In the same region as Trafalgar Falls and the start of the walk up to Boiling Lake, is the village of Wotten Waven, located in the green mountains above Roseau. When you get there, signs point to various hot sulphur pools.
All around Wotten Waven, there are signs of thermal activity, with boiling pools supplying the thermal baths.
Pools of volcanic rock have been built by the side of streams.
This one is at Tia's, a laid-back, calm and friendly place, where you can soak in hot water under cocoa and nutmeg trees and stay in bamboo cottages. Its an ideal place to unwind and recharge. For full details see the next post about Tia's.
At Shangri-La, the scene is wilder, with a boulder-strewn river, a pool of very hot water (great in the rain), and steam rising from a vent up-stream that can be reached by wading and clinging to rocks.
Six years ago, Screw started digging down in his land by the river until he got to hot underground water.
It must have been like hitting gold (which doesn't run out) and today he has the biggest set-up in the village.
There are several pools, each at a different temperature.
The orange colour of sulphur and iron makes the pools cloudy.
Cold, clear stream water mingles with hot thermal waters.
At the end, a cool pool.
Ti Kwen Glocho has created a different version of the thermal bath, with hot water falling from bamboo pipes into outdoor bathtubs.
Just up the road, there's another place I stayed in for a couple of days: Le Petit Paradis, where there are great views over the hills and rain-forests from wooden cottages (some with their own kitchens), lush gardens, wi-fi in the clouds (the original cloud computing), delicious creole cooking, spiced rum punches and a warm family atmosphere.
Finally, I couldn't leave Wotten Waven without mentioning Brenda, (the venda very tender) who had her own shop, filled with nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon grass and sulphur mud which she had collected herself from around the island.
She chatted to me as I waited for the minivan bus into town, insisted I take a bag of lemon grass as a gift to make tea and showed me the coffee growing in her back-yard.
And also, I wanted to mention the IECCS bar and mini grocery store (pronounced Isis), which serves some of the best fried chicken and bakes (fried dumplings) that I've tried in Dominica. It is a great place to watch sport on TV (I followed some of the world cup cricket games from here) and to meet people from the village. Troy, wearing a Chelsea football shirt, obviously has very good taste.
Along with an incredible natural environment, it's friendly Dominicans in places like Wotten Waven that make this country such a great place to visit.
