(Upper) Concord Falls

we woke to a rainbow and a full moon!

Our highlight this past week (it’s been that long since my last blog post – I’ve slipped into life on ‘island time’ I’m afraid!) was returning to Concord Falls, but trekking up to the upper waterfalls. We were in the good company of Jorge & Kim, and Guilloume & Gwen. As before, we took the local bus to Concord. We had decided that we would accept a taxi ride from the bus stop to the lower falls, and hike from there to the upper falls. No taxi came by, however, so we had to go the distance on foot.

 onlookers

 star fruit

bread fruit

Gorgeous hike. It was an easy walk along the road to the lower falls. The wealth of food trees amazed me – mango, avocado, papaya, banana, noni, nutmeg, breadfruit, starfruit, apple …. and then there were also the food plants – pineapple, sugar cane, yams …. and the garden plants – cabbage, sweet potatoes, carrots, beans, onions, melons, tomatoes…..  I think it would be impossible to go hungry on this island! Gil described it as the garden of Eden!

can you see us? ... hiking in the rain forest

 someone's garden - pole beans

another garden in the rain forest - carrots, onions....

From the lower falls, the trail to the upper falls wound through the rain forest. It was only wide enough for a single person, and it was often so overgrown, that it wouldn’t have been difficult to lose the trail.  We passed by several private gardens. They are planted on the flatter ground, and there isn’t much of that! Often the land is terraced to support a garden. The trail became more and more challenging to follow, the nearer we got to the falls. It crossed the river several times, and it wasn’t long before we gave up on trying to keep our shoes dry.

upper Concord waterfalls

under the falls

enjoying a refreshing dip

When we reached the upper falls, we could each choose to either go in for a dip to cool off, or appease our tummies with the lunches we had packed. As hot as we were after almost two hours of hiking; our hunger was greater! We all chowed down on our lunches, which included mangoes gathered along the way. Afterwards, we lingered and cooled ourselves in the refreshing pool below the falls.

Eventually, it started to sprinkle…. then rain …. we were, after all, in the rain forest during rainy season J   It prompted us to gather ourselves up, and head back down the trail. It was challenging enough when dry, and rain would only make it slicker.  

quick rest stop

We rested a short while once back at the lower falls, and purchased some of the fresh produce harvested from the gardens, before we finished the distance down to the bus stop and caught the bus back ‘home.’

Also, during the past week, we’ve visited several of the marinas and resorts nearby. We’re checking out potential places for friends and family J  We’d love for our children to come south at Christmas, and hope to find someplace that’s both attractive and affordable.

Gil’s not a games player, but I’ve learned to play Grenadian train domino this week. Let me tell you, that game can outlast a poker game! It’s a great game with a group.