Hiking the Murat trail

Another day of no plans and nothing to do? Time to go hiking! As you know, Mario is quite the outdoorsman, so whenever I am planning a trip somewhere, I reference several hiking sites to see what walks and explorations we can get ourselves into. I do this for him, because I know he will get restless sitting on a beach for hours at a time, but also for me, so I can curate the trails we go on. Otherwise I will get dragged up the steep side of a volcano without warning. So after a lazy breakfast watching the rain fall on neighboring Dominica(more on that later), and the birds swoop and swirl about out patio, we packed a lunch and head out to adventure!

We park at the nearby Habitation Murat, the largest restored plantation on island, exhibition dedicated to the abolition of slavery in 1849, and the major tourist draw in Grand-Bourg. Just outside the gate, we head left up paved road, and then turn onto a crumbly white path, weaving our way between sugar cane fields. The wind rustles noisily in the leaves as the sun beats down from above. Soon, we pass several farms, where cows watch us hesitantly, while pigs grunt away in their shady shed. We turn onto a path next to one of the farms, and enter the rain forest.

The majority of the climb takes place in the jungle, where we zig-zag over the Coulée Ouliée, a rainfall run-off that is mainly dry right now. It is challenging, stepping between twisting roots, ducking under tangled vines, climbing over more of the white boulders(calcium, as later research shows), which seem to get bigger and more in our way the higher we go. But the trail is well marked, trodden by the feet of hikers who have gone before us, trees tagged with yellow stripes indicating the way forward. We snack on slices of dense siwo cake as we move further up the morne, admiring the wall-like roots of some massive specimens of acomat boucan, or buttress-root trees.
The rain forest provides great shelter from the blistering sun, but we also discover that it is the ideal place to hide out from the rain, as great drops begin to fall from the skies, but are stopped by the dense canopy above us. Thankfully, we also brought along our rain jackets, as we discover that, although the canopy slows the rain falling, it also lengthens the time the water is released on us AFTER the rain itself stops! We escape the jungle and find ourselves smack in the middle of a newly-filled swamp, made muddy by passing cows. We wallow in up to our ankles, slopping through the mucky path, trying to cross on branches, on rocks, on the mossy banks that are few and far between. Neither one of us ends up with wet feet.

Relief comes in the shape of a bench at the Mare au Punch, another historical sight dedicated to the abolition of slavery. On to of the hill, Morne Rouge, the wind is cool and refreshing, and strong enough to dry us off while we munch on baguette sandwiches. Then we make our way back to Habitation Murat, following paved roads this time, all the way back down.

After such a strenuous but satisfying hike, we opt for an afternoon of relaxation on our patio, Ti'Punch in hand, rocking ever-so-slightly in the hammock in the sun. Some may think we are wasting away an afternoon better spent on a beach somewhere, soaking up the sun, but with the rustling of the tropical trees around us, the chirping of the birds, and the magnificent view of the ocean, I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus, no sand in places where it shouldn't be.

The evening finds us heading into town to catch a rather uneventful sunset, wandering the streets of Grand-Bourg, and sitting outside the church while the parishioners sing their evenings' prayers. We wait for our chicken to grill at Henry's then head back for dinner.