We had studied the AllTrails app for a day in hopes of finding a new hike out of St Pierre, Martinique. Cascade de rois, aka, Waterfall of Kings, seemed to be within reach from this lovely old French town in the north part of the island where we were anchored. The trailhead appeared to be 1 mile up the main road. . It was a busy highway at 9am and in the hot sun we were wondering if we made the right decision to attempt this. Of course, its uphill and not 1 mile but quite almost 2 when we approached an old steel bridge, heard water and spotted a small dirt path off one side. It lead directly to the water. At first, we thought we just had to make a crossing in 6 inches of crystal clear mountain water to get on the trail. With our feet wet, we soon realized it WAS the trail.

The Roxalene River snaked right and left on its way to the Caribbean Sea, through deep green and rocky canyons on both sides. We would occasionally come to a dry spur out off the river that would take us up and around the boulders from which spilled gallons of rainforest water.  We did rock hopping,  climbed over downed palms and bamboo, skirted under dark cave-like foliage, and waded through knee deep passages to get up through the next rapids. The footing was mostly gravel and sand and thankfully relatively stable.

An hour and 15 min into the trek we checked our location and had made it 2/3rds the way to our destination. After a handful of peanuts and sip of water, we were determined to complete the task. We passed bird of paradise, hibiscus, tiny wild orchids and heard a melody of birds high in the trees that towered our trail,  reminding us that we were in the heart of Martinique’s rainforest. 

As we progressed deeper into the forest, we would suddenly detect more intense rushing water and think ..”oh yay….we’re there!”.. to round the next turn and find several huge boulders and more water coming from upstream but no falls. The river finally began to narrow as we felt a cold rush of air mixed with a fresh mist and heard powerful rush of water as the water got deeper and colder.

We had arrived.

We stripped to swimsuits and waded as far and deep as was safe, keeping enough distance to avoid a shear pummeling from the incredible amount of water flowing over the rocks nearly 40 ft up in this narrow rock wall canyon as the sunlight filtered through the mist and palm fronds.

Struck by the awesomeness of this experience and this beautiful hidden wonder,  we enjoyed it like true explorers and royalty. Just us and the water.

We sit in Bequia, south of St Vincent in the windward islands, on a very windy day, again. After getting daily boat chores out of the way, I sit listening to some island jam coming from shore ( more like island rap and loud enough that it disturbs the thought process. It’s Easter Monday and they are on day 3 of an all-out party. Most days are pretty quiet). Thought I would attempt to share some highlights of our 10th (!) season on the water.
But this will be different. Mainly because I can sit and write all day.. describing to the detail our life..but honestly I know time is of the essence…yours and mine. I will chose a photo and share a brief story or description. The idea is to stay brief.. a 10 min or less read. I hope to get a post each week or more often. So hold on… here we go. ….

This windward beach has captured my attention so many times.. and it is sends a different feeling each time we pass. This day we were finishing the last 3 miles of an 11 mile hike/walk. The beach this day was covered in sargassum ( floating seaweed possibly from 1000s of miles across the ocean) ..dead and decaying..so getting close to the sand  was a bit unpleasant. It has a very earthy and sometimes sulfur smell when it sits dying on the beach. The ground leading to the beach has several well worn paths between this very soft green turf, like something you might see across the fields of Ireland.  The wind comes through here unobstructed, fresh and full of that moist salty scent. This day the wind was blowing hard and waves are crashing ashore. From where I am standing there is a continuous  and very powerful rush of the waves breaking.   The clouds provide a different backdrop today, which is in  contrast to the ever-present clear azure sky.

This is what lay in my mind’s eye when we left for this part of the world from the US in 2016. Long stretches of sand and palm trees. However, one cannot anchor out off this beach because of reefs that guard this part of the island, They are evident as waves wash over them and also exist just below the surface just waiting for an encounter with a wayward keel. So, to visit, as we do so many times, we walk here.

No beach bars nor resorts, not even any homes built very close to this part of the island.   It has become for us a brief rest stop, a feast for the senses  and a place that we imprint to memory.

Finally, I repeatedly feel such awe for some of the tallest, strongest palms on the island. They have probably stood guard here in solitude for years watching the changing tides, the force of the sea and wind waiting for nothing, holding onto the sand and soil that grounds them…just being there for my dreams.