World Cup, Distilleries, And Hikes Galore

If you only have a little bit of time, this 1 minute video summary of the hikes is a fantastic demonstration of our travels. Definitely make it full screen though!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykcx-WzyJso&feature=youtube_gdata

This weekend was an extra exciting weekend, as we accomplished a great deal in a short span of time. Our first event on the calendar was to attend the Dominica vs Canada World Cup Qualifying match in Windsor Park. We arrived at the arena an hour early, as we were told that there was expected to be a large showing of support for the Dominican team, and there was no assigned seating. This speculation was correct, and the arena was jam packed with roaring football fans, considerably more than at the cricket match. Upon arriving at the stadium, we were greeted by one of the only other fair skinned patrons there, a die hard Canadian Football fan who had logged 22 away traveling with the Canadian team. He hoped to recruit us to be temporary Canada fans for the evening, offering to bribe us with oodles of Canadian swag ranging from hats to flags. We unfortunately had turn him down, as our hearts belonged to the other team, which he fully understood after we explained how long we planned to stay on the nature Island. He then proceeded to recruit some German tourists to fill our spot, and found several other french speaking friends to enjoy the match with (as Dominica has some french people on the island). The match ended with Dominica losing by 2 goals, but still proved to be a very fun evening. We then proceeded to return to our house, and hung out with some locals around our age at one of the small house side shops up the road. It was a very fun evening.

Dominica Vs Canada World Cup Qualifier

The next morning we slept in, and then decided to tour the Macoucherie Rum Factory on the island. The distillery is roughly a 25 minute drive from our home in Eggleston, and we almost missed the "exit" to the factory, as there was no signage to direct us, and the place looked to be falling apart. However, to our surprise, it was indeed the factory, and we arrived just in time for our tour. The first thing incredibly interesting about the factory, was it was still stuck in the 19th century. The entire distillery operation was still powered by a stream that ran alongside the centuries old machinery, and still used the original watermill to power the equipment. Sugarcane was grown and harvested much by hand, as we saw several workers in the field lugging heavy sacks of cane over the back to the pile to be processed. One interesting thing to note was that all the manual labor positions were held by Haitians (people from Haiti), and lived on site in the same quarters that used to house the slaves that previously ran the factory. The tour guide said it was impossible to find Dominicans who would agree to work in the fields, which was extremely surprising for a country with an unemployment rate of 23%, (26.2% for young males). So instead, the managers of the company had to import workers from the island of Haiti to work in their factory.  The tour continued to show us some old store houses with shudders hanging crooked from one hinge, and water run offs with dead crabs laying in the gutters. Inside the distillation building, we were shown to the hydrometer, which was still the original antique alcohol content meter from the factories origins. Here, in this building, the mash was pumped from large caste iron tanks several floors above into the the distillation chamber. The supports for these heavy containers were simply old planks of wood, which made me wonder how such a vast amount of weight could be supported for centuries by such a small amount of wood. The most interesting aspect of the tour was how old fashioned the distillery still was. When you visit distilaries in the united states, they show you the old equipment that was used long ago, and the machinery that is used now. This place, on the other hand, was still reliant on the old methods of production, which was somthing that I had never seen before, and made the trip completely worth it.

Water Wheel That Powers All Machinery

Storehouses Still In Use

After the distillery, we continued onto the nearby Mero Beach, where we visited very early in the trip. Here we swam, skipped stones, and laid out on lounge chairs along the sea by a seaside restaurant known as Romance Cafe. The owner of the Cafe was a French woman who had heard us on the news, and was very eager to hear about our work on the island. She gave us advice on how to reach the masses, as well as a round of free drinks for chatting with her. She was very kind and ran the most peaceful seaside cafe this side of the equator. We enjoyed the beach long past sunset, and came home to eat a quick snack and chat for a few hours in our living room. It was a peaceful end to a peaceful day.

A view After Sunset From Our Cafe Table

The next day was our day of adventure, as we woke up at 7 am to begin our journey into the jungles of Dominica. The first hike on our list was the famous Trolfalga Falls, as seen on the East Caribbean 5 Dollar Bill. The drive took us fairly high into the mountains, and into a beautiful part of the island we had never seen before. The drive was under 30 minutes, and proved to be quite scenic. The walk to the falls, however, proved to be even more so. The trail was short and very well defined. Here, there were solid steps and no steep hills to deter us, and we reached the falls in just under 10 minutes. The view was breathtaking from the observation deck, but I wanted to get closer. I ended up following a small stream that took me through lots of rocks and boulders, to the place where I took the photo below. I wished to get closer to the falls to get a more perfect selfie, however, my group was not brave enough to accompany me along the stream, let alone through a sea of boulders. So I returned to them, and happily proceeded out to our next destination.

Trofalga Falls

A View From My Hike Up The Stream

Group Shot at Trolfalga

The second location on our itinerary was freshwater lake. To reach the lake, we had to travel much further up the mountain. We traveled so far up the mountain that we were completely surrounded by clouds on all sides, and visibility at points was next to none. The temperature dropped so low that we all had goosebumps and were freezing by the time we reached the trail head. The lake itself looked like something out of Harry Potter, as the water was completely covered in a thick fog that obstructed the view of anything more than a few feet out. The clouds continually rolled through, with occasional gusts of wind briefly revealing the glimpses through the fog, and the enormity of the lake. A trail wound around the 2.5 mile circumference of the lake, and lead us on an extreme expedition way up into the mountain. The trail was extremely slippery and dark, as the clouds keep the place constantly soaked, and between the clouds, fog, and complete tree cover, very little light made it through to the trail. Their were logs dug into the steep hills as steps, but proved to be immensely slippery since they were soaked. These log steps wound up and down through the mountain side to immense heights, and at times were so steep had to be climbed almost like a ladder, with hands holding the step directly in front of you. It was surreal looking down with one moment seeing a hundred foot drop, and the next seeing nothing but the grey fog concealing the gorge below. The ghostly fog and the wipping wind were such a unique and breathtaking experience that really reminded us we were on the top of a mountain at the top of the world.

The Clouds At Freshwater Lake

Me With Cloud Concealed Mountains Behind

Dont Look Down

1. Truckin

Me Walking The Narrow Mountain Top

Group Shot With STEEP Path Behind Us. Look How Straight Down It Goes

After we completed the Freshwater Lake (it took us several hours of climbing straight up and down) we continued on to a trail known as Bori Lake. Bori lake was very close to freshwater lake, but was at a slightly higher elevation. The trail to Bori was mostly rocks, which proved to be more slippery than the logs, and at times much more treacherous. We had to scoot ourselves over some of the bigger boulders, and constantly used handholds to ensure we would not slip. This trail also took us up and down very steep hills through the mountains, with breathtaking views every time the fog would slightly give way. The end result was a breathtakingly teal lake concealed most the time by the thick fog with a large boulder shore. This pool in the mountains was absolutely gorgeous, and the pictures taken cannot do it justice, but absolutely made this two hour round trip hike worth it. What I still cannot get over was how DARK  it gets in the rain forest. The pictures make the environment look much lighter than it really was, and it was in fact very similar to dusk lighting for most the trip.

Our Path Through The Rain Forest

Some Sunlight Creeps Through

We Reached Bori Lake!

Me With Bori Lake Behind

After that hike, we refueled at one of our favorite restaurants, and continued down to hike up Scott's Head, the location where the fierce Atlantic ocean meets the calm Caribbean Sea. This was a relatively short hike directly up the rocky shore. The climate down at sea level is much more arid, and the dry heat was a stark contrast to the cool dark environment of the rain forest. We ended up losing the trail at one point, and had to scurry up a rather scary cliff that made me fearful to look down. The strong ocean winds were whipping from the top, but the peak provided a fantastic view of the island and ocean. The peak was also used as a fortification, and a large cannon and steep ammo reserve still serve as the area's eternal guardian overlooking the bay. 

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The View From Scott's Head. (Atlantic on Left, Caribbean on Right)

Group

We then traveled back up the mountain and into the clouds for our 4th and final hike of the day. The destination was Middlehelm falls, an estimated 2 hour hike, which was exactly how much time we had before the sun was supposed to set. Lucky for us we had beaten all the other "estimated times" and found ourselves to be quick and proficient hikers. This hike lead us up high through a forest with trees as big as redwoods and sounds of tropical birds echoing through the dark forest. The view of the falls was absolutely spectacular, and due to it's such great stature, we struggled to capture it all in a single picture. Thank goodness Samsung has a vertical panorama feature so the falls could be captured in all their glory!

The Hike To Middelhelm

The View of Middelhelm

Michael at Middlehelm

The final event of the day was a trip to Screw's Spa, a natural freshwater spring pool to bathe in. While we expected a simple hole in the ground, we were shocked to discover the places size and beauty. There were statues and beautiful rock walls lining the many pools that connected through gorgeous man made waterfalls. The pools looked like they were out of a zen garden, and the water in the pools ranged from super hot to comfortably luke warm. We stretched our muscles and enjoyed the springs for a few hours before we returned home to make pancakes and watch the Imitation Game (which is apparently on Caribbean Netflix). It was a fantastic end to a fantastic day.

Jack's Walk

Yesterday's adventure took us through the Botanical Gardens on a short hike known as "Jack's Walk." We began the roughly 45 minute long trek after work, which took us to the top of the mountain Morne Bruce. The top of the mountain overlooks the Caribbean Sea, and served as a fort for the English during colonial times. A lone rusted cannon gazing out to sea is the sole remnant of the English stronghold that once guarded over the island. Seeing the 7 foot long cannon made me wonder how many vessels have passed whiten range of the gun's mighty power, and how many more it brought to a watery grave.  The view from the peak offers a stunning view of both the capital Roseau and the sea, and provided a nice escape from the bustling city life. Upon the return journey, we wandered through the gardens and discovered a ring of bamboo that was able to surround us in a shroud of shade. This was a cool relief from the early afternoon sun, and provided me with a unique photo op. Afterwards, we wandered back into town to purchase a tape measure for work, and also refuel with some ice cream. We then proceeded to walk to the other side of town to judge at the local primary school's 4H competition. The competitors competed in public speaking, choral speaking, and show and tell events all related to the concept of family farming. The presentations were interesting, and it was very fascinating to see the differences in schooling between the US and here. The school buildings themselves act as a barrier to a large courtyard where students can run and play. This outdoor style of school looks very appealing with the mountains in the backdrop, and definitely encourages exercise, a key component to curbing the obesity epidemic on the island.

The Climb

The Summit

Pointing out to Sea

Conquering Cannons

Inside The Bamboo Circle

Enterance to Jack's Walk AKA Temple of Doom

Today we woke up at 5:00 am to catch a bus for Portsmouth, the town on the far side of the island. Our destination was the Portsmouth Secondary School, a highschool where students in an entrepreneurship course are working to make coconut cheese and compete in our competition. Unfortunately, our bus made several unexpected stops, so we missed the general assembly we were supposed to speak at today. Lucky for us we still met with the students, and watched them make batches upon batches of coconut cheese. The students were excited to have us there helping them, and we stayed from 8 o'clock until 1 watching them make several batches. They're school's architecture follows a similar outside layout to the primary school, with a large courtyard in the middle surrounded by a wall of classrooms on the outside. The school seemed a little more laid back and social than the traditional highschool I attended, but none the less seemed to be teaching all the important subjects. Students attend school from 8 until 1, with a 30 minute or so lunch break in the middle. Classes sounded louder and slightly more rambunctious than typical american institutions, but I would attribute a large part of that to being in an outdoors environment. Overall, the school impressed me, and I had an enjoyable time with the students. We may return there later in the summer to check on how they are doing, and observe any changes they have made to their process.

The Primary School

After taking the busses home, I went for a walk in the local village. I met some boys (aged 13-early 20's) hanging out beside one of the small shops that dot the roadside in the village. After chatting with them for awhile, they mentioned how they hoped to open a bicycle store in Roseau, and how they needed to start a smaller business first to get enough money to stock a stores worth of bike parts. I plan to brainstorm a little to think of a small business venture that would be possible on the island. The excessive import tax makes starting a business reliant on foreign goods difficult, as many import taxes are upwards of 30% of the good's value, requiring much initial capital to start up. It is also difficult to capitalize on the island's abundant organic fruit,  as you would first need a buyer and a way to package and ensure freshness and keep the fruits pest free. This leaves it difficult to find a service related business that is capable of inexperienced work.




Tomorrow we have another meeting with a coconut cheese manufacturer, and hope to attend the Dominica Vs. Canada World Cup Qualifying match in Roseua. It should prove to be a fun weekend, and I look forward to keeping you updated. Thank you for following along!

Michael Stewart

Cricket And Snorkeling

Instead of going to Woodford Hill this weekend to visit our comrades on the other side of the island, they visited us. Our primary goal for the weekend was to attend the Cricket match between Australia and the West Indies team in Roseau.  The stadium itself for the game houses 12,000 people, an extraordinary capacity for an island of 70,000. When we arrived we were shocked at the number of Australian flags and Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi chants we heard upon entering the arena. We had seen a few Australians on the island who were visiting for the game, but we did not expect them to turn out in such numbers!

 A View Of The Stadium

An Arena in the Mountains

We had never seen a Cricket game before, and had absolutely no idea how the game was played. This made the event all the more interesting, as we attempted to piece together the rules through observing the game. After the first few hours, we had a general grasp on the game, and with the help of a few natives, we held enough knowledge to be Cricket Captains ourselves (if our life depended on it). The game itself is rather interesting, and most definitely rather British in origin. In fact, it is the only sport I have ever seen that stops the whole game for a tea break at 3:00 in the afternoon... In addition to the tea break, there are breaks for breakfast and lunch throughout the game, as the game stretches from 10 in the morning until 5 oclock at night for up to 5 days until the match is finished! Because of the long duration of game play, we noticed that players take it upon themselves to stretch in ridiculous manners every few minutes to stay limber enough for the next player to bowl. Overall, the West Indies suffered a sad defeat, but delivered a game that I shall remember for a long time to come.

A Player Laying on His Stomach Mid-Game To Stretch

After the game, we dined at our favorite restaurant downtown, and caught one of the last buses back to Eggleston. The remainder of the night was spent playing Boggle and card games with many laughs stretching into the wee hours of the night. 

Today we decided to go Snorkeling at one of the more famous dive sites on the Island, Champagne Reef. The snorkeling was incredible, but we did not arrive to the site without a few transportation errors along the way. After we made it to Shirley's work where the bus was supposed to pick us up, we discovered that the bus had a faulty electric starter and would not start. After attempting to jump the bus's battery and even switch batteries with another car in the lot, we still could not get the bus's engine to turn over. So, in the spirit of exercise, everybody gathered to push the car up a semi-steep hill, and a then sent the bus rolling down the hill. This spun the flywheel enough times to get the engine operational, and put us on the road to the reef. Once we arrived and suited up with flippers and my go-pro, we took to the sea. The water was extremely clear and the colors were incredibly vivid. In fact, I was surprised at the number of fish we were able to see just a few feet into the sea. Once we continued a little further into the sea, we began to notice much more coral and delicate looking fish hiding beneath the rocks. Our guide pointed out some of the more tricky fish to spot, and pointed us in the direction of several squids and trumpet fish that were swimming in the waters below. Our journey took us to the drop off of the reef, where the shallow waters stop and the sea floor drops to 75 feet at the turn of a dime. Here, at the cusp of coral shore and open ocean, an incredible amount of striped fish danced beneath the waves. The scene looked identical to the one in Finding Nemo, where the reef ends and Nemo is picked up by over zealous divers.

Snorkling Selfie

A School of Fish Swarming a Coral Glob

 Phil and I Descending to the Deep

Phil Floating For a Picture

A Coral Bowl Growing Out of the Rock 

Our trip continued to more shallow waters, and to the littered remains of an old Spanish merchant ship that drifted too close to the rocks 300 odd years ago. The only visible remnants of the freighter were two barnacle infested cannons and an indistinguishable anchor that lay derelict upon the ocean floor. Regardless of their poor condition, it was fascinating to imagine the island during the days of old when Tall Ships traversed the Caribbean sea, with pirates and missionaries and and natives all living on the Jungle Island.

Cannon and Anchor

The cannon is the rectangular shape in the center left, the anchor is the large barnacle covered object at the top.

A Fish

A Camouflage Fish Swimming 

The last spot of our snorkeling quest was the volcanic area that gives the region it's name. Many tiny rows of bubbles trailed up from the shallow sea floor from volcanic vents in the tectonic plates below. These bubble pits lining the area justify the name of Champagne Reef, as the water appears to be as bubbly as a glass of 1873 Perrier-Jouët on New Years Eve. In addition to the bubbles, the water temperature raised substantially once we were surrounded by the bubble laden rocks, and felt almost as if we were in a luke-warm bathtub. The yellow coral smokestacks that emerged along the volcanic rock were breathtaking, and appeared as if they were pasted directly out of a National Geographic Catalog or a strange sci fi planet. 

Volcanic Bubbles From Sea Floor

Yellow Coral Smokestacks

Cute Pufferfish Hiding in Coral

We snorkeled until our legs were tired and our hands pruned, and proceeded out of the water to the seaside bar for a tall glass of fresh squeezed passion fruit juice. We noticed several iguanas watching us reminisce about our watery adventure in the trees above us, and decided it was a good time to catch a ride back to the city, find some dinner, and go back to our houses for a good nights sleep.

The Sea Side Bar

Earlier this week we were featured on one of the local radio stations that streams across the nation and on a few other local islands. We were interviewed on the work that we are doing, and what we hope to accomplish during our summer on the island. The experience took me back to my WLTL days of disk jockeying back in high school. As soon as I put on the headset and positioned the microphone in front of my face, I felt at home among the airwaves, and knew it would be a fun experience. After our hour long segment, we were told that they hoped to have us on again in a few weeks so we can give an update on our progress, and further explain to the people of Dominica how we hope to help their industries. We then left the studio, but not before sneaking onto the roof from the balcony to take a few pictures before the sun dipped beneath the horizon on the Caribbean Sea. Today we were approached by another radio host from a different station, who mentioned hoping to host us on his show sometime in the future. I hope that opportunity happens, as I hope to enjoy as much airtime as I can while in this country.

A View From Radio Station Balcony

A View From Radio Station Roof (Ocean in Distance)

We returned to our home tonight to discover that our running water is still out of commission from earlier this morning, and we do not have running water in our house still at this point. It is amazing how blessed we are to live in a country (excluding Detroit) where we need not worry if water will flow when we turn on the faucet. The simple tasks of drinking water and cooking are much more tedious when you have to go outside to the rain reservoir to fill up pots and pans. Going to the bathroom becomes a much more planned out process when you have to fill and carry gallons of water from the outside reservoir to the toilet prior to using the lavatory. Overall, it is a very humbling experience to realize how the simple things we take for granted in America are luxuries elsewhere. 

This was definitely a very fun weekend here in Eggleston, and I am excited for the upcoming days of work and play. We have met with several manufacturers of coconut cheese, and have also seen the factory where the coconut oil is produced on the other side of the island. Slowly but surely we are learning all we can from the bountiful coconuts that litter the island, and hopefully will be able to solidify our improvements to the process in the near future.We plan to continue our research here, and I will continue to keep you updated on my travels. Thank you again for following along! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions! You can post as Anonymous simply by clicking on the "comments" section at the bottom of this post!

A Hike To The Pools

It has been a very eventful couple of days in Dominca. My computer and phone have had great difficulty connecting to the internet, and as a result I have been off the grid for an extended period of time. We've done two walks since my internet absence, one to the retreat house again (in better light) and the other to Chaudiere Pool, a freshwater swimming oasis on the far side of the island.


The walk to the retreat house is beginning to become a staple of our afternoons here. It is a quick 45 minute walk there and back, and provides many extraordinary views. We left early enough this time to dodge the setting sun, however, we were not able to dodge the falling rains that drenched us halfway through our return to our house. The rains were refreshing, as it was our first experience in Dominican rain, and a pleasant break from the heat. The rains also provided us with several unexpected visitors on our trek that one would not expect to see high up the mountains and away from an ocean. Crabs. Apparently crabs thrive in the high altitude climates where there are plenty of rains and freshwater streams that flow. When the rains come, however, many of their hiding holes are filled with water, and they are forced out into the open along the roadside. A few ambitious crabs spooked us and popped out of their hiding and charged  us claws blazing and ready for action. These ones we had to avoid stepping on, as they would seem to dissaperate out of nowhere as we hiked up the road.

The Retreat House Attack Guard Cat Watching For Intruders

A View From The Retreat House Path

A large flowering tree along the path

A Smaller Crab Watches As We Pass

There still are several paths that stem out from the retreat house that we have yet to explore. We hope to venture along these trails in the near future and discover what lies in the jungle beyond.


This weekend we traveled to visit our fellow classmates on the northern half of the island. The trip from our home in Eggleston was roughly an hour or so bus ride on the nations main highway. Once we arrived, we were introduced to several locals our age who work in the factory. We enjoyed their company into the wee hours of the night on Friday as we went out to dinner and played games inside and outside the house all night. It was one of the most fun I have had in a long time. Among the conversations shared, one of the funniest and most notable was about the movie Ratatouille. The local explained that he couldn't watch that movie, as it was simply too unrealistic for him. He explained that he grew up in a country with lots of rats that spread lots of diseases, and he simply couldn't fathom to watch a movie where a rat was voluntarily let into a kitchen. Apparently Pixar can hit too close to home...

The next morning we woke up at 8:00 am and headed walked to the nearest bus stop to catch a ride to the town of Bennse where we had planned to hike. Our destination was Chaudiere, a natural pool of water with  rocks to jump off of and a river to slide down. The bus dropped us off in the town, and we walked through the village and up into the mountains. This walk alone took us probably a little over an hour, as we walked through the village receiving friendly "good mornings" from every villager we passed. Our walk took us up and down many steep climbs, and proved to be very tiring. The trails are well defined in most places, with some areas having paved paths, and others having established rocky roads.  We continued walking for several hours and miles, crossing 8 different river crossings where my boots were the only ones tall enough to avoid filling with water. When we finally reached the trail end, we were shocked to discover that there was no pool at the end! Instead, an ugly damn and a wall of jungle awaited us at the end of the path. Apparently we had missed an offshoot of the trail that would have led us to the pool! Tired and disgruntled, we took a dip in the water behind the small damn, and ventured back through the jungle from wence we came. When we finally found the offshoot of the path that lead to the pools, we trekked single file though the small winding jungle path to find the pools. Thanks to the help of a local washing some dishes in the stream, he was able to explain to us that the pool was hidden behind another river crossing, and a little off the small winding trail we were on. We encountered a rare beast on the trip, a Dominican Boa Constrictor, measuring over 6 feet in length! The beast was huge, and I spotted him snaking along the forest path. When we described our discovery with the locals, they were shocked and told us we saw a rare creature, as Boa's typically are very elusive on the island. When we told a peace core officer who had been on the island for 2.5 years, she told us she had never once encountered a Boa during her stay. So what we saw was a very rare sight. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the beast, as doing so would have given my already frightened group mates a heart attack. Regardless, it was one of the most impressive animals I have ever seen in the wilderness, and the video does not do it justice of it's magnificence. The snake's head and a long portion of body were already coiled in the hole while I was filming this, proving that the snake was extremely long and powerful.

A View From Our Fellow Students Apartment In Woodford Hills

A View of one of the River Crossings

Phil Jumping Into The Pool

A Group Shot Of The Pool, With Water Slide In Backgorund

Part Of The Trek To The Pool

Once we reached the pool however, our long trek was rewarded, as the water was deep and cool, and the rocks were breathtaking beyond description. Their were two ledges where you could jump into the watery depths below, and even a fast flowing natural water slide, which you would climb up and be launched down the water chute at tremendous speeds. The slides rocks were all smooth, and not once did I actually feel my back touch any of the rocks. At the pool, we met with a local family who showed us the places to jump, and how to complete the slide. After talking with them for awhile, they recognized us from the news, and offered us a ride back to town in their pick up truck. After walking since 9, and with the time already 3, we decided it was a good idea, and we followed them out of the woods, and into their truck. They dropped us off at the bus station, and we road the bus towards Portsmouth, a shipping hub of the Island which also houses the islands medical school, Ross. It was weird seeing a few american looking college kids in Portsmouth, as where we are on the island, we are the only young looking Americans we have seen. We grabbed a bite to eat in Portsmouth, and then headed back to the bus stop, and waved good bye to our Dayton counterparts who live on the other side of the island. We will be meeting up with them again next weekend for a Criquet match and some snorkeling. I cannot wait!

An Abandoned Mill Behind Shirley's Office, The Stone is over 3 feet thick, demonstrating it's old age and ability to keep out the rising sea waters of ancient hurricanes.

A View From Shirley's Parking Lot