Day 9 – Chocolate, Mango Man and Goats

Three different adventures to make up for lost time.

For whatever reason we were up early, had a delicious breakfast of raisin bread baguette loaded with local fruit and out of the cottage by 9 a.m.

Our first stop, after few wrong turns and a gps that we had no clue where to go we arrived at Pointe Baptiste Chocolate. We had a chocolate tasting. This establishment uses locally sourced cocoa, it truly is bean to bar. It was excellent chocolate. We purchased 5 bars and will return before we leave.

Next stop was Red Rocks. The heavens opened up with a deluge of rain, so were worried about slipping on the clayish soil. This is on private land but you pay $2 usd per person and the gate is opened for you. The soil wasn’t slippery, only in a few spots. The views were beautiful.

Our final destination was a hike to La Chaudiere Pool. Again the rain poured down on us. As you drove through the village, a local told us to be careful. That is a clue that the weather might reek havoc on your adventure.

The downpours returned. We sat in the car hoping they would go quickly. They didn’t go quickly so we decided to do the hike anyways. So we get wet, if we get into the pool, we get wet. Off we went.

Some people say you can drive to the trailhead, others say not to. We opted not to. Glad we made that decision as the rains had really rutted the road. We pulled over to an area and parked. The rain continued on the 1.4 mile walk.

As we walked, the road was lined with mango trees. We found a good one, so we scooped it up and then a man appeared walking towards us, eating a mango like an apple. He had a few more, so he offered us two.

Mango man told us to be careful on the river crossing, it can have a very strong current and the pool itself might have a strong current. Again when a local offers advice you take it.

We crossed the river once and it was easy, however to get into the pool you had to cross again. That is where the current became to strong and we didn’t chance it. We had hoped to swim in the natural pool, but not day. We had our lunch, which included eating one of the mangoes, Mango man provided us.

On our way out, goats started yelling at us. One in very particular was very loud. We think he was leading Mike out, as he kept looking back to see if Mike was following. I kept thinking “and the goat shall lead the way.”

We spied a guava tree and actually found one ripe one. Of course, we had to eat it on the walk out. We noticed hillsides planted with pineapple. We only had a few misty showers on our return walk, which allowed us to take many photos.

We plan to return when the weather is a bit drier and the river isn’t raging.

We stopped at the farmer’s market on our way through town. We picked up more food. Hoping tomorrow the fishermen can get out to catch some fish.

Dinner was an avocado, starfruit, mango salad on a bed lettuce topped with chicken and blue cheese. This will be a repeat meal over the next few weeks.

Now we wait on sunset and make a plan for tomorrow.