Another day, another Dominican adventure.
How could one possibly experience all the natural wonders that an island as vast as Dominica has to offer, especially when you only have a few short weeks to explore? The honest answer is you can’t but in spite of that truth, we’re doing our best to at least see a good chunk of it.
Yesterday’s adventure saw us traveling to Chaudiere Pool, a 25 minute or so bus ride away near the east-coast village of Bense. Yes, we could have taken a taxi or an organized tour as many others do, but we prefer the frugal and more interesting approach of taking public transport or hitchhiking.
After being sent on our way by our friendly bus driver Ronald, we walked the remaining distance to the trailhead. The pool is a popular tourist destination, no doubt due in part to the short hike required to get to it. Although it wasn’t far, hiking down the steep trail in the morning sun made our initial dip into the crystal-clear freshwater pool all the more wonderful.
I freely admit to being the last of our group to jump off the steep cliff face into the deep water. Heights and I are not the best of friends! I did do it though and can attest that after making that first leap, further jumps are not quite so scary.
In addition to the cliffs which the adventuresome can jump from, the pool also features a bit of a natural rock waterside. The interesting details on Rebecca’s trip down it will be shared in a future post!
After hanging out for some time and enjoying what is obviously the predominant tourist features of the area, the Type-A people in our group set off on a hike upstream from the pool. We were told by one of the locals that you could hike for days up that river and given more time, we would have loved to do just that. Unfortunately, the four of us had to settle for a hour or so’s worth of boulder hopping before turning around and making our way back to catch the return bus to Portsmouth.
Dominica visitors, don’t pass up a trip to the Chaudiere Pool. We found it to be an incredibly beautiful place to spend the day.
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Wow, what a tropical paradise! It looks like the jungle, which we were disappointed NOT to find when hiking in the rainforests of Oahu, Hawaii a few years ago. Like you, we’d much prefer to take a local bus or hitch a ride over an organized group tour. Sounds like a great place to get lost for a few weeks!
It sure is!
Is it safe to assume, Mike, that you are holding your nose on your jump? 🙂
Affirmative.
I was with a guy last night having dinner and we were talking about a vacation home in the Caribbean. He ask me why I dont buy something? This is a perfect example why I would never buy a vacation home that does not move from island to island….Another post that brings me closer to a dream, some dream, any dream, one day dream!
If you were going to buy some land on an island, Dominica might not be so bad a place to do so!
Holding your nose?
I had the same thought as Deb when I saw that photo. One arm out, the other lost from behind.
Looks like you have one other thing to learn, Mike.
Real men don’t hold their nose!
On the contrary, when I did the STCW 95 course we were taught to hold our nose when jumping into the water from any height (off the deck of a large ship for example). The specific method taught was to have one hand holding the life jacket down to the chest, the other pinching the nose closed and legs crossed to protect the jewels.
Oh man – what a beautiful spot! Those photos just made my day (especially on this drab, rainy Montana afternoon). Keep posting those amazing shots and making the rest of us jealous! (And I find nothing wrong with holding one’s nose when diving…that’s just the smart thing to do!)
Katie and Mark
http://www.ControlledJibe.com
Glad you liked the pics!
That video was worth my donation to the buy the G-Pro camera fund!! Love to see and can’t wait to do stuff like that.
Shhhh Lorry, I haven’t posted the video here yet. 😉
Thanks again for the donation though. We still think you Rock!
Wow, that does look like I was fishing for a ‘thank you’ eh (gotta keep it Canadian)? LOL Totally didn’t mean to do that. And of course I rock, my mom still says I’m cool afterall.
I didn’t take it that way at all!
I was reading Newly Salted, and linked to your site. Scrolling through your pictures in Dominica, and there was George! Small world. Sorry to hear about Kelly. I did the Mac Race with George last summer. I’m currently looking at cruising boats, ready to make the leap…
Very cool, Kerry. We just left George, Kelly and Nico on Earthling this morning. Kelly is heading back to the US tomorrow but we hope to meet back up with George in a few days.
Good luck on the boat search! Let us know how that goes.