Ben’s 24th Birthday!

Today is Customs day, maybe some shopping, maybe a bit of a hike. I want to climb the big hill right behind the town, though we only have a vague idea of how to get up there. Hamilton, the regular kayak/fruit guy says there is a road going up there but we may not be talking about the same place.

The weather is still very finnicky – one minute calm and clear, the next minute blowing a hurricane and raining. But around noon, it has calmed and cleared enough for us to take the dinghy and our garbage over to PAYS. Then we will move to the town dock and walk to Customs at the south end of Rupert Bay. First I make some chafe guards for the straps that hold the dinghy up. They are rubbing on the dinghy struts and only a matter of time before they wear out.

We dinghy over to PAYS, realizing it is the first time we’ve been off the boat since Thursday afternoon. Milu is pretty comfortable.

Christy hangs on to the dinghy while I go in to dump the garbage and pay for the mooring. While talking to Sasha I see a bunch of Customs papers on her desk and ask “Do you do Customs here too?” “Yes, of course she says”. Well waddya know. She can check us in and out (in Dominica you can check out two weeks before you actually leave), just not instantly as she has to send the stuff over to the actual office by WhatsApp. That’s OK, we’re not in a hurry, come back at 3 pm she says.

So we dinghy over to the town dock, walk through town, hit a couple of hardware stores and eventually find one that will sell us some zip ties that don’t cost $1 each. Stop at Ray’s Roti shop for an excellent roti, you gotta get one there when it’s open, even if you’re not hungry.

Off we go to try this hike.

I have a vague idea where it starts off the main road to Calibishie but that’s about it. We walk out that way. After about a km or so, there is a path going into the forest but within 200 yards we know this is not what we are looking for. We carry on up the road and about a half km later there is a dirt track road leading north off the road and obviously up the spine of the hill. This is it.

It’s a steady climb up the dirt track, a pretty nice path to walk on actually, though definitely got some pitch to it. It would be navigable by a 4-wheel drive truck no problem. Nearing the top of the ridge Christy has lost interest so waits near the banana plantation there while I carry on up. I don’t go very much further before the road ceases to be a road and turns into a track. It used to be a road like that below us but not any more – a dirt bike could make it here but not a 4-wheeled vehicle. A bit further and the track seems to stop in a cul-de-sac. Looking right there appears to be an old cut but it seems to be leading down and is completely overgrown. If that is the route, I am not going down it. Looking left there is a bit of a crest but doesn’t seem to be anything beyond it. Ahead there seems to be a path.

I follow it up further, definitely getting thicker, less of a path but definitely a path. Suddenly there is a clearing with the beginnings of an encampment. I’m half-expecting marijuana growers to appear but no one has been here for a while. I try to find a continuation of the path but there doesn’t seem to be anything but thick forest after this. Is this the top but there just is no view? I dunno but there is no where to go but back down the way I came.

I was fairly careful to eyemark the return route as it’s mostly bush, not much path and before you know it I’m back at the cul-de-sac. I can’t believe this is the end and that no one has gone beyond this to the top of the hill so I check the route out to the left of the end point. Sure enough there is a path here and I follow it for a bit. It seems to lead around the hill and probably goes up to the top. I am interested but I know Christy is waiting for me below so decide to leave it for another time. This has been decent exercise already.

I jog back down to Christy and before you know it, we’re back down the hill and walking back to town. We stop at the grocery store for a few things then go out the pier to the dinghy. Christy freaking a little bit cuz she can’t see the dinghy (you’re not supposed to lock your dinghy to this pier so she fears for its safety) but it is there. We dinghy over to the boat and unload our stuff.

Call Ben and wish him Happy Birthday, he says he and the boys will head out for some drinks down in the Beaches later.

We go into PAYS again where I pay Sasha for the Customs (EC$100), the mooring (3xEC$30 = EC$90) and EC$10 for garbage, total = EC$200. Welcome to paradise. There are 3 couples in her office asking about the Yacht Week taking place here next week. They ask where we’re going and I tell them. “When are you going?” they ask. “Wednesday at the earliest” I say. “Good, it’s very nasty out there this week”. Glad to get some confirmation from fellow sailors that we’re not just wimps, we’re prudent.

Go around the corner to the little tuck shop but they don’t have regular popsicles, just the ice cream ones so I don’t get anything.

We head back to Milu where I do some work for Shanif and we hang out. I use the zip ties to fix our anchor hardware, getting my foot thoroughly smashed when the wind blows the lazarette cover onto it. Shoulda known better.

Chilly for dinner again, all good, warm and tasty.