I wake up in Wotton Waven with a few more mosquito bites on my feet. Somehow, one or two always manage to sneak under the mosquito net, and my feet are already scratched. The morning is beautiful, though so I decided to go to the Boeri and Freshwater Lake, scratched feet be damned. As always, I want to hitchhike there instead of taking the bus.
Today, I seem to be lucky. A car stops, getting me to the next intersection, then another car stops, to the next intersection, and so on I go until I have to walk just a little bit. It feels good because I am walking barefoot.
The sores from my scratched-open mosquito bites hurt when I wear shoes, but without shoes, walking just feels better. It doesn't hurt anymore, and the quality of walking itself changes, the experience transforms. Now I can feel the little stones of the asphalt, the warmth of the ground. These details add texture to the moment. It's relaxing to walk like this. You walk slower. More deliberate, more careful, more aware of what is going on, and I can't help but smile. I get rid of my headphones and listen to the sound of the rustling leaves and the birds and insects in the trees.
At some point later, I'm sitting on the side of the road, cuddling a cute dog, next to the crazy house of a Rastafari by the name of Froggis. The house is as crazy as the man who inhabits it.
After patting the dog for some time, two people I know from the Petit Paradis in Wotton Waven stop and pull over. What a welcome surprise, because I still need another hitch. So I asked them if they could bring me the rest of the way up to the Freshwater Lake and they agreed :)
Once we arrive we even go hiking together.
Freshwater Lake is a beautiful spot in the middle of nowhere. There's a short hike going around the lake. Walking there is serenely beautiful. You can take in the view from the small ridges of the path, overlooking the lake and the mountains in the distance, partly covered by clouds, it's tremendous.
Eventually, we get back to the parking place though and the couple leaves to another place (boiling lake) that I already visited the other day. I decided to also visit Boeri Lake and walk there on foot.
The hike there is scenic, and filled with animals and plants to cherish. And the mountains in the distance loom large and mysterious, always covered at least a little bit by some fog or clouds. At some point looking back you can even see Freshwater Lake in the distance. With the bits of sun peaking through the clouds, it looks like straight out of a fairy tale.
The view of Boeri Lake itself is, somehow, even more breathtaking. Boeri Lake isn't as big as the freshwater lake, but in my mind, it is the more beautiful of the two... a small lake, surrounded by mountains and jungle. The water is a surreal green, shimmering in the cloudy twilight. It looks inviting, but also something about it gives me the creeps, it's a bit too beautiful, as if you would drown when you touch it. It's also quite cold and windy so I don't take a short swim in it after all. I just have some peanut butter sandwiches and some water before heading back down.
On my way back I take my time, to see all the plant life around me. There is so much hidden beauty, so many details at every corner that it makes me happy. Barefoot I jump up and down, like a little kid playing in the forest, with a big smile from ear to ear, absorbed in trying to capture the little details of the world around me. To really see. If you look, there is beauty to be found at every corner.
One of my favorite quotes from Walter Mitty says as much:
Beautiful things don't ask for attention.
How true.
After this little adventure I head back home to Le Petit Paradise but on my way, I visit the Trafalgar Falls. Maybe the most famous waterfalls in Dominica, these twin falls are totally out of this world and I can't quite believe this place exists for real.
There are two of them, one named "Mama":
And one named "Papa":
They are both extremely beautiful in their own right, but the special thing about Papa Falls is that it has a part that is a hot spring.
You can tell in the pictures by the orange color on the left from the sulfur and iron dissolved in the water. It's just the perfect setup, sit underneath a beautiful warm natural waterfall, surrounded by jungle and mountains, while watching the bigger waterfall just meters away. If you get too warm, no worries, just walk a couple of meters and bathe in the cold water of the main fall... How can a place like this, be real?
After a while bathing in the soothing hot springs, I headed back to the hostel, hitchhiking again.
Once back at the hotel, I met some people that I'd first seen on the ferry, and they invited me out for dinner. We had a great time, talking about music and hiking and traveling and all sorts of things. The owner of the hostel (and restaurant), Le Petit Paradis, is cooking a perfect local meal for a small group of tourists, waiting patiently. The food was so wholesome and delicious: fried banana, some rice and beans, and a piece of fish. It was wonderful—the perfect ending for a full and exciting day.