Stories from New York and London often cover the front page of the BBC news website. It’s not often you see St Lucia, St Vincent or even Dominica push these huge cities off their top spots, but this is exactly what has happened. In the past couple of days these islands have suffered serious flooding and landslides and it was with this backdrop that the fit and healthy crew of Ruffian and Serafina hoped to take on the most challenging and arduous of hikes in Dominica. We planned to walk up into a live volcano, through the Valley of Desolation and then onto the Boiling Lake.

The alarm clock went off before the sun has risen and with fuzzy, post Christmas heads we readied for the big day ahead. The pack will filled to bursting with supplies and kit, Larry was safely stowed where he’d be safe, but have a view, and Iain then paced waiting for the big off. An hour later we were gaining altitude winding our way up the hills behind Roseau and wondering if doing this ‘walk’ was really such a good idea.

The roads were almost impassable. Landslides and rockfalls covered the barriers between us and the shear drops making the drops even more shear. Huge rocks and trees had come to rest just feet from people’s doors and we were heartened to hear that not a soul had been hurt. As we got higher and higher the devastation reduced but what would we find on the trails we hoped to walk and rivers we needed to ford?

Things started gently as we started scaling the first of the mountains enroute to the boiling lake, but this was not to last. The ups and downs became increasingly steep, the mud increasingly clarty (if that’s a word) and the rivers that we crossed roared down the valleys in full flow. After hours of walking we finally scaled the last peak and had a view that we’ve experienced in many places around the world: The inside of a cloud. The big difference this time was the underlying whiff of sulphur that told of the sights to come.

Scrambling down cliffs turned blue, yellow and orange by Zinc and Sulphur we made our way into the aptly named, Valley of Desolation. The water boiled and fizzed out of soft rocks with superheated steam adding to the other worldly feeling of this place. Walking through the valley was like playing Russian roulette as you were never quite sure how soft the rocks you were treading on were or if the handy handhold you were about to use would scald you in seconds.

The main event of the day, the Boiling Lake was now within grasp and after scaling one last peak we were at its crest. Nothing could have prepared us for the sight. It really was a boiling lake of extraordinary proportions. In the middle of the 60m wide pool (the 2nd largest in the world), water that had been heated near the centre of the earth erupted, swirling around before falling down a steaming waterfall. Of all the Grapefruit points we have had on our travels, this was the most astonishing.

With time not being on our side as we needed to be back down before dark, we started our trip back to civilisation. Going up through the Valley of Desolation was even more bizarre than going down, as we were looking up though the steam and we could hear the calls of a bird of prey as he played the thermals getting more and more altitude.

After hours of walking we finally emerged from the rain forest and found a deserted piece of river to refill our water bottles and sooth our weary feet. Off came our boots and our filthy socks and within seconds our feet were surrounded by 100’s of little fish eating all the skin that we’d spent our day rubbing off. This has to be the most natural of all pedicures.

Walking up to the Boiling Pool and through the Valley of Desolation was certainly a long and hard hike and Fiona’s legs will take a couple of days to recover but the sights we saw will live with us forever. Quite an amazing day.

Up, up, up we go.


The view from the inside of a cloud is the same the world over.


Into the valley of desolation where everything, including rocks boil.


It’s not sweaty walking at all.


Rivers full of boiling water add to the excitement of fording them.


Hot steaming waterfalls. The ‘waterfall bar’ has just been raised significantly.


Larry’s ‘camouflage’ would work a treat in the sulphurous water.


The boiling lake really was boiling.


Half way. We’ve now just got to get home.


Larry doesn’t think basejumping here is a very good idea.


Hiking over rivers of zinc and cobalt deposits.


Back into the jungle and we find some flowers.


Finally a view and the mountains go on for miles and miles.


Phew it’s over and the soothing water is a blessing.


You can almost see the smell coming from Iain’s boots.