Hike to Mt. Qua Qua

Grand Etang Lake

It was my day off today (we get one a week, though the daily tasks are pretty light apart from the night surveys), and although it’s been busy since I've been here, I decided to go on a hike with the 18-year-old volunteer who also has the day off. He wanted to do something "challenging" and somewhat sheepishly I had to explain that his challenging and mine might be a little different. Ah ageing! We decided on going to Mount Qua Qua in the national rain forest preserve. We left early, walked 15 minutes into the village to catch a bus to Grenville and then switched to one going to St. George's the capital. The buses are essentially large minivans, but they run frequently and are comfortable. In Grenville we had to wait for the bus to fill before leaving. This includes a spare cushion that goes over the aisle as an extra seat, and which is kept in place by persons on either side of the aisle sitting on a piece of it. It seems to work quite well; there was no slow sagging or landing on the floor with a thump on either trip.

If I had to use one word to describe the hike it would be "muddy". We first walked around a volcanic crater lake, two thirds of which was inches deep mud instead of trail. My companion had a great time wading straight through while I picked my way around the edges of each bog looking for any solid ground and in the process getting scratched, and only marginally less muddy. He almost lost his shoes twice, and by the end was probably carrying around an extra pound of mud. We heard monkeys and lots of birds, but because they were high up in the canopy were unable to see them. We made up for this by taking innumerable photographs of the trees and plants and general "rain-foresty" type flora. The rest of the hike up a long ridge was mostly clear of mud and beautiful. The view from the top was amazing, and extended all the way to both coasts.

We returned home to hear about the terrible tsunami in Japan. Living near the sea, and sleeping on the beach three nights a week, makes one aware of how quickly the weather and the sea itself can change. Yet, even in that awareness today there is a sense of being cut off from the rest of the world and the events in it.