Snorkeling and the Bense River

After such a disastrous experience with the Camry at Trafalgar, we knew it wouldn't make it to the Bense River. First thing the next morning, we traded it in for a cute Suzuki Escudo. Having a car for two days in a row was a special treat for me. I've made it ten months without a car and you can imagine how spoiled I felt driving up the hill to James Store (a three minute walk), into town to mail postcards (okay that one takes a little longer), and across the street to the beach.

Justin had class in the morning so we dropped him off, ran a few errands, and headed for the beach.

We tried out the new snorkel equipment that I brought back from our mini vacation in August. Unfortunately, the day was slightly overcast. Now, normally I never complain when it is overcast because less sun equals less sweat, but I was disappointed that Chris and Tyler didn't have an awesome underwater experience. I was surprised how low visibility was and how that affected my underwater picture taking skills.

At noon we went to campus and ate lunch while we waited for Justin to get out of class. Then we headed for Bense to spend the afternoon in the Chaudiere Pool. I was feeling better about the car situation but a little anxious about the directions. I played it cool and pretended I knew exactly where I was going (instead of just a general idea) and we made it there without any problems.

How did I know we were there? Well, actually there is a small sign off to the side of the overgrown trail that faces the opposite direction, so really you see a metal pole topped with a piece of plywood. That is how you know to pull off to the side and make your own parking space. The trail is marked similarly, with a metal pole (no plywood this time) marking a steep staircase of mud reinforced with rotting logs.

Don't let our smiles fool you. It isn't a quick stroll through the brush. Especially if your name is Justin and you're trying to be cool like our guide from the day before and attempt a hike in your croc flops.

Another sign (if you could spot it) let us know we were going in the right direction.

We crossed over a small river and up another river bed to reach the pool.

These rocks were a lot easier to navigate than the huge boulders at Trafalgar.

The guys wasted no time getting down to business and by that I mean having fun.


On the way back, we decided to take a detour that would bypass the killer staircase. Justin wasn't very confident in my trailblazing skills, but he forgot that I've been here twice before. And of course I knew exactly what I was doing, and we made it back to the car without any problems. It was just another day in Dominica for us.