Is Dominica the best kept travel secret?

I certainly had no idea this gem existed.Whenever I told people I was heading to Dominica, most responded, “Like, theDominican Republic?”

Fair question. I thought the two were thesame myself.

A quick search on the map, however, and you’ll find Dominica (pronounced Dom-min-EEKA) in a string of pearls - a chain of beautiful islands that connect through the Caribbean. Most of the other islands are quite well known. For example, St. Martens, St. Lucia, Martinique, Barbados and Antigua. Dominica, conversely, remains a quiet country, enjoying the paradise it is without the stereotypical “touristy” feeling that exists in some of the more high-volume tourism destinations.

Epic Trailswas actually slated to film in Dominica two years ago. Unfortunately, HurricaneMaria, in all of its Category 5 fury, rolled through and decimated the island,forcing us to cancel our trip.

“The trees looked like match sticks,” Michael Eugene, co-founder of Dominica’s Waitukubuli Trail and owner of Jungle Trekking Adventures and Safaris, told me. “There wasn’t any green on the island. It was all blown away.”

It’s hard to comprehend that that kind ofdestruction can brought on by a storm. Especially when, two years later, I waslooking around at a lush green island that was just so overwhelminglybeautiful. I’m sure the recovery is still a process for many whose homes andbusinesses were affected by Hurricane Maria. From an ecological standpoint, however,the island has sprung back to life extremely quickly.

Before we arrived in Dominica, I had myconcerns. Would there be enough adventure for Epic Trails on a Caribbeanisland?

After having spent just over a week on theisland, that concern is now laughable. Dominica, while being an island paradisewhere you can do all the relaxing your heart desires, is also truly a place ofadventure.

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Dominica’s Waitukubuli Trail is a spectaculartrack that navigates the island and brings hikers to many of the region’shighlights. The trail is broken up into ten segments and crossing the islandwould take most hikers at least ten days to complete. From a purely hikingstandpoint, there’s no shortage here. The trail segments range in difficultlylevels from easy to demanding. They are often steep, and wet, but a huge amountof work has gone into maintenance of the Trail and ensuring that hiking it is apositive experience.

We hiked several of the segments while filming, including Segment Four which navigates through the Kalinago Territory. The Kalinago are the Indigenous people of the Caribbean. The Kalinago were nearly wiped out during the slave trade era - their numbers reduced to just over 200. Thankfully, they found refuge in the mountains and dense jungle of Dominica, along with many others who fled slavery. The Waitukubuli Trail provides hikers the opportunity to learn about Kalinago heritage while taking in spectacular scenery. For example, the mystical l’Escalier Tête Chien – a natural staircase rising out of the Atlantic Ocean that, according to the local legend, is a path left from an enormous and mystical snake that left South America and sought a new home in Dominica (the staircase is the path the snake left as it excited the ocean and came on land). The Trail also provides hikers the opportunity to learn about the Kalinago’s vibrant culture and to witness their artwork firsthand - most notably the incredible baskets they weave.

Want even more adventure? Noproblem.

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The guys at Extreme Dominica have been exploring many canyons and gorges that are, well, gorge-ous. I met up with Jeffrey and Nahjie, who, over the last decade, have been uncovering Dominica’s vast opportunities for world-class canyoneering. Steep, rugged terrain, and heavy rainfall have carved and sculpted dozens of pristine slot canyons. Their soft pumice rock erodes much like the sandstone in southwest US. While the colors of the canyons are different than those in Utah, the quality and style is very much the same, except for one thing - there’s a hell of a lot more water flowing through these canyons!

Jeffrey, Nahjie and I had oureyes on the skies as we planned to enter one of the many slot canyons threadingthrough the mountains. A large storm cell forced us to wait at the top as anycanyoneer knows flash flooding is a major risk. The storm cell passed and when theradar was clear, we dropped into the most lush and verdant canyon I’ve everseen. One rappel down and I found myself swimming in another world, one known onlyto those with ropes, technical skills, and a thirst for exploring the unknown.The best part of canyoneering in a place with so much water is that you canoften forego rappelling and simply jump from pool to pool. The crystal-clearwater allows you to see potential danger, such as logs, in the pools below.

Canyons are my favorite kind ofplayground. The three of us hooted and laughed all the way down the canyon.This particular canyon had many treasures and rewards, but the biggest was thefinal rappel down Trafalgar Falls - a 240-foot waterfall that just also happensto be one of the most spectacular waterfalls on the island.

I’ve done some big rappels before,but none that were in such a beautiful setting, nor were they flowing with suchserious water! Looking down, the people enjoying the hot springs at the base ofthe waterfall looked like ants. And, I will admit, with the roar of the fallsit was all a bit intimidating. But I was ready. When it was my turn to rappel,I laced the rope through my device and started cruising down. Most of thedescent happened in the waterfall itself. You do get pummeled a little bit bythe waterfall, but it’s all in good fun. Just keep your head down and keepmoving. Everything is rushing around you, and it’s a hell of a good time!

At the bottom of Trafalgar Falls,the three of us high fived and reveled in the amazing experience we had justshared. It’s hard to believe that that one canyon was just a taste of thecanyoneering opportunities in Dominica. I think I’m going to have to go back.

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On a day when a surge of intense rain altered our plans, our guide Michael Eugene asked if we'd be interested in assisting a non-profit that monitors and protects the leatherback sea turtles that lay eggs on one of the black sand beaches. We just happened to be there when a nest of eggs were hatching, and it was time to go help the babies that were stuck in the sand and record the number of successful hatchings.

Leatherback turtles populations are very low, and the species is vulnerable to extinction. So the goal of the day was to help the sea turtles that would have died before emerging from the nest, as the mother lays the eggs about two and a half feet under the sand. It's the first step in a difficult journey for sea turtles. But it was beautiful to watch the rescued turtles instinctively turn towards the crashing waves and scoot their way across the beautiful black sand and into the sea.

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We packed in quite a bit of excitement into our shoot. But we weren't done yet.

Some of the best freediving in the world happens at the southern end of Dominica, in the quiet town of Soufrière. Soufrière is nestled on the edge of an ancient volcanic caldera, so the water there gets deep incredibly fast and is protected on three sides by the old ring of the volcano. The water is extremely deep, calm, and clear, providing the perfect conditions for quality freediving.

I was very nervous about learning to freedive. I don’t know about you, but I have this weird tick about not wanting to drown. When I met Jimmy and Luca at Blue Element Freediving, however, my fears immediately began to ease.

To begin, Jimmy led me through some of the basics of freediving and breath work. After holding my breath for two and a half minutes (on dry land), I still had 95 percent of my oxygen in my blood. That was an eye-opener. According to Jimmy, I wouldn’t pass out until I had somewhere around 45% oxygen. I learned that the body is capable of far more than we often allow. Therefore, most of freediving is about calming your mind and trusting your body.

After the classroom lesson, itwas time to head to the diving platform and put my new knowledge into practice.While holding onto the diving line, I would go through a two-minute breathingmeditation, calming my body and mind, followed by three full inhales andexhales, then one last breath, as big as possible.

What followed was a surrealdescent into an endless world of blue. I held onto the line, pulling myself down.With every pull down, I used my free hand to pinch my nose and force air intomy inner ear cavities to equalize the ever-increasing pressure. I did not lookdown. I looked straight ahead, staring into the reassuring eyes of my coach,Jimmy, as I pulled myself past ten meters, the point of equilibrium. After tenmeters of depth, I no longer needed to pull myself down because with themounting weight of the water above, I was now being pulled down. I hit thirteenmeters, then fifteen, and finally, the tennis ball on the line appeared infront of my eyes and I was at a depth of 17 meters. Fifty-six feet of waterseparated me and my next breath of air.

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Before receiving the coaching,this thought would have terrified me. I’ve struggled to be under water for morethan twenty seconds while only a few feet away from the surface. But through alittle bit of coaching and practice, something inside me was unlocked and I nolonger felt panic or fear.

I calmly turned around and beganpulling my way back up the line. Strangely, I felt no need to hurry. I had successfullytapped into a calm, meditative mental space that was unlike anything I’d everexperienced before. I simply ascended the line while taking in more of mysurroundings including a school of fish, the penetrating rays of light piercingthe deep blue, and the silver glow of the surface above. I floated up, risingto the surface almost magnetically. And at last, but with no sensation of panicwhatsoever, I emerged from the water and performed three purposeful exhales andinhales. A smile crept across my face, then a burst of laughter, then a fistbump with Jimmy. Jimmy congratulated me and seemed to enjoy the revelation I hadjust experienced. Not many people know what he knows – and that is the allureand magic of freediving.

Before my dive, I felt fear andanxiety. Post dive, I felt transcendent.

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My experience on Dominica was aneye-opener. I get to travel the world’s most magical destinations as part of myjob, but this was the first time I’ve ever experienced something as soulful asfreediving. It was completely outside of my comfort zone and I had no basis forunderstanding what it could be like. I will be eternally grateful for the chanceto experience the trails and waters of Dominica, and forever indebted for theopportunity for personal growth that they provided.  

As a bonus, I can now dive to the bottom of all the swimming holes in Arizona and collect a lifetime’s supply of GoPros.