A story about becoming the other 10%

Today's story begins like much of our other stories, with a trip to the bakery for fresh bread, a good breakfast, a cup of coffee. We pack hiking boots and bathing suits into a duffle bag, ham and cheese sandwiches into a backpack, and head out for the day's adventure. In all of his pouring over the map last night while I made our belated Christmas dinner, Mario formed a plan for hiking today. Nearby is a location where the waters from the Galion river pool among the boulders of its bed, creating natural bassins in which you can swim. The water is especially mineral-rich, so on sunny days, the pools glow a brilliant blue colour, giving them the name "Bassins Bleus". The main trail to the bassins is wide and gravely, even has some Land Rovers taking tours down it, which makes this location ideal for families with small children, people who are less mobile, but also people looking for an "authentic" experience with minimal effort, so basically 90% of the tourists here. 

The easy part of the trail

Scrambling up the ladder of tree roots

With a little more research, Mario found that the trail continues. Past the initial basin, up what can only be described as a ladder of tree roots, and onwards, along the river to the next basin, and the next, and the one after that, all the way to the Chute de la Parabole. Like many of these locations with an easily accessible main attraction, all you have to do is travel just a little further than the 90% of people who stop at the first sight of blue water, and you have the place pretty much all to yourself. With many concerned pairs of eyes looking on, Mario and I climbed the ladder of roots to the continuing trail, crossing paths with one of the two groups we see for the rest of this hike. We walk behind a line of trees above the river, following a pipe that runs to a basic pump station, where water is collected to help the town of Goubeyre stay well supplied. And when I say pump station, I mean a 4x6-foot cement block with a large pipe running in one side, and the overflow spilling out the front and all over the trail. 

Another blue bassin up here!

Rainforest trekking

We scramble up and down large boulders, heading down to the river, which we criss-cross a couple of times. This was one of the things mentioned in Mario's research, that might turn off the majority of day-trippers. You are GOING to get wet on this hike - at least your feet. In preparation for this, we brought water shoes, that we could easily switch to should the going get too wet, but which are definitely not ideal for hiking. Thankfully, with a little extra balance and planning, we were able to hopscotch our way front rock to rock, staying generally out of the deepest of the water. 

Climbing vertically along the water pipe

Reward for a technically difficult climb

We take a turn along an offshoot of the main river, and are faced with a group of waterfall rock-climbers, ropes and carabiners hanging from their belts, watersuits allowing them a carefree climb in the falls. They slide down the rocks on their butts, splashing down with not a care in the world. We laugh at their similarity to the seals we saw in a nature show last night. We climb up what can only be explained as a maintenance access to a water collection basket, high up in the falls. Ropes and wires and rebar steps are set into the rock, and so the climb is easy, but challenging because of the technical nature of it. Mario calls up to be to maintain 3 point of contact at all times, as my foot finds a solid spot on a rock and my hands grasp another heavy metal "rung". Reaching the top does not afford any spectacular views, nor cool swimming ponds, but the satisfaction of knowing I made it without a slip of mistake makes me happy, and I drink a celebratory sip of cool water from my bottle. And then we head back down again.

Cold water, a baguette, and quiet

Water shoes were a good idea!

Most of the trail is like this.

Another couple of river crossings and we decide that there is nothing more we will gain from getting all the way to Chute de la Parabole, and we don't want to get overtired scrambling our way over the boulders to get there, just to have to tiredly make our way back again. Around the halfway point between the Bassin Bleu and the Chute de la Parabole, Mario and I sit down to eat lunch, and dunk our feet into the cool waters of the river. No one is around, we have this entire rainforest and river and pool all to ourselves. And that's the wondrous thing about pushing the extra little bit more, to move past the crowds, and see something that not everyone sees, in a way that not everyone sees it.

Enjoying the falls at the main bassin

The back of the Bassin Bleu

We do stop at the main pool on our way out, after climbing down that crazy root ladder under the gaze of all the other bathers. The pool here has been solidified with a cement wall, creating a deep blue basin surrounded by tall, thin waterfalls. Some people are jumping from the cliff above into the water, but most are just enjoying the the area, taking turns in the main basin. As we make our way back up the path to the car, we pass another 10 groups of people making their way in - it's just past 2:30, so late lunch time for French tourists, and they are just now heading back out for their afternoon's activities. We've observed this behaviour over the course of 4 trips now, and the best time to visit something without the crowds is between noon and 3 pm. It works every time.

Our reward: Sorbet Coco on the beach

Ending of a great day.

We reward ourselves for a good but strenuous hike with an afternoon at Grand Anse beach. Today, the sorbet coco lady is serving up cups of the sweet, creamy dessert, her "assistant" slowly turning the handle on the old-fashioned ice cream churn, so we make our way along the black sand with cups of dripping, sticky sorbet coco in tow. Today, a groups of teens are celebrating a birthday - the girls play games under the roof of a picnic carbet, the boys run down the beach with a soccer ball. I see Mario doing everything in his power to keep from joining them. Instead, we head into the water and float in seriously smoother waves from yesterday.

Tonight, we finally get the rest of our groceries, at yet another grocery store. It seems the one we were trying to get to has closed permanently. We also make it to our favorite chicken place where the codfish accras are delicious, the chicken beautifully smoked, and the sauce chien spicy, and never enough. And Mario pulls out the map while I chop vegetables for a salad - I wonder what plans he will come up with for tomorrow?