Submitted by Michael Rechsteiner on the 2020 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography…
I quickly observed why Dominica is referred to as the “nature island”, the winding roads that lead to Roseau (the capital) showcase the intense topography of Dominica and the beautiful rain forests that cover the many volcanoes. We have been exposed to the beauty of the island on multiple occasions already on this program. Of course, the beaches and the Caribbean Sea have been breath-taking to see and a blast to enjoy. However, the thing that truly amazed me was the density of the rain forest that we were able to experience firsthand on our hikes. I felt as though I was walking through the setting from the Jurassic Park movies. The hiking paths here would hardly pass as a path in the United States, here they are extreme in the fact that there are very steep parts that you have to climb or slide to continue, parts that require you to jump on rocks to cross a river, and parts that aren’t very cleared of bush at all. Being immersed in that environment was truly something that I had never experienced, and I can’t wait to scale the many more rain forest covered volcanoes on our future hikes.
