Woke up refreshed and surprisingly feeling no pain, I headed on down to breakfast. I am usually not one for breakfast or lunch, but with the extreme amount of exercise I was getting, I did not want to bonk out like the days before. For breakfast we were served omelets over bread with sides of tomatoes and cucumbers. We had glasses of fresh squeezed juices as well. Katie an Jason were going to do the strenuous Volcano hikes with a guide so Bam and I hopped into his car and took off. During the course Bam gave me a guides knowledge of all the local sites on the way as well as some interesting tidbits about himself. He is an extreme outdoors man, living in a off the beaten path area of Nantucket. He and his wife live in a somewhat self sustaining community where they lived similarly as 3 Rivers with the rigors of transportation, fuel sources, water, etc. He had picked Dominica as his own personal vacation spot because of the immense nature characteristics of the island, even though it was not the choice of the rest of the family. He had actually came down this week on his own to do some research. As I spent more time with Bam I was not only impressed with his knowledge of the island and its flora and fauna, but also because of his immense knowledge of general history. If we had questions about the island he was able to speak to it, not only because of his first hand experience, but also through the research he did by reading and researching on the net. He was even knowledgeable about the scientific name of the many different species in Dominica. The other thing that I came to admire about Jem was that he had a well defined path about what his life was going to be about. He had his passions, and his hobbies all figured out and was living them. That is something that I need to work out and hopefully will as this trip progresses/ends.

After an hour or so of driving we dropped into town. Roseau is the capital of Dominica with about a third of the population living around town. I found it to be a sleepy port town that had that little bit of novelty charm to it. It was in no way at the overly done, tourist trap like in St. Thomas. Jem was needing to stop in at a realtors office and to make some calls. We planned to meet a hour later so it gave me time to check out the city. It was not a Cruise ship day so the streets were relatively quiet. The streets are lined with small shops selling pretty much everything that you could think of. There weren’t a lot of pushy merchants so it was a nice place to wander about. I found the local produce market so was extremely happy that I could find my beloved ripe bananas. After a while I wandered back towards a restaurant Jem’s wife liked and met up with Jem. I ordered a sandwich for my upcoming hike and had some passion fruit juice for a quick energizer. We talked a bit more and decided to head up the mountain to where I would begin my hike. We stopped at his usual place to stay and met up with some of his friends. We picked up our park passes and continued up the hill. Jem decided to do the Boeri Lake trail with me (his favorite work out trail,) and then walk to the Fresh Water Lakewhere we would split up and I would continue on down the mountains and to Rosalie at the ocean and back to camp while he drove back down and hit some of his watering holes for some swimming. We hiked the Boeri trail and arrived a half an hour later at the cloud covered lake. It was actually the most mystical of the lakes that were around with the clouds blowing through every few seconds. The lake was Emerald color and dropped some 130 ft. The wind was breezy and cool which after that hike I needed. The other thing I learned about Jen is that even while walking on a lacerated foot, smoking a cigarette, he can kick my ass up and down those trails. God I am out of shape or Ethiopians also come in slightly oversized, white skin. After a quick breather we headed down the hill and over to the adjoining mountain side. Fresh Water lake was just a regular lake that was slowly being turned into a cruise ship drop off point with Recreation center and kayak rental. We quickly passed by there and headed down the trail. After a few turns Jem and I went our separate ways. I walked alone in this beautiful serene environment. Walking through trails along the cliff side that plummeted thousands of feet below. More than two thirds of the walk was through vegetation covered paths where sun nor rain could make it through. There was spectacular views and many little falls and creeks that churned their way down. After about three hours of trekking I reached the little town of Grand Fond. From their it was windy road walking the last two miles to the ocean. From there another mile back up to 3 Rivers. In total it was about a 7+ mile walk through fantastic evergreen jungle, sleepy villages, cliffside views, rivers, and finally the ocean. It had rained most of the day and I was drenched the whole time, but it just made the day more refreshing.

I arrived back to the lodge about 5:30 which gave me an hour and a half to take a dive in the pool, take a shower, and a quick hammock nap before dinner. That night we had the soup again but this time Jem had picked up some nice fresh Tuna steaks so we had those in the soup/stew, that was followed again with the fresh fruit mix in which I added some Mangoes and Papaya that I picked up at the market. I found out that day as I was doing my walk that Bam had gone down to the river to his favorite swim hole and accidental stepped right on a broken bottle severely cutting his foot.

With everybody doing an extensive hike we had an even earlier night than usual and promptly went to bed by nine.