Trekking into the island’s mountainous interior, Eliana and I along with enthusiastic vet students Carla, Devin, and Miraida, geared up for an arduous hike to the top of Mt. Qua Qua. Situated in the heart of the Grand Etang Reserve, it’s Grenada’s second highest peak (2,480’) and one of the most scenic hikes on the island. This would be our second time ascending to Qua Qua’s lush green summit (check out last year’s climb, here).

The hike begins with a moderate incline through fern-draped landscapes dotted with bright red Heliconia flowers. The path is a bit muddy and slick, especially on the sloped sections, and we all took turns slipping and falling. The dogs had the benefit of walking on all fours and forged on effortlessly. Devin knocked her head on an overhanging log; we all heard her skull make a resonating “thunk!”

Listening to the calls of mona monkeys in the distance, we looked down and eyed a spectacular view of Grand Etang Lake. Lesser Antillean tanagers and Antillean crested hummingbirds buzzed about the vegetation while broad-winged hawks soared above on the thermal air currents. Good day to bring the binocs.

The trail twisted and ascended, and we fortuitously quested on. The ladies had their rocket shoes on and always kept a pace a few steps ahead of me...

Made it to the top! Reaching the pinnacle was a worthy accomplishment. The reward was an awesome view of the island below us, misty breezes, and bragging rights.

We had initially planned on hiking a few more hours from the summit to nearby Concord Falls, but the trail leading west wasn’t being maintained and the vegetation had badly overgrown it. After some bushwhacking and acquiring our fair share of “paper cuts” from razor grass, we made the decision to descend back to our starting point. Encouraged by eco-keen Eliana, everyone collected trash on the way down, and we had a full bag of garbage by the time we made it back. Whew!

Time for some rehydration ... Carla introduced us to “Ting”, the island’s citrusy grapefruit soda. It’s super refreshing and has been kind of addicting! It’s bottled in Grenada, but I think it originates from either Trinidad or Jamaica.

Instead of hiking it there, we took the “long cut” and drove around to Concord Falls. There were some half-naked Japanese dudes in the natural pool when we arrived, so we waited until they finished frolicking in their tightie-whities before taking the plunge. After that, we capitalized on the opportunity to revitalize in the cool spring waters. Apparently, the best part of Concord Falls involves a mile-and-a- half hike up from the pool we visited, but we had enough tromping on the trails for one day. It was cool-down time.

Another super day worthy of blog-dom.