Dominica: The Great Hike to Valley of Desolation and Boiling Lake
22 February 2008 | Boiling Lake
On Thursday we did what we think is the most amazing hike we have ever done - to the Valley of Desolation and the Boiling Lake which was our ultimate destination on this hike. The Dominica Boiling Lake is the second largest in the world, the largest being Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand. Both are volcanic lakes formed at the volcano's crater.
We started the hike thinking that it will be a steep climb followed by a walk on a valley - the desert space-like Valley of Desolation - that was difficult because there was no trail and one had to be careful of spewing sulfur holes and fumaroles (hardened earth crust that would give in when stepped on and one could get burned by the running hot sulfuric water underneath). Rather we found that there was a trail (except in the Valley of Desolation) of mainly steps, mostly very high to reach and made of local wood logs, which would go up and down in what we estimate where several climbs and drops of 1,000+ steps!! The trip was only 2 � miles long each way but when you counted the ups and downs it felt like a marathon that took us a total of 6 hours of grueling physical strain on our (mostly unfit) bodies. Needless to say this hike tested our strength and determination to get to our goal - to see the boiling lake.
The hike was amazingly spectacular! We went from mountain peaks of rain forests with hundreds of song birds and green vegetation that filled our souls, to the desert space-like valley of desolation where one could hear the hot sulfuric water rushing under our feet, to the top of a volcano's crater with the boiling lake - a 50-yard crater. We walked through mud, creeks, and narrow peak tops with cliffs on both sides and often no railing to stop you from falling. Rather than spendingmuch more time describing this well known site, you can view some of the things we saw in our walk in our pictures or view a description on the web.
Though out bodies suffered greatly and it took us several days to recuperate from soreness (Kim and Maria - Daniel was fresh the next day!) we believe this walk was worth while and one of the most awesome experiences we have had in our hikes so far.
To view pictures of these hikes, copy and paste the following link to a web browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sailingourway/2008_02_21TrafalgarFallsEmeraldLakeCaribCountryValleyOfDesolationBoilingLake?authkey=ArYvJmnwVSo