The Hidden Cirques of La Reunion

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A short greeting from Ile de la Reunion, a small volcanic island in the Indian Ocean.

Never heard of it? Me neither until recently. She lies 1 day downwind from Mauritius and is a French possession. In the south, there is an active volcano which occaisonally has a major eruption (but sputters and tosses just a little lava every day).

A long time ago, there would have been total seismic chaos. Now, in the center of the island lie 3 ancient, extinct cirques - collapsed volcanic craters - which provide the ultimate hiking experience. Never mind the drone of expedition helicopters above and noisy day-trippers on the trail.. if you ever find yourself in the neighbourhood, strap on a heavy backpack, eat "franks-and-beans à la hobo", sleep under the stars and hike the cirques til you puke!

Allons-y!

Note: Photo credit to A. Armitage

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Photos

I am le tired.
Armistice takes a well-earned breather.

Onward through the fog!
Martin and Clive push on, despite all odds against survival.

Morning Tea: Hobo Style!
Alex (aka Armistice) prepares Earl Grey in his campfire-burnt can of "epinards en branches"

The Hobo-Hero Sandwich
A hard day on the trail earns you France-subsidized bagettes and cassoulet - together at last!

Nowhere to go but up!
Up and over one of the more difficult sections of the trail..

Challenge me!
Ropes? We don't need no stinkin' ropes!

Hold still, Martin!
Dude, those suckers who read my blog will believe anything!

Vertigo
Don't stare too hard.

Camping Forbidden Here
Helicopter pad. Nap at your own risk!

Hiking Checklist:
One Jetpack please!

The Cirque
Look up! Waaaay Up! It's the ancient crater wall.

Comments

[Margot Van Sluytman]

Clive, These photos are astounding. Have you read the book, Three Cups of Tea? I think you would like it. Margot/RavenSpeaks

[BuscoGusto]

3 Cups of Tea
Hi Margot and thanks for commenting.. no, I haven't read the book but I know of it - and it's on my list now! Cheers!

[Christopher Burk]

I am watching you!
Hi Clive! I have finally taken a look at some photos and I am suitably impressed! Thought of you the other night while driving along the Trans Canada Hwy. Five or so tumbleweeds rolled across the road. In the light of the truck headlights looked like ghosts. The part where you come in is that it reminded me of that show we did in Leithbridge where we went to see the petrogliths in southern Alberta and videotaped tumbleweeds chasing us. If you have ready access tothe internet then check out a new product I represent in Western Canada called flatscreen arms at www.tvmonitorarms.com Nice to see the pics and happy trails

[Alex Armitage]

The photos!
The photos are just incredible?! Your photographer is soooo skilled! How can I buy some of these shots?! Maybe here: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Alex-Armitage/ or here: http://flickr.com/photos/alexarmitage/sets/ or is it here: http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/AD48FC63-0A5D-484C-A9DF-83AB3710675E/Alex+Armitage.html

[BuscoGusto]

Tumbleweed
Hey Chris, and thanks for writing. Yes, of course I remember the tumbleweed chasing us, a terrifying experience to live through. Good work on the arms - I will check them out. You might like the next adventure I have planned when I return to Canada. Stay tuned. Cheers!

[BuscoGusto]

BUY THESE PHOTOS!
Alex has a good point - you can indeed purchase any or all of Alex's photos: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Alex-Armitage/

[Alex Armitage]

photos!
can you make those links to my photo pages clickable? geeesh, dude! come on! ps. did i mention how incredible those photos are?

[Angie Catmur]

woah
Bloody hell. How absolutley, totally, mind boggling! Are you really there? cause it might all be blue screen and cgi you know. You're really in some cozy hotel sipping manhattans....aint ya huh!?! Wow you really are living the dream, keep going Clive and keep sending your blogs because they are very inspiring. Keep safe Angie, Nigel, Max and Sam xxxx

[bart]

stinky
Stinky feet is doing pretty good by the looks of it......keep enjoying it dude and who knows maybe somewhere down the trail we meet again.... Bart from Belgium

[BuscoGusto]

Do the Bartman
Hey buddy! Thanks for the note - Stinky Feet is doing really well. and I will officially announce my next adventure sometime very soon, and I think you might be interested in joining for a little of it. It's right up your alley. Talk to you again soon, send me an email letting me know where you are - are you in Chile or something? back at work in Belgium?

[Shanon]

sucka
Bwhwhahahahahahahaa Okay, so I blame the wine but I was fooled by the "climbing" pics! S