Location: Roseau, Dominica
First and foremost, don’t mispronounce the name of this beautiful island. This place is known for its lush greenery, and on our massive hike, we discovered that this claim was truly valid. Our hike was approximately 14 miles, and our objective was the boiling lake. I started the day with a delightful wake-up tune, Barbra Streisand by Duck Sauce. I thought it would energize the crew. I’m not really sure as to the effectiveness of this tactic, but we were all up and ready to go on time. We met up with our guide poncho and taxied to our starting location. We hiked on a trail that consisted mostly of dirt, stones, and perpendicular logs (to prevent trail erosion). We hiked long and hard, overcoming obstacles as a group rather than as individuals, every once in a while getting a view of the mountainous landscape through the dense forest. Finally arriving at a plateau, we took in the sights from our 360-degree view, able to see a dense uprising of white steam off in the distance (boiling lake). We continued after a short break, pressing on against the intense forces of man-made trails. We came to a rocky slope with a stream running down, leaving behind trails of brownish-red and aquamarine. Ending at what was the first of many boiling hot sulfur springs. We stopped here and prepared for what would end up being the most epic meal we had on a hike of all time. The meal consisted of our usual sandwiches and an apple, but it took a few wild turns. Our guide poncho brought along with him eggs to boil in the sulfur springs, a concoction of cod and assorted veggies, and bakery-fresh bread. Sam brought along some delicious homemade croissants (with Nutella and jelly for spread), and I brought the most important part, goldfish crackers (not the most important part). We consumed the delicious lunch without delay, diving deep into a sea of flavors. After our gullets were full of foodstuffs, we applied warm mud found near sulfur springs to our faces (I personally don’t know why, but it was still pretty interesting). Then, proceed to a nearby hot spring to wash up. The hot spring was heated by the upstream sulfur springs. It consisted of 3 main pools separated by small waterfalls, all heated at a very comfortable temperature (around 90 degrees). After a relaxing time in the pools and receiving a waterfall-powered massage, we headed to our halfway point, the boiling lake. When we arrived at the boiling lake, we found that it was a huge sulfur spring at the bottom of a huge cliff. The hot gas was surging from the center of the lake. It was quite a sight to behold. Hopefully, we just post a picture because I couldn’t accurately describe it to you. The way back had a whole different tone. People were exhausted and moving at incredibly variable speeds. For instance, I was moving at a pretty fast pace and ran down a couple of hills, which was a very risky maneuver but was incredibly exhilarating. Also, something to keep in mind is that I arrived 5th, so I wasn’t even at the fastest pace. The end was surprisingly awesome as well. It was called the “gorge,” supposedly a location in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie). It is a small gorge varying in size from approximately 4 to 12 feet across, with very cold water, no sunlight, and two small waterfalls. It was an incredible, naturally occurring location. What a day!