falls of baleine

From the photographs this looked amazing. In actual fact the falls are quite small, the pools are very rocky and slippery and the access across a bamboo pole bridge is hair raising. If you are even slightly not good on your legs avoid this one!!!

A wonderful place. First you get there through a boat ride seeing the coast line of the island. Than after a short walk of 10 minutes, you get to this magical place where you can swim, jump from the rock and then just relax in the middle of the nature. When we went there was no one there and we could just enjoy by ourselves.

We had such a wonderful time, our tour guide took us to this falls but when we got there it was raining. we could not see much, how ever we had lots of fun.

We did this in 2012 after the hurricane which had simply twisted pieces of reinforced concrete into rubble. It was hard to dock againgst the waves, We walked upriver to falls noticing how the hurricane had simply demolished anything built for tourists. We went for a swim in the pool. One of the women who couldn't swim very well moved into an area where she thought she was being towed down under the water. I moved to help her but she immediately climbed on top of me and with one last gasp of air I was underwater. It's the closest I've come to drowning. Lucelle, always the incredibly talented woman she is, grabbed my arm and pulled us both back to shallow waters. I owe her my life. Our two guides ran over immediately and were ready to jump in. When I got out I offered them cigarettes. They didn't want anyone dying on their trip. All I had were cigarettes. Our boat had no life preservers, and was pretty low in the water, and travelling pretty slow. One of the senior woman carried what must have been a 40lb rock on her head back to the boat because the rock was shaped like St Vincent. These are the kind of memories one cherishes, true St Vincent memories. I was the only white person on that expedition, but I never felt like a white person the whole trip. I was just another Vincentian. One couple on that trip is opening a bed and breakfast down the leeward side. I was given a tour. They have a basement apartment. I was saying I could probably never afford what they would charge, it was so nice, and I was told I was virtually family and they would charge a rent I could afford. That is St Vincent. The more time you spend there, the more you love it and the more likely you will spend a lot of time there. I doubt that I could ever afford to spend a lot of time at their bed and breakfast though. It was exquisite.

Tried to hike from Fancy village to the falls, but started too late to make it, so can't comment on the falls. However, the interesting trail is little more than a goat path used by ganja farmers. I hired a young man in Fancy to guide me (probably a good idea). He carried a cutlass "for security". Trail was narrow and rugged, up & down, and hot in the afternoon sun, thru some forest. Also many clearings on steep slopes, principally planted with ganja. Many bushy plants 4-6 feet tall. Passed a couple "shanties" covered with tarps, and talked and watched the friendly Rastas process their 'weed'. Very interesting.

Not a tropical fantasy as described byguide books! More like the scene from horror film. Falls of Baleine are not easily accessible now - it is not possible to moor the boat and we needed to jump from the boat to the wooden broken pier when the waves were not very high and our fisherman felt we can make it. There is no any path - just pile of stones and you climb through the stones and sometimes walk in the stream, Very difficult to get to the falls - but even when you get there it is a bit scary - there are 2 caves on each side and it was very dark and we decided not to swim in the bathing pool as we were afraid to break our legs - honestly! I also had the feeling that the rocks on surrounding cliffs are going to collapse if we speak too loud! They have a sign there which says they got funding from EU and are going to repair the path etc. but it doesn't say when and no work started yet - end of January 2013.

A wonderful conclusion to a recent shore excursion. We visited St Vincent whilst on a Caribbean cruise with P&O Ventura. A 4 hour boat trip along the spectacular coastline on Wind & Sea's catamaran then a dip under the Baleine waterfall was very much a highlight of our cruise. Can not wait to return to this underrated island. No wonder they filmed "The Pirates of the Caribbean" on this island.

Baleine is closed, go to Dark View Falls insted, the top falls are straight out of a magazine! Watch for the bamboo bridge. Steady now!

As you approach, make sure you are entering the correct cove.. With a pair of binoculars you should be able to see the picket fence like railing along the dingy dock that runs along the rock face.. it does not jut out into the water. You can not dock your sailboat or cat there.. a tender is needed to go ashore, and someone will have to stay aboard the boat and circle until those ashore are done.. I would not advise one to try to anchor, as it is pretty deep and tight, and look out for a shelf of rocks to starboard as you approach. I would advise comunication via walkie talkies between those ashore & those who remained on board. After you have tied off your dingy (I suggest locking it to the dock, as I always lock an unattended dingy), a crossing of a shallow creek will have to be made (it's shallowest right at the mouth) ..a few locals will come down to see you.. probably wanting to make sure you don't go wandering off the path and into their local homegrown.. don't do it. They were all cordial and polite.. if you want to score points with them as you walk away from your tender, bring them some dry matches.. as they will all inquire if you have any. The path up to the falls has been completely covered with a rock slide.. large boulders will have to be scrambled over.. be careful, but it is very do-able.. I would not advise small children.. I would think a 5 yr old could make it with some assistance. The walk to the falls after clearing the rocks is short.. take a camera, some shampoo, a towel and have a nice soak/swim. The locals will not follow you to the falls. Make it a morning trip, and spend the afternoon crossing to St Lucia and the Pitons!