My little Paradise
by Elmar Darimont
My little piece of Paradise lies in the Caribbean, on the island of Dominica. To be honest the whole island strikes me as a little piece of paradise, but, there is a particular place there which stands out beyond even the normal beauty of the whole island. It is even more magical than everything else. It's not Dominica's beaches which have made the island into a personal tip; what makes Dominica so special is Nature, the walks through the rain forest to crystal clear mountain lakes and roaring waterfalls. When you go to the Boiling Lake, the second largest boiling crater lake in the world, you are left in no doubt about the existence of this special something. The tour is not so simple, taking up the whole day at any rate. The local tourist guides only need one hour whereas three were not enough for me. But it should certainly not be a race, it's the trip itself which matters here. Not even the Boiling Lake itself is the most important thing. With all the unique vegetation, so many breath-taking views, so many intense encounters with nature, the actual goal of the trek tends to get pushed to one side. Only your weary muscles have any interest in this goal as there is, of course, a fairly long break on arrival at the lake. Even at its edge the water measures 70 degrees Centigrade, no wonder that it bubbles away wildly in the middle, creating a lovely spectacle. But we still have not arrived at my little piece of paradise. It is best visited on the way back. On the return journey it is easily passed unnoticed. Most people do this because they do not know the place. That may not be such a bad thing otherwise it could soon no longer be my little piece of paradise. As, on the path to the Boiling Lake, there is a constant roaring and hissing due to the many rivers and waterfalls, you would not even notice it, unless you were made aware of it. You only need to climb down four or five metres from the path and you find yourself standing in front of a small lake, round, with a width of about four metres. It is not deep, perhaps about 60 - 70 cms at its deepest point. On one side a river drops into the lake from a height of around three metres, so heavily that you could stand beneath it and allow your shoulders to be massaged at your leisure. And as the source of this river originates in the hot steaming sulphur springs of the nearby Valley of Desolation, the water is warm enough to bathe in. Just imagine; tired, weary, your mind full of impressions of these wonders of Nature; you've seen the Boiling Lake, you have that feeling that you have succeeded in conquering your own weaknessesand then there's this lake, this waterfall, this peace and quiet and this blissful warmth. This is my little piece of paradise.