Alexa Kumbier
Google
First of all, do NOT do this hike without a guide. Gerard from Coco Trails is excellent, and I highly recommend him.
On the day of our original trip, we cancelled because it rained in the morning, and it looked like it was going to rain more. The next day, the group was slightly larger because of this (10 people). We met at a meeting point (the helicopter pad) and our group climbed into the back of a long pickup truck with benches. We were taken to Grand Anse Beach, where we started our "hike."
To get to Anse Marron, we walked along the sand, in a jungle area, and up and over and under large granite boulders. This trail was unmarked, and Gerard had to tell us where to put our bodies and feet at times so that we wouldn't fall. He also physically helped some people.
When we arrived at Anse Marron, it was breathtaking - one of the most beautiful beaches we have seen. And we've been to many beaches. The beautiful rocks and the color of the water were gorgeous. We had time to relax in the water and hang out before leaving. Some people snorkeled. During this time, Gerard went and found leaves from the jungle to weave us baskets, in which he placed freshly chopped fruit and some fish samosas. He had brought enough food in his bag for 10 people! Also, he did the entire hike barefoot. Pretty amazing.
When the tide started coming in, we packed up our things to go. We did some more walking on the beach, bouldering, and walking through the jungle. Since the tide was coming in, we waded through ocean water that went up to my waist and at times up to my chest. I'm five feet four inches, so if you're taller, it's a little easier to walk in the water. During this time, if you didn't have a dry bag, you needed to hold your bag above your head. Gerard had some room in his dry bag in case people needed to put their things in there. I'm not sure how long it took, but my arms were a little tired toward the end - maybe 15-20 minutes. We didn't go back the way we came. We ended up at Anse Source d'Argent, where we stopped for a 20-minute break to buy juice and relax and then walked back to our meeting point.
Throughout the hike, Gerard would stop to make sure we were all okay and to point out different flora and fauna of the area. He knew about every animal and plant and was very knowledgeable. He pointed out several Madagascan fodies and their nests, ghost crabs (and taught us the difference between males and females and also told us about their behavior), hermit crabs, skinks, a millipede, termites, morning glory flowers, takamaka trees, cinnamon trees (and we munched on the stems of the leaves), coconut trees (he chopped up coconuts and handed out fresh coconut pieces to us), and more.
Being 27 weeks pregnant, I was worried that this hike might be too intense for me, but Gerard kept a slow pace, which helped a lot. We were all sweating profusely throughout the hike, and some people didn't seem to know what to expect. You have to be agile and in decent shape to do this hike. I would only recommend this trail for people who have the right gear and are okay with climbing on boulders. I'm glad that we had done our reading about this trail beforehand.
Bringing 2+ liters of water per person is a must I would say. I drank more than two liters. If you have a water bladder like a CamelBak or a Platypus, bring it. It helps you stay hydrated. Also, bring a waterproof bag. For shoes, my husband and I did the whole thing in our Chacos sandals, which are waterproof and have very good grip. You need shoes with good grip. We didn't end up using the water shoes that we brought. We got sunburned on some parts of our bodies because we were sweating so much or wet from swimming, and when we reapplied, we were still wet.
This was certainly a very adventurous trail with stunning views! Even though it was intense, I'd recommend it to those who are fit and confident.
