Editor’s Note: This is the second blog post in a series about the hike to the Boiling Lake within the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, Dominica’s UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The rain makes some of the steps and rocks extremely slippery. I arrived at The Boiling Lake around 11:10 and spent around 30 minutes eating my lunch. Suddenly my guide, David Nicholas (recommended), looked at the sky, indicated some distant clouds, and suggested it was going to rain and we should go.
David was concerned about the stream after the Valley of Desolation, which can turn into a torrent quickly due to the steep-sided nature of the surrounding terrain. This stream can block people’s path back to the start of the trail and it’s the only way out.
I was pleased we’d arrived at the trailhead around 8am to avoid the worst of the heat later in the day. Initially the trail goes slightly uphill before heading steeply downwards to “the Breakfast River”. I had been on the trail for about 35 minutes so I thought it was a good idea to have a snack here as the trail then goes steeply uphill for around 40 minutes through lush vegetation.
Julian has written articles on Middle Eastern and European architecture for the US magazine Skipping Stones. He has written travel articles that were published in The Toronto Globe and Mail, Fate Magazine, National Catholic Register, and Northwest Travel. Julian has also written articles for the In The Know Traveler, Go Nomad, InTravelmag, and Go World Travel websites. He has also taken many photographs that have appeared in travel guides by National Geographic, Thomas Cook and The Rough Guides. Examples of his work can be found at http://www.photographersdirect.com/sellers/details.asp?portfolio=13734
