Hiking Riviere Deshaies

      In the leeward chain of Caribbean islands (which includes Saba, Statia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, St. Martin/Sint Maarten, Antigua, Guadeloupe, and Dominica) you can often see several of the other islands in the distance while sailing from one to the next. On the sail from Montserrat we could see Antigua in the distance and part way through the day Guadeloupe emerged from the white haze ahead. After a sunny day trip we arrived in a sheltered bay by the small fishing village of Deshaies (pronounced Day-ay). Red roofs are framed by green hills and the town has the feel of a small European village accented with the bright colours often associated with the Caribbean. Guadeloupe is a territory of France and has a population of about 330 000, making it the most populated island we’ve visited so far. Deshaies is on the western island of the two islands that form Guadeloupe, comically named “Basse-Terre” (low-land), despite being higher than “Grande-Terre” to the east. It is of volcanic origins and consists of many towering green peaks.

     During the first night here winds funneled down the hills in a constant stream, often gusting to 40 knots. It was quite different from White House Bay in St. Kitts because there the wind would come in large swirls then calm down again, whereas here it is constant like a wind tunnel. Yesterday we chose to hike up Riviere Deshaies into the mountains. It was the most strenuous and rewarding hike we’ve done yet, requiring us to clamber over rocks of all sizes for several hours. Vines hung from trees all around along with monstrous spider plants. Everywhere we looked was green: green vines twisting around trees and bushes, green elephant ear-shaped leaves clinging to cliffs, green moss coating the rocks of the river, even bright green geckos hiding on old logs. Scrambling through the bush, Sarah and I got scraped by a plant that made our legs sting and my knee began to swell until I doused it with cool river water. 

     Higher along the river we passed two local men carrying small wooden traps, perhaps to catch crayfish. The river cascaded into shallow pools of clear water and the slate blue rocks had a rusty red buildup below the surface. After a few hours a road appeared on our left side, but we continued on as our guidebook suggested, and came to a beautiful pool of cold water before a cave. The water made for a refreshing and well-deserved swim. Jamie and I decided to scale a huge boulder blocking the way into the cave and came out into the end of the cave where the water cascades down from a slide-shaped crevice above. I tried not to think about what might lurk in the deep pool behind the rock, but standing there beneath the isolated beauty of the cool waterfall was so exhilarating and well worth the long hike. The cave was beautiful and captivating in an all-to-yourself kind of way and the difficult climb into the cave (requiring some decent wall-climbing skills) made us wonder how many people had experienced its beauty before us. The lovely waterfall, refreshing fresh water and quiet rainforest all combined to create the perfect traveler's experience.

Nicole.