We arrived at the trailhead for Middleham Falls and read the sign indicating that the walk would take 45 minutes. Since we knew it was a bit over 2 miles, we thought it would be a well developed trail. After all, it is only rated “moderate” difficulty.

BUT, all our information and the sign were before hurricane Maria (2017)! Even the guided hikes took over 1.5 hours to reach the falls, and we took longer than that. Our driver, Lincoln, said he waited so long and so quietly that he saw a parrot, the Official Bird of Dominica.

Most of the steps were uneven, some were knee high and a few were thigh high. It was difficult and slippery!

But the forest is beautiful.

First glimpse of the falls, just the top.

The falls were so tall (~250 ft) that we could not get the entire fall in one photo!

We were proud to make the almost 5 mile trek, coming back to the parking lot muddy, wet and tired. We did not bring any food along, while in Colorado, if we had known, we certainly would have brought a snack.

But Lincoln was there to find a place for a quick lunch.

We then went to Titou Gorge, thinking it was in the Pirates movies, but the part that is accessible is actually a slot canyon that you can swim through! If we had understood that, we would have brought our suits!

Imagine swimming through a slot canyon!

Hot water from springs flows into the bottom part of the pool, but in the slot canyon part (we were told) the water is very cold.

We then went to the freshwater lake, but the rain shortened the scene and the visitor center was closed.

All of these sites are within Morne Trois Pitons National Park. We bought passes for all of Dominica parks for the week.

I, Clare, want to thank my entire hiking group, for all their advice and help which I took to heart, because I never would have been capable of that hike had I not had a ton of practice in Colorado with you!

• Lesser Antilles 2020