These Gathering Days, They Pass Like Water

Greetings everyone!

As mentioned in the previous blog post, my mother traveled to the nature isle of the Caribbean to spend ten days with me.  We had an absolutely fantastic experience!  She visited at the perfect time of the year because her trip coincided with the popular Carnival celebrations!  If any readers of this blog are friends with my mom on the facebook, I urge that they all take a glimpse at her photo albums from her vacation to Dominica.  Throughout my mom’s entire stay, she insisted that we take photos of the beautiful island at every corner.  Even though I do appreciate the remarkable views around Dominica, I really enjoyed having someone here who reminded me that truly every square foot of this island is absolutely precious.

My mom astounded me with her efforts during our treks to a few of the magnificent views around the island.  In an amble manner, she lumbered across the uneven, narrow paths which are difficult for any experienced hiker regardless of their previous accomplishments in the wilderness.  On her first full day on the island, she, through her own exertions, was able to see a 70 foot waterfall which is located in the middle of the rainforest called Sari Sari Falls.  Chris, another Peace Corps volunteer mentioned in a previous blog, and I led her on the hike and we prefaced it by saying that it was one of the easier ones on the island.  After returning to my house and reading the tourist guide my mom brought with her, we came to realize that the Sari Sari Falls hike is actually one of the most difficult ones.  Whoops.

After being immensely sore from the waterfall hike, my mom decided to take it easy and signed us up for a whale watching tour.  The whales that most frequent the near Dominica waters at this time of the year are the sperm whales.  Many dolphins are spotted during these tours as well.  My cherished friend and fellow volunteer, Dana, joined my mom and I as the boat set for the whale “hot spots” off the shores of Dominica.  We saw whales literally in the first ten minutes we were out on the sea!  After guzzling down delicious fresh squeezed juices and rum punches, spotting ten whales, and floating across the sea on a boat, this day was absolutely fantastic!  One of the coolest things for me to see was the view of the island of Dominica aboard a ship in the Caribbean Sea.  The mountainous peaks and stimulating rainforests was spectacular to witness from a different perspective.

The “main event hike” which my mom and I chose to venture onto towards the end of her stay was the dreaded Boling Lake trek known for its narrow, steep paths and never-ending inclines.  As my mom still ached and felt sore from the less intense although evidently still challenging Sari Sari Falls hike (Note:  See above about the tourist guide booklet), she claimed that she really wanted to give the Boiling Lake hike her best attempt.

On the morning of the day we set aside for the hike, my mom and I still were not fully committed to the adventure.  We decided that we would go to the capital city of Roseau to eat breakfast then we would decide if we wanted to conquer the boiling lake or just do another less intense hike to another stunning waterfall.  After breakfast, she and I both felt great so we decided that we would make our way to the entrance of one of the most challenging hikes in the entire Caribbean region. 

As we hopped onto the path, I completely understood that my mom and I were going to need to hold an immensely stringent pace.  I was quite conscientious about our indecision to commence the boiling lake hike in the late morning as we could have potentially run out of daylight in the deep rainforest if we were to complete the entire course.  Since I was worried about our pace, I decided to transform myself into “football/swim team coach mode” to encourage my mom to keep a high walking tempo.  My mom put forth her best effort!  This tactic worked successfully for about the first hour of the hike where my mom thought that we were overpowering the massive incline which she had heard about from my friends and I who had previously hiked the path.  After that first hour of a moderate hill she discovered herself at the base of the actual massive incline. 

While time ticked away on the clock and my mom’s pace grew noticeably torpid, we reached the top of the first summit.  This spot designates the 1/4^th point of the hike or essentially we were halfway to the boiling lake!  On this particular day, the cloudless blue filled the sky.  The view was marvelous!  We could see the rest of Dominica perfectly.  As I’ve arrived at this spot during other boiling lake hikes, I’ve literally been standing in a cloud with overcast skies surrounding me.  Visibility was non-existent at best on other trips but this day was different.  A local tour guide who was leading a group of hikers crossed paths with us at the top of the mountain and proceeded to tell his group and us the names of the other volcano ranges.  He even pointed out how we could see the tallest mountain peak on Guadeloupe which is over 20 miles away! 

After taking a lengthy rest period at the top of the mountain while soaking in the view, my mom and I continued on our journey.  This next section of the hike can be considered the most burdensome as the path leads literally straight down to an area dubbed “the valley of desolation.”  The tremendously steep path at this point calls for the hikers to utilize their entire body to make the climb down to the valley.  As I look back, my mom’s effort at this part really impressed me because I am almost 100% confident she has never attempted anything like this throughout her entire life.  While this section almost certainly caused us the opportunity to make it to the boiling lake with enough sunlight left to arrive safely back at our vehicle, my mom felt very proud of her accomplishments for arriving at the ominous valley of desolation. 

Following our passing through the valley, my mom showed great improvement in her hiking abilities.  She easily skipped across the rocks of the heated, gushing sulfur rivers which is a necessary challenge on the path.  We traveled on the course for another hour as my mom resiliently championed over all the most difficult portions of the hike.  As my mom was in a hiking groove, we neared our goal.  My mom and I stood relatively close to our destination.  While we were less than a half mile of rolling hills away from the lake, the clock elapsed past our agreed upon “turn-around time.”   :(  

Despite hustling through the uneven terrain and arduous cliffs, my mom was not going to see the boiling lake.  She informed me that she felt like Moses when he was denied entrance to the Promised Land.  She insisted that I run to the lake with her camera so that she could at least get a picture of it on the day she attempted.  I obliged her request in a verbatim manner and I actually ran the rest of the path to the destination.  This was my first attempt at “run-hiking” and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  After I quickly returned to her, we set our stride in the opposite direction to the entrance of the hike.

While following the path back to where the hike starts, the sun was setting quicker than I had predicted it would.  The view from the middle of the island in the deep rainforest was spectacular during these moments but I was overcome with the realization that we were in the middle of the deep rainforest!  We needed to pick up our pace but my mom was completely spent from the tough day.  Resourcefully, I packed two flashlights in my backpack which we utilized for the last hour of the hike.  I would like to publically apologize to my mom for some of the things I said to her while my nervous frustration was boiling over.  I flung some harsh words her way (which looking back didn’t help our precarious situation) when I knew we were going to be stuck walking in the dark because of the combination of our lackadaisical pace and eleventh-hour start time.  Sorry, mom.  Love you.  :)

The Carnival festivities were set to launch the day after our epic boiling lake trek.  My mom was looking forward to experiencing the Calypso music contest the following day but we decided to stay in my village.  We invited the family which I am closest with over to my house and we had a very enjoyable time baking local Dominican food, drinking fresh squeezed juice, and hanging out.  This was one of my favorite days because I felt like I got to share the people who I consider family in Dominica with someone from my actually family.

After a much deserved, relaxing day at the beach, my mom and I celebrated the Carnival festivities with some partying with locals and other Peace Corps volunteers.  The party hosted at another volunteer’s home stay parent’s house was fantastic!  The electrifying dance moves and contagious energy permeated through the house late into the evening.  The next morning, we woke up around 4 am for the much anticipated J’ouvert celebration on the morning of Carnival Monday.  Several thousand people trudged through the streets of the capital city staying functional on adrenaline while sporting scandalous outfits.  The scene was quite reminiscent of any college town’s downtown block during Halloween.  We had a blast!

Just as the sun set on our hike to the boiling lake trek, my mom’s vacation journey to Dominica came to an end.  We pulled up to the airport where we would have to say goodbye again for another prolonged amount of time.

As I took one last glance at my sobbing mother before she entered the security doorway at the Dominican airport, I thought that it would have been nice to have her stay longer.  I really enjoyed her presence.  As all wonderful mothers do, she brought a reassuring sense back into my life.  One thing I have realized while I have been away is that I will focus on attempting to never take my family or friends for granted again.  This experience has taught me the valuable lesson of having family members active within one’s life.  Someday when I start my own family, I will cherish them until my last breath.

For me, farewells are easier when they last for a short time.  I thoroughly attempt to keep them abbreviated, simple, and deliberate.  This allows me to stay strong for the other person while they are also having remorseful feelings of separation.  Since I have been exploring many opportunities around the U.S. and now in the Caribbean over the past several years, I have become fairly decent at saying ‘so long’ to people I care about.  Although, feelings of sadness unavoidably creep up in my mind after the initial moments settles from parting ways. 

I'm confident my mom enjoyed her stay.

I feel so fortunate that I have such a fantastic situation going on with the precious individuals I have encountered while on Dominica.  My close friends, whether they are Dominicans or other Peace Corps volunteers, are such extraordinary individuals.  As I interact with many people with different backgrounds, I realize that no matter where I find myself that I can be around people who I care about and who care about me.  This deep understanding brings me great strength when I decide to explore more opportunities during my life.  Personally, I believe this sense of self-awareness is something that can only be discovered when one consciously steps out of their comfort zone and leaps into the vast unknown.

Thank you again for all your support!

Take care,

Joe