I was in the mood for something a bit different today, something adventurous, so we headed up North along the coast until we hit Le Lorrain (home to Martinique’s beer production plant) and then headed up into the forest towards Ajoupa Bouillon. We pulled into the car park of Restaurant de la Cascade and changed into swim suits and wet shoes. Then we headed to an outdoor reception desk and paid 10 euros each for a guided trip along Les Gorge de la Falaise. Exactly what this would entail, I wasn’t quite sure, but we were warned that in places we would be submerged up to our chest in water. Cue shiver of apprehension – what was I letting myself in for!?

To get to the gorge, we entered a beautiful rain forest valley and climbed down several hundred steep steps. As we descended, the sound of the river Falaise became louder. Once at the bottom, we followed the path along the river bank. Then we waded through the river (no more than ankle deep at this point)  to reach a tumbledown wooden hut with a faded sign which read ‘Les Gorges de la Falaise – attendez le guide’.

Group activity

After about five minutes, a small middle-aged man suddenly appeared, moving with silent speed across the river. This must be our guide. His lycra shirt declared him to be a participant in a marathon. He asked us to wait five minutes as another couple were going to join us. Sure enough, we were soon joined by a young couple who looked like they might be on honeymoon. A couple of minutes later, two young women in bikinis made a painfully slow entry, deliberately fording the river on the stones thereby avoiding getting there feet wet, which made me giggle – surely they were told that “in places we would be submerged up to our chest in water”? What was the point of keeping your feet dry!?

Another wait, and at last the final couple appeared, a sporty looking man and his somewhat reluctant girlfriend.  Without a backwards look, the guide started running up the river like a mountain goat, and we did our best to follow. I was acutely aware that David and I were a good twenty years older than the next oldest person in the group – would we be able to keep up?

After a few seconds, the guide disappeared into a hole in the rock – at which point my stomach did a little flip. I wasn’t prepared for confined spaces.  However, on following him, I discovered that it wasn’t a hole in the rock but a narrow cleft in the rocks with a river running through it. The Gorge itself. It was narrow enough for me to place a hand on either side, but when I looked up it was completely open to the sky, hundreds of feet above us. The walls of the Gorge were covered in ferns and other shade loving plants. Dizzying but quite beautiful.

The adventure begins

However, no time to stare, as our guide wasn’t hanging about –  and anyway, I had to keep an eye on my feet. The water was only about knee high but it was running rapidly and it took a bit of effort to push against it. The Gorge was very smooth, all sharp surfaces worn away by the action of the water.  There were various rocks and boulders which had to be negotiated, but they were smooth and rounded, too. After a few metres, we came to a rocky lump which we had to climb up over before entering another stretch of river. At this point, the water became quite deep. Forget chest height, I’m talking over the head. Fortunately, there were ropes along the side of the water to hold on to.  At points I took my feet off the bottom and swam. It was the coolest water I have swam in since I got to Martinique. Very refreshing!

The Gorge was becoming steep and every section of rock between water was harder to negotiate. Metal ladders were now introduced. Climbing up a ladder with water pouring on my head was a new experience for me. By this stage, the force of the water was intense and the sound of water flowing was deafening.

A powerful experience

Finally, we climbed the last ladder and entered a curved pool. And there it was – a tremendous waterfall. We all stood with our backs pressed against the rock, in awe. The water was coming down with unbelievable force – so much so that the idea of standing beneath it was too much to contemplate. However, it looked as if you might be able to go through the side of the waterfall and stand behind it. David was the first one to step up and try it out and made it look easy. When it came to my turn, the force of the water knocked me sideways and my contact lenses were dislodged, at which stage I crashed headlong into one of the girls. The contacts settled back down but I decided not to chance another waterfall experience! Everyone else tried going round the back from both sides and a lot of photos were taken. Sadly David was having trouble with his phone so we couldn’t get that waterfall shot.

The return

Then it was time to go back down the Gorge. And our guide still had some surprises in store for us. Instead of climbing down the ladders, we all had to jump into the pools below, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. The depth of the water was very variable. On the first jump, I felt my bottom touch the floor of the pool. When I popped up, I earned a disapproving look from my guide – I had jumped too far out. On the next jump, he dropped in a stone to show me the best spot to jump and this time when I popped up, he gave me a small nod. The reluctant girlfriend was the last to jump and I bet she regretted that decision. It only makes it harder when you’re the only one that hasn’t done it and everyone else is watching.

In no time at all, we had popped out the end of the Gorge and were back at the hut.  The guide bid us farewell and ran off, leaving us to drag our sodden carcasses back up all those steps to the car park. However, despite the aches and pains, both of us were grinning from ear to ear and elated.