Today we tackled the Gros Piton. It was a hike of 2600 feet in elevation. It was supposed to take 2 hours up and 2 hours back. We had a guide named Margaret. You are not supposed to go on the hike without a guide. The guide didn't do much ...she just got paid for going. At the most difficult part of the hike she took up the rear of the party. Her dog Rex came along. Rex traveled right at her heels and much of the hike he was underfoot. As the hike was so steep I was often leaning over to move . . and as I leaned over it was likely that my nose would come very close to Rex's tail. Rex marked the trail all the way up. If I didn't know about marking territory from our dog research years ago I would have thought he needed a bladder lift. Needless to stay I had to watch my every move. The hike was strenuous ...but manageable. The views were incredible. We enjoyed seeing the rainforest up close and personal. When we were at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in October we saw Bromeliads in the arboretum. It was really cool to see them in their natural environment hanging from trees. A hilight of the flora and fauna on our hike was the plant called "wandering jew" . You see it a lot in plant pots in the U.S. but to see it growing wild all over the mountainside and taking over every nook and cranny was pretty cool.
The other natural aspect we enjoyed on our hike was the way nature had created steps out of tree trunks. Margaret's English was very difficult to understand and she would get a little testy with you if you didn't know what she was saying. She didn't like to slow down or repeat herself. I found it necessary to nod my head in understanding most of the time...even though I didn't know what she was saying. We did talk a little bit about her life ...this is what I could understand after 3.5 hours of hiking. She is 46 years old and takes this hike 2-4 times a week. She has been doing so for 16 years. She has four children, and never married. The father of her children left the island 8 years ago and has never returned. She said it is typical for children in St. Lucia to have babies at 14 or 15 years of age and common to not be married., Children having children she called it. We passed her village - which is just outside the Gros Pitons. A very small intimate community ... very tight ...poverty and relative wealth seen next to each other. Beautiful rainforest views were had from the little huts and houses they dwelt in. They were rich in this way.
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