Totally Amazing and Perfect! (which leads to the longest post ever)

I was able to go on a spouse trip all by my self Thursday! No kids. It was great and yet the only thing missing was my kids. You will understand why they couldn't come as you see the pictures of the climb down to the shore. This place, Aba Wavine Cyrique, is on the southern end on the Atlantic side of the island. It was a long drive - we left the shacks at 8:40 and started hiking at 10:00 - but beautiful and I didn't get sick! There were only 5 of us spouses on the trip and it ended up being just right - no long waits as we made our way down the side of the mountain.

Magnificent view as we started our hike.

This little "pet snake" was almost stepped on. Our driver picked it up by the tail and we took pictures. Then he put it on the ground but kept holding the tail so here's a natural look at the snake!



I love taking pictures of flowers and this just might be one of my favorites. I love the colors, shapes and everything.



Hiking into the jungle. It was just so cool, and my kids would have love this part of it.

I'm not really sure what part of the hike this was - before or after the rope climbing - but probably before. I was behind because I was taking pictures.



One of the staircases that lead you through the jungle. It was mostly all downhill so by the time we got to the real climbing, our legs were all shaking from controlling our walk down the steps.

This is one of the girls disappearing over the edge at the top. Before we started our guide/driver gave us some advice, "Don't let go of the rope." Okay. That meant I had to put away my camera so that I could concentrate on getting down rather than using my hands to take pictures. So, I only have a couple of the trip down, but a few more of the trip up.

This is what we just went down. You have to hold on to the ropes or vines. I'm just glad someone put in all the ropes so that we could do this.



Here's the first view after three sections of rope work and a bit of walking on a narrow, overgrown path. It was so amazing.

We made it to the rocky shore!



Our drive/guide opening a coconut without a machete or knife. Once he had the nut out of the shell, he used a rock to tap on the top edge and made a round hole so we could drink the water inside. Then he broke it up so we could eat the meat. Cool.



You can see the waterfall in the background. So neat and awesome.

The hardest part about this post is picking the best pictures. I only took 230 pictures but there are several of the same thing (mainly the waterfall and beach and ocean) so I have to try and pick the best one. Maybe they are all great so it doesn't matter.

This is looking from the waterfall back over the beach the other direction.

We were loving the fresh, cold water splashing down on us while the warm, salty water of the ocean splashed up from below. The water felt good, although a little like hail. What a wonderful and amazing experience.

There was water just dripping on the rock wall. Our driver filled up a Pringles can to get a drink. He said it was good water and I was tempted... then I realized that they think the tap water is good water and I'll get sick if I drink that so I was happy drinking my Ross water that I brought with me.

The sand was amazingly black and shimmery. There were places where you would sink down rather far as you walked on the beach. A couple times I sunk in probably about 5 or 6 inches.

This was just as we were leaving the rocky shore to head back up.



Going up the ladder.

Going up the first staircase. It turns to the right and keeps on going.

On the way home, we made a stop at the Layou River. It is the longest river in Dominica and it has a hot spot. Someone made a hot tub area so you swim across the cold river to get into a little pool of naturally warm water. The hard part is getting out and crossing the cold water again. The current was a bit swift so you really had to swim to get across. It was so refreshing and wonderful!

Can you see the hot tub?

Well, now you can because we're in it. It really was a wonderful little stop, but it made our driver late for his other job. Sorry!

So far I have posted about the main focus of the trip. Now I'll show you all the neat things we saw on our drive to and from Aba Wavine.

First, this is a nutmeg tree. All those little yellow things are nutmegs.



Here's a nutmeg and shell that our driver cracked with his teeth. When he first handed it back it was still inside the shell and he told me to bite it to crack it open. I tried and I couldn't do it. I handed it back and he did it just like that. Crazy strong teeth!

This is in Rosalie. A river meets the ocean. Beautiful! Our driver said it was a nice bathing spot right at the end of the river.

A wind turbine to provide electricity to an eco-resort somewhere down in the jungle. I believe it's the only one on the island.



Cinnamon tree. No kidding. It smelled really good.

You have to watch out for razor grass. Our driver showed it to us, gave us the warning and then kept walking down the path that was filled with the stuff. Luckily it mainly just pulled on your clothes and no one was hurt by it. It felt really neat: gripy, stiff, sharp.

Pineapple field. Each plant gives you one pineapple and after they harvest, they clear the land and plant them again. Lots of work to get those pineapples you eat out of a can (or fresh from the grocery store).



Here's a cocoa tree, with the red pods hanging down. There are actually different kinds and colors of cocoa pods.

Here's a cocoa pod that our driver broke open. I asked him what they do with it and he took a bite. The cocoa seeds are covered with that white stuff that is soft and a bit slimey that you suck off the seed. Then you would have to dry the seed, roast it and crush it to be able to use it for cocoa. Yet another item that takes quite a bit of work.

Here's our driver tapping the top edge of the coconut she just freed from the husk with his bare hands (and some banging of a rock). The top just split off and made a very nice cup for us to drink the water from.

Can you see the clean edge of the coconut?

This is an island almond. It was soft and not quite the same but it had a bit of an almond taste.

Pretty flowers along the path.




View of some of the tallest mountains on the island.




A different tall mountain, I think the tallest on the island. Notice you can't see the top because the clouds cover it.

I called the girl that was staying with my kids as I headed down our road. She said, "Oh, we're at the KFC getting ice cream." I turned around on the road to meet them and get some pictures. The kids had a great time: coloring, going to the river, having friends come over, watching movies and playing. I'm so glad my friends were willing to watch the kids so I could go. I'm so glad Kemiah didn't cry the entire time. I'm so glad my kids enjoyed their day!

Oh, and here's a map to show you where we went. We had to follow the western coast because the road on the eastern side doesn't go all the way down. We ended up near the red circle.