Our second day in Deshaies we returned to the botanical garden about a mile walk up the road. We had visited it the last time we were here, but it's worth a return visit. Quinn's favorite part is the aviary.
On the third day we decided to try a hike up a river that is recommended by our guide book for this area. Kathy and John from Oceana joined us. The guide book describes the hike as "a cool shady scramble", and it certainly was that.
It was a quiet little river, but it was clear that it would grow into a raging torrent when it rained. It was strewn with large boulders that showed recent evidence of bouncing off other rocks. The banks were very steep on both sides, and the forest very thick so the easiest path was to scramble and jump from rock to rock and wade where necessary. It was great fun and the scenery was very lush. There was no sign of habitation or litter anywhere and the river was covered with a thick canopy of trees.
After several hours of scrambling up the river, we were concerned that we had not seen the road that the guide book promised would lead us back to town. We had been working our way up river for considerably longer than suggested by the guide book, and although we were slowed a little by hoisting Quinn up and over the more difficult stretches, it still seemed that we had come a long way.
Eventually we did find a road. Just as we were considering if we should turn back given the late hour and ominous sky, John scouted ahead a little and found the road. This was fortunate, for if we had turned back we would have been forced out of the river due to a heavy rain that started shortly after we gained the road. Our "shady scramble" would have been transformed into a difficult slog through the forest in the rain! Happily, it was just a 20 minute walk down a very steep road in a torrential downpour.
By the time we returned to our boats it was still raining heavily, so we took advantage of all that fresh water and had showers out on the transom. Jen was a bit shy of a near by boat until she noticed its French flag. "What the heck, they're French. They don't care!"
Tropical rain can be something to see. In this case, virtually no wind, but the warm rain coming down as if you were standing right under a strong shower head. Cup your hands and they would fill in 20-30 seconds.
It was a very fun day that ended well (and clean).
No comments:
Post a Comment