Dominica Day 5- The Valley of Desolation

Today, students had to get up at 4:30 am for a grueling trip to the Valley of Desolation. Students hiked through thick jungle and up slippery staircases, crawling over unsteady boulders and through sulfurous streams. At the beginning of the long hike, the students stopped for a break at the Breakfast River.

Afterwards, they trekked onwards and upwards to the Valley of Desolation- a very desolate place. Sulfur fumes wafted through the valley as students collected gas, water, and rock samples.

Students then hiked towards the Boiling Lake, a hydrothermal lake that boils at 90 degrees celsius with a pH of 3.5. Students stood far away from the lake for fear of falling in. The air was filled with steam, and that was about all that could be seen.

The hike back was long and difficult, but everyone made it back alive. It was an epic adventure that none of the students will forget.