15 February 2026

The Great Etang Lake

From the picture, it is not evident, but if you stand by the shore of this 36-acre lake and look around, you will see that you are surrounded by high hills on all sides. That is when you realize that you are looking at a crater lake! This was formed about 12,000 years ago.

15 February 2026

Spotting our first Mona monkey!

As we started entering the Anandale park, almost immediately, I saw a Mona monkey. Turns out that would also be the last one we would see. These monkeys are very shy. I had barely gotten the phone out when it scooted up. You can see the monkey – especially the face – if you carefully notice the black path in the middle.

Like I mentioned, that was the last spotting of a monkey this trip! Also, apparently they are not native to the island. They were brought in from West Africa.

15 February 2026

Dad and son and their spice place

While driving up the mountains to Anandale waterfall, we stopped at this spice place where the dad – and the owner, I presume – will give you a whole history of the various spices in the island. He took us thru the production process. John is his name. He took great pride in showing off his knowledge and spices.

Eventually, we bought quite some and then hit the highway again!