I went for a walk from Capuchin to Delaford and back yesterday. Hiking buffs will recognise this as National Trail segment 13 – though the track was here long before, linking villages and estates along the top end. One of the main reasons for going was to see the remnants of Grand Fond, a settlement that existed around a coffee estate in the 19th century. I had seen a photo of the National Trail project team standing by a rather grand sign marking the spot where the estate had been, and assumed some work must have been done to clear and expose the ruins. Sadly, and to my great disappointment, the sign, next to a small stone wall, was all there was to see. I had passed through this spot on several occasions before, so I knew about it, but had been eager to see more. Oh well.
But it was a glorious day. Near Delaford the views across the Guadeloupe Channel were stunning. It was so clear that not only could we see The Saints, Guadeloupe and Marie-Galante, we could even make out houses and gardens on them. It whetted my appetite to travel to them and explore.
There are plenty of interesting features on this trail – for starters it’s the location of the only petroglyphs discovered on Dominica (it has long been my ambition to seek and discover more of them – and one day I’m convinced I will). There’s the cloudy Taffia River with it’s cascade and waterfall (cloudy because of volcanic clays, named taffia after the French word for fermented cane juice – thanks Lennox!), vertiginous farmlands where people grow ground provisions on what are tantamount to cliff sides, and the strong feeling of remoteness and antiquity that are inherent in this place – as if it’s somehow been frozen in time. And every local person I have ever met here, without exception, has been genuinely friendly, open and and kind. It’s a lovely part of the island and one I aim to explore further.
As for a trail update: it’s the same as the book, no changes. Just be careful in some sections of the trail where it’s narrow, steep and crumbly under foot.
