Victoria Falls and the Rastaurant
Stream
Darrell Jackson and Sarah Barnes
Thu 17 Apr 2014 01:55
We set off on a tour of the local area and he was explaining the local agriculture in the rainforest. Octavius stopped every now and then to gather local produce for us to try. We began with a cocoa pod. "Suck the white slimy seeds but don't chew them" were the instructions; a peculiar texture and interesting taste. Mangoes, Dominican cherries, sour sop, grilled bananas, gooseberries, coconut, lemon bay leaves, lemongrass, cinnamon bark and cashew nuts with their fruit, to name a few.
As we went through villages we learned about their history and Octavius would converse with locals in the creole patois. In one village we stopped to taste the local moonshine. Five bottles of moonshine, with different things to flavour them in the bottle were brought out. Moonshine is illegal but tolerated by the police as it is a tradition on the Island. It is made on stills by the locals and is flavoured by whatever grows. One was spiced with cinnamon bark and was a dark brown colour, one had lime in, on had bush leaves in, possibly Bay leaves, but the lady said they use whatever they find, the other two bottles had things in which were unidentified. The locals drink this by knocking it back in one and then swallowing a mouthful of chilled spring water. After several slugs of each it was decided that the cinnamon moonshine was the most palatable. Then happily (the affect of all the alcohol!) it was on with the tour.
It was noticeable as we drove up the mountains that we would come across plains where locals grow a range of plants, mind they also grow them on the steep sides of the volcanoes. We travelled a fair distance across the island and up into the mountains. We stopped at Moses' Rastaurant on the white river. Moses is a Rasta who runs a small holding in the forest and is a good friend of Octavius. There are several immaculately kept Rasta farms in this area, with the steep mountains providing a dramatic backdrop. The trail to Victoria Falls starts in his garden, so we ordered lunch and after a mooch around his garden we set off to hike to the falls. It starts as a path, but soon you need to pick a route through monumental boulders and wading across the river for about an hour until you reach the magnificent falls. These are the highest falls in Dominica, with an impressive volume of water which generated a fierce wind of about 30 knots across the plunge pool. The water is white, due to the high sulphur content and is surprisingly cold since it comes from the Boiling Lake. Testosterone was abundant again and the boys in the group were coaxed (actually it didn't take much) onto a small ledge under the waterfall to experience the cascading water from behind. They then climbed up the rocks to jump 5 metres into the pool! It was a refreshing swim in the pool that helped reduce any aches, before the hike back to the Rastaurant for a 'one pot' lunch; a vegetarian stew made from organic local produce eaten out of calabash bowls with a coconut spoon, accompanied by fruit moonshine punch or bush tea.
After lunch we continued our tour of the island with Sea Cat. We stopped and saw the arrowroot processing and essential oil factory. What would you imagine an essential oil factory to be like? Stainless steal tanks, lots of copper tubes, people in white coats wandering about? Not in Dominica! It was a crumbling shed with a tin roof. Inside was a stone grinder and a big still for distilling the essential oils, made out of breeze blocks and aluminium pipe, on the floor were several empty Gordon's gin bottles for the oil to be stored in. Sea Cat took us through the process of making arrowroot, they grind the arrowroot in the shed and then it is washed in plastic barrels by the spring, then dried. We also went through how the locals make essential oils from the bay and other local plants. As we were discussing this some locals arrived with sacks of arrowroot to start work. We had passed several of these buildings on our tour but had not realised that they were still in use or what their purpose was! Further down the road we stopped again as Sea Cat's friend had started distilling essential oils and had the still fully going. We then stopped on the black beach on the Atlantic coast, where the turtles lay their eggs. Here Sea Cat used rocks to split open a coconut for us to try the water and flesh.
On the journey home we stopped at Emerald Pool at closing time, as it is another cruise ship destination so after they have left it is quieter. We had it almost to ourselves, there was just a small group off a stinky, but we can share! It was the easiest walk yet, as the path is well made for those who find walking slightly tiresome. The waterfall and pool are lovely, but not in the league of the others we have seen on the island, which has many spectacular ones due to its volcanic nature, lots of rain and hills! We then did the extended route back, via the viewpoints, to the bus. It was then back to the boat. A great day out made so special by our energetic, exuberant guide!