Roseau - High Times

Yeah mon. So today we swam under two spectacular waterfalls, ate almost every fruit that grows on the island, and probably got a contact high hanging out with Rastafarians. Where to begin?

Our adventure began around 9 am when we started a tour with Sea Cat. His real name is Octavius and he's being doing guided tours for 17 years. We weren't able to find anyone else interested in a tour so it was just the three of us. Our plan was to hike Victoria Falls and Sari Sari Falls, both on the eastern side of the island. On the way Sea Cat kept pulling over to the side of the road, bringing samples of all the stuff growing by the roadside. We had some fresh coconut milk and a guava in the morning, and had papaya, mango, cherries, and passionfruit for our afternoon snack. He also brought bayleaves, lemongrass, and the bark of the cinnamon tree as well as showing us how cashews grow (a huge red fruit with a single tiny cashew growing out of one end). We also made a quick stop in a small village known for its moonshine. Sea Cat bought a round of shots for us and the several local alcoholics already hanging out at the bar. It was strong stuff for 10 am but the locals got a kick out of watching us tourists take a shot, make a face, and take a sip of water.

When we arrived at the Victoria Falls trailhead, we stopped to visit Sea Cat's friend Moses, a Rastafarian who is sort of like a high priest. Moses was hanging out in a kitchen-type outbuilding with several other Rastas just chilling and smoking the fattest joints I have ever seen (we are talking the size of cigars). The conversation was lively and animated, they were talking about how they want the government to stop the use of pesticides in the agriculture here. At least that's what I think they were talking about -- a lot of Dominicans speak superfast to each other using the local dialect so we don't always understand every word but usually we get the gist. Those of you with a good grasp of irony will appreciate this: when one of the other rasta men heard that Sea Cat had drunk a shot of moonshine with us, he warned him very sternly "Moonshine? Bad stuff...don't you be drinking and driving, mon!" as he handed him a freshly rolled spliff which Sea Cat proceeded to blaze up. We didn't partake but it was cool to see a part of Rastafarian culture. There's much more to it than Bob Marley music and pot, more about that later.

The hike to Victoria Falls was a good workout; we crossed the river several times on the trail up and scrambled over huge boulders on our way to the pool. As we swam in the pool it was actually hard to see because the force of the waterfall made it feel like we were getting hit with a firehose. But with Sea Cat's help we managed to work our way behind the waterfall to see the water cascading all around us. Pretty cool. After the hike Moses made us an ital soup for lunch with leeks, dasheen, potatoes, cabbage and I don't know what all. (Although some Rastas eat fish, Moses is vegan.) It was surprisingly good, and he served it in bowls made of fired calabash gourd and the spoons as well were made from slices of calabash. The Rastafarians believe that the body is a temple, and ital means a natural and sane way of life. As part of ital the food rastans eat must be as natural and pure as possible with no preservatives or chemicals. Even the ganja is ital -- it is supposed to be purer, finer, and stronger than the Mexican marijuana you find at, say, your local college campus.

Sari Sari video

We got another great workout hiking up and down the steep steps to Sari Sari falls. It was like doing a stairmaster through the rainforest for an hour there and back. But the waterfall was worth it. We've done several waterfall hikes while we've been here, and the great thing about them is you get to cool off in the pool below. We'll take a waterfall hike over a fort any day.