We got an early morning start into the island’s interior, returning to Grand Etang National Park. Our goal for the day was conquering the Mt. Qua Qua trail, a moderately difficult hike leading around Grand Etang Lake to the top of a ridge, promising some of the best views of the interior rain forest. Marc doubled up on lectures yesterday, so we had a free day today to get on the trails and enjoy wild Grenada. Whoo-hoo!

After packing up our gear, eating breakfast, and loading up on water, mangos, and bananas, we began the journey to Grand Etang. It took three crazy bus rides, one from L’Anse Aux Épines to Grand Anse, Grand Anse to St. George’s, and St. George’s to Grand Etang. Each bus, or mini-van, is generally packed to capacity with locals and the ride can only be compared to riding on a roller coaster. Fast and winding left and right, up and down through the hills, it makes your stomach turn! The drivers generally blast their music so loud, you can’t really hear the person sitting next to you, and it makes for a good headache. The music here is like a combination of reggae and rap, or maybe soca. Each short bus ride is very cheap, costing about $1 to $2 U.S. per person.

We arrived at the Mt. Qua Qua trail head around 9 a.m, eager to ascend into the clouds up to 2400 feet. With the Nikon around Eliana’s neck and Marc armed with binoculars and the GPS, we were ready to take in the scenery and wildlife and make some tracks! Starting uphill, we encountered birds buzzing about and singing. Males of the Antillean crested hummingbird were abundant, with their iridescent green and black plumage and a funky little crest, drinking nectar from small purple flowers. We also saw several hooded tanagers; this one eating a native plum.

The bright colors of Heliconia flowers, interesting fungi, and bromeliads highlighted the trail edge.

As we climbed, the heat of the sun was tempered by strong breezes, and the mist of the clouds helped to cool our sweating bodies. Incline, decline, then incline again ... as usual, Eliana’s bad knee was getting weak and shaky and she had stabbing knee pains, so we stopped to rest several times. The views we took in of the lake and surrounding forest as the wind blew from the mountaintops were breathtaking!

As neared the summit, the wind picked up even more, the temperature dropped, and there were a few treacherous and narrow trails where we had to take care the wind didn’t blow us down a steep vertical drop! It got so blustery, that the wind claimed poor Eliana’s favorite green Life is Good hat with her hard-earned First-to-Find geocaching pins.

Here’s Marc nearing the peak.

Reaching the summit at 2,430 feet was an accomplishment and well worth the uphill battle. Once up there, we took a deep breath of the mountain air, relaxed for a while, rehydrated and ate the rest of our fruit. Eliana picked up litter, wanting to help clean up the Earth every chance she gets.

There was an old rusty flagpole mount at the summit, but no flagpole or flag. Wonder if it disappeared during the big hurricane (Ivan) 5 years ago. Most of the forested area here was severely damaged by Ivan, and the entire island is still trying to recover.

These last few shots show how misty and windy it gets up there. Hold on to that hat!

We had originally planned to continue on from Mt. Qua Qua to Concord Falls, but by the time we reached the top, we were low on food and water, and Eliana’s knees were pretty beat up. Climbing down can often be harder on her knees than climbing up, so we slowly made the trek down. We made it back to the trailhead and took the bus back to St. George’s. Unlike the fancy American food that we eat at the University Club, we had a delicious local lunch of plantains, rice, beans, callaloo, squash, and other Grenadian cuisine at a corner restaurant near the bus terminal. From there, we walked to the Carenage (the St. George’s harbor), browsed through some book stores (still searching for a local bird field guide), and had ice cream for dessert! All in all a great adventure. We collapsed when we got back to the hotel, but we are up for more outdoor exploration coming soon!