…” I told her “It’s pretty cold and miserable there right now actually, you’re better off here!” But I understand why the grass is always greener. The trail often walks along the roads, through the center of the small villages forcing me to talk to everyone.

I went to Trafalgar, a detour to see the famous Trafalgar Falls. Then I realized it costs money and you have to go through a toll area. I decided to leave until some hilarious and wonderful British people said I have to go see the waterfall. They proceeded to give me 5$, which I felt very embarrassed accepting. But I decided sure, I’ll take it, thank you, and go see the waterfall. I thought of all the begging bums who I was too stingy to give 1EC$ to. (However I did give so many bums money, they can be persistant!) These people just gave me about 13EC$! When I went to buy the ticket from the stern, scary park ranger, I was informed that in order to hike the Waitukubuli trail like I was doing, I needed to buy a 40US$ park pass. Fortunately, he said I’d have to go down to Roseau to buy it, and let me go. Trafalgar Falls was fairly unimpressive, and I walked away from that place feeling bad again. But I loved talking to all the British tourists, they were the best.

I climbed the steep trail away from Trafalgar kind of agitated and moany. The whole begging and money and regulations thing had thrown me off. I felt the stress of my savings running lower and lower, and didn’t want to pay the 40$ for what I was doing here. Then I arrived in Laudat (pronounced Lo-dah). I had come through this town after the boiling lake, so I was making a somewhat round-about journey to be back here… But I really liked that town, it’s been my favorite so far. It’s high ontop of a hill. The roads are wide and it’s quiet. I walked slowly like usual, leaning and limping with my bamboo stick. The road became an open and empty sort-of highway snaking pleasantly down the lush, cool mountain. That walked calmed me and before long I was at peace again.

I made friends with some people as I hiked back into the rainforest at Trois Pitons National Park, but I had to let them hike on ahead because of how slow I go! The wet forest is a slow place. I found the perfect camp spot under a sheltered gazebo and decided to stop hiking early. But first I left my things in the bushes and took a free, barefoot walk down the spur trail to Middleham Falls. I met a British woman Trudy who was alone and I hiked with her. She was very cool and immediately we had a good connection. We lost the trail together and had to retrace our steps. Then we made it to the waterfall, the tallest in the Caribbean islands, and a more impressive waterfall I’ve never seen. It reminded me of the famous Multnomah Falls in Oregon, only bigger and with no tourists. Walking up to the turbulent pool of the falls I felt the mist and the constant hurricane force wind it created as it came crashing down.

Trudy and I walked back as the sun was low in the jungle. We parted ways. Something she said made me feel good about living out there in the wild rainforest. I had my dinner of rice, but I couldn’t get my small cooking fire started because the place was too wet, so I had to just let the parboiled rice soak for a few hours and ‘cook’ itself. Unfortunately though, that works with pasta but the rice gave me some intestinal distress… I had a comfortable night listening to monkeys screeching all around me.


Trafalgar Falls Waitukubuli trail Dominica

Trafalgar Falls

DSC_1586 DSC_1595 DSC_1625 DSC_1581 DSC_1588


 

12/15

In the morning it hadn’t rained and the forest was drier. The place was dark green and dim all morning long, the hiking was easy. I thought of what a perfect planet we live on, that here, near the equator, it is never too cold. Even this December morning in the mountains, it is not below 68 degrees. This forest won’t get much hotter than 75 degrees, so it’s never too hot either. It’s simply perfect, and extremely wet, so life can thrive. Yes this is a special place, a more perfect planet we couldn’t ask for. This is Dominica and it’s no wonder they call it ‘Zion’. So I enjoyed myself this morning, made it to the road at Pont Casse, and ate some extremely good German cookies.

From there I hiked into a swamp, got lost a bit, before making it off the trail and onto a road. What a mistake I made! I walked the road to reconnect the trail at a place called the Emerald Pool and was aghast to see another eco-tourist toll both there. I should have just turned back then, and who was to confront me but the same stern park ranger from Trafalgar, angry with me that I still hadn’t bought the ticket. I told him I simply had not come to a place yet where I could buy the ticket. He said I could buy one at Castle Bruce, and I was headed directly there by hitching anyway, skipping this next short swampy section to arrive sooner at the Atlantic Coast.

I felt bad again as I hitchhiked down. I’m homesick, but also homesick for my life in the west. I feel like I greatly desire to go live in my truck again, somewhere with vacant sagebrush desert, buffalo and American mountains… kind of stupid daydreams, then I remember it’s December! The massive Morne Trois Piton was my view from the truck bed as it careened down the road. Through bright palm plantations and colorful flowers mixed into the tropical overgrowth as the mountains receded. Maybe then I thought wistfully how it would be nice to have a normal life.

I walked through Castle Bruce and passed a small shack where I should buy the park pass but it costs over 100EC$ and I had only 50EC$ in my wallet and there’s no atms in town or in any town. Forget credit cards. So what can I do? Keep rationalizing. I kept on hiking with no park pass and felt crappy about it.

The track took me to the Atlantic coast and moved into Kalinago Indian Territory. I was in very bad knee pain again, limping along. It was late in the afternoon. Soon I pulled into a village where I was stopped by Brother Hope, a toothless old ranting Kalinago man. He offered me a rental of his graffiti covered concrete house for 1EC (no windows/doors either), then said I could just stay for free. I considered it, and the trail ran next through a gang of young guys cooking on a big pot over a fire in the street. They welcomed me to “the ghetto” and offered me to sit down with them and free up. I did, and they insisted to feed me, and also insisted I stay for the night. I was in a lot of pain, so I decided it would be best to hang out with them for a while, and I got a good dose of Kalinago culture! Dinner was so excellent, stewed dumplings, plantains and fish! They gave me rum too, and shared their weed. They were mostly very nice, but one arrogant guy was making fun of me and making some racial jokes. In the end, I really did not care to stay the night, mainly because I want my solitude and that is one thing their culture doesn’t know. Before sunset, I walked off down the trail feeling refreshed and in less pain.

I soon setup camp on a magnificent cliff looking at the ocean, sheltered from the possible rain by dense trees. Not the flattest spot in the world but good. It was much warmer here than in the mountains, a delightful warm night, and I felt happy that I could lay very comfortably naked there on my sleeping pad. It doesn’t bother me at all to be among the leaves with the bugs flying in my face and crawling on me. Lots of big crickets jumping on my notebook and I don’t mind, this is how I like to live!


 

DSC_1655 DSC_1656 DSC_1659 DSC_1658 DSC_1664


 

12/16

Another morning came and I hiked the rest of the way through the Kalinago territory. It was beautiful, but constantly walking through villages made me feel just so much like an outsider. There’s a good trail through this crazy island but I’m the only one doing it! I’m a spectacle I tell you! It’s fun, I went through lots of emotions again today. Today, I was in NO KNEE PAIN! All day I felt fine! I was happy about that, to overcome. I’m very fit now and feel conditioned to this trail. It’s somehow been one week since I arrived on Dominica. I do feel pressured to leave this place though and get back to my ‘life’. I’m pretty unsure how that’s going to go, but I’m going to go to St. Lucia. With all that in mind I’ve made the decision to skip the hardest part of the Waitukubuli Trail, the Morne Diablotins part. No matter what, it would take four days in the wilderness to complete and I simply do not have the time. Today’s the 16th and my ferry ticket is on the 21st, but I still have two days to complete the trail even if I skip. I’m not too fussed, saves me something to do next time.

So I hitchhiked all day, only able to catch rides between one village at a time. I went through Bataka, Marigot, Anse, Woodford Hill, Calibishi, and Borne. They have these buses which go around, but they’re free. People wait at the bus stop, and eventually someone driving a van picks them up. What a community! I got a free bus ride from a pastor. At one point I was walking and hitching alongside a 15 year old girl from Guadeloupe. I was able to sit an eat ice cream somewhere else. The places were all beautiful and soon I was hiking back up the trail. I sulked for a while and lay by a quiet deserted road with a nice view, eaten by mosquitoes and haggard. Then I felt better and climbed a mountain. It was hot today, and it was steep, I was drenched in sweat. At some point I made it to the most incredible gazebo shelter, picnic table on the grass, no bugs, and a stunning open view to the windy ocean and the island of Marie Gallant!

The best spot ever, that’s where I’m camped writing this now. I saw two Dominican parrots fly quickly past me; they are green and purple and magic to see. It’s grown quite cold now, the coldest I’ve felt yet and still windy. The lights twinkle on the distant island. I might get to the end of the trail tomorrow, either that or the next day. I’m glad I came.


 

DSC_1670 DSC_1669 DSC_1692 DSC_1694


 

1+

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>