Volume No. 2 Issue No. 53 - Monday September 9, 2008
A Road Most Traveled
 By Dr. Emanuel Finn
This winding mountain road gives way to a breath-taking scenery of Dominica's South Eastern coast.
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The road which leads from the Point Mulatre river to �Te� (Petite) Savanne via Morne Paix Bouche is best driven with caution, especially at night when it twists into darkness with huge hair pin turns seemly disappearing altogether.
It is a rural road in the South eastern tip of Dominica connecting the villages of Delices and points further north as La Plaine across the mountain and Laviere Blanc (White river) to the villages of Petite Savanne, Grand Bay and points south to Roseau.
The road is a winding affair and obstacle course with few guard rails and a deep menacing and unfriendly precipice. The area is one of the steepest and most difficult terrains in Dominica.
When driving this unforgiving and spectacularly scenic mountain road, one has to pay close attention, because very easily drivers risk becoming an unhappy part of the scenery. The road becomes more of a challenge as you approach the summit as it twists, rises and slants.
On the summit you can contemplate the nature and the beautiful breath taking panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean with Martinique�s coast in the distance and the beautiful small villages on both sides of the mountain.
The road was built in 1993 to benefit farmers and people from Petite Savanne, Delices and other villages as far north to La Plaine opening up some opportunities for internal trade among the villages. It was also built for tour operations and tourist adventure. The Forestry Division views the road as an experiment in community agro forestry stimulus development on the island.
I had one of the scariest moments while driving up the mountain with my family one early morning two years ago after spending a few hours at the base of the mountain in the medicinal waters of La riviere Blanc.
Just before I got to the summit a big truck came lumbering down the mountain in the opposite direction. My heart started racing and the jeep started slowing down as I got closer to the summit and the gradient got steeper. I started inching my way up the hill and was getting closer to that moment where the two vehicles were going to meet at the first hair pin turn.
At that time, my wife went into a silent coma sensing the impending danger. She later told me that she was praying when she heard my deep and rapid heart beats. Our 5 year old daughter unaware of the sinister side of the beautiful scenery complained that I was driving too slowly and our 3 year old daughter slept quietly in her car seat. What was I thinking when I decided to drive up and down that mountain?
The lorry�s driver got visibly upset with my seemingly lack of driving ability and skills. He quickly uttered some sentences to the effect. �Mister cannot drive man, he must be from New York and he buy his driver�s license in America�.
Trying to concentrate on the road and its imminent danger with an unfriendly valley waiting patiently down below, my urgent concern was negotiating that mountain the best way I could. I pretended that I was a� real� tourist and that I had very little knowledge of this road and did not understand what he said.
I finally made it to the summit and took two brief pictures before heading down the other side of the mountain towards the agricultural community of �Te Savannne. The valley deepens precipitously into a free fall with winding turns. I crawled at about two (2) MPH with my hand on the hand brake.
The end seemed like the longest journey I have ever traveled. I finally crossed the ravine where the village of �Te Savanne� begins and where a small rum shop sits. I looked back at the mighty mountain and realized that I was brave, restless or too adventurous for going up and down that mountain with my family.
I stopped at the rum shop and jokingly asked the shopkeeper if he had any Zaide', (the local rum which is made illegally in the surrounding hills) so that I could calm my nerves. The guys in the shop who were engaged in a game of dominoes had a good laugh.
I then continued with our journey to the fishing village of Fond St. Jean after a brief stop in the hamlet of Bagatelle about a mile away then on to the provincial capital of the south, Grand Bay, and to our final destination of Roseau.
I have a certain affection and nostalgia for Morne Paix Bouche for a few reasons. I grew up about nine miles north of the mountain and as a kid heard many stories of that unmotorable road which connected villagers from both sides of the mountain. In much earlier times it was a road for horse and foot traffic from Roseau to Geneva estate, Petite Savanne to Pointe Mulatre estate and Delices and points beyond.
In the early 50s, a Swedish engineer named Mr. E. Blomquist purchased Point Mulatre estate from a mulatto family with a last name of Pemberton. Blomquist used World War II willys jeeps to traverse the mountain using the old horse path.
In the summer holidays of 1977 as a high school student, I had a chance to hike that mountain via the old path under thick brush. My destination was the hamlet of Bagatelle which had experienced a huge landside where more than 8 people perished when the side of the mountain covered the village in half.
My friends and I left La Plaine in the early morning hours and hiked to Bagatelle to assist folks from that mountain village who had suffered so much.
In a conversation with Ms. Singolla Blomquist-Williams the inherited owner of the 450 acre Point Mulatre estate, she told me that she remembers the old path and her late father driving up and down the mountain with his World War II jeep.
She now resides in one of the houses at the base of northern side of the mountain along the river next to the world famous Jungle Bay resorts. She said the very first time she drove up the mountain she thought it would be probably be her last moments on earth.
Ms. Blomquist-Williams told me now that she has conquered the mountain, her trip to her law office in the middle of Roseau takes about 35 minutes. A much better option than the long journey via La Plaine and Pont Casse which takes about an hour and half.
A Police commander who has been in charge of the Southern police district out of Grand Bay which has jurisdiction on both sides of the mountain road, said that there has not been any accidents on that road.
I asked him if a major accident is waiting to happen on this road due to land slides and by careless motorists. His emphatic response was; �Drivers know that there is no tomorrow on this road and they drive at their best and they take no chances.
Well let�s hope the police inspector�s assessment and insight holds true. This road is one of the most scenic and also perilous stretches of road on the island. Will this writer travel up and down this mountain again? Yes but as a passenger with an experienced driver at the wheels.
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