Blogs from Reunion, Africa - page 2

REUNION - 15th April The volcanic island of Reunion is about 115 miles southwest of Mauritius, it is an overseas department of France and most people live in the capital St Denis. Reunion has been A French department since 1946, the island is not without it's problems - very high unemployment rate, the occasional volcanic eruption and severe batterings from passing cyclones. Tourism is growing in importance although most visitors are from France. The cruise terminal is fairly new and St Denis is about 9'miles from Le Port where the ship berthed. They are building a new motorway and bridges from the port to St Denis - in the sea because of the falling cliffs. This is being financed by the EU and ultimately by us (at present). St Denis is the largest of the French ... read more

Mittwoch, 01.04.2015 Port Luis – St. Denis(134 Seemeilen) Während wir schliefen, legte unser Schiff die kurze Strecke von Mauritius nach Réunion zurück. Leider hat die Hauptstadt, St. Denis keinen Hafen. Die Schiffe legen etwa 25 Kilometer entfernt in „Le Port“, einem Industriehafen an. Am Morgen hatten wir einen inkludierten, 4stündigen Ausflug in die Stadt. Es war nicht eine Stadtrundfahrt im üblichen Sinne. Unsere Busse wurden, von Polizisten auf Motorrädern, in die Stadt eskortiert, wir kamen uns vor wie hohe Staatsgäste. Jede Ampel, konnten die Fahrer bei Rot passieren. St. Denis hatte nicht viel an Sehenswürdigkeiten zu bieten. In der Stadt angekommen konnten wir wählen, uns entweder dem Fremdenführer anschliessen, oder wie wir auf eigene Faust die Stadt erkunden. Ohne Fremdenführer kann man einen grösseren Radius ablaufen, denn in den Bussen sind immer einige, zum... read more

Olivier Levasseur, better known in his time as La Buse, still must be laughing from his grave. From his grave? No, because he is not buried there. For a simple reason: the Cemetery Marine of Saint Paul, at the northwest of Reunion, formerly known as Ille Bourbon, did not exist when Levasseur was hung high and short. But let us serve a generous glass of good old rum. A Vieux Charrette or a Riviere du Mat from Reunion Island, and let’s start it all from the beginning. And the beginning is, or it was, about the year 1680 in the French town of Calais, the narrowest point between France and England in the English Channel. A woman die giving birth to her baby. Thus, the child Olivier, who never knew his mother was in the care ... read more

Day 4: Grand Îlet to La Nouvelle via Col des Boeufs 2hr, 4.5km, 520m descent Tip: avoid the slog back uphill to Le Bélier and up the route forestière (forest road) to the Col des Boeufs; alternatively, take the bus from Grand Îlet to Le Bélier and on to Col des Boeufs car park just below the summit ; if there’s no bus when you set off, it’s easy to get a ride up there. Thus you’ll spare yourself a rather monotonous section. From the Col des Boeufs it’s an easy 2½- hour hike to La Nouvelle. This is the same as the first day of the Haut Mafate walk, crossing the atmospheric Plaine des Tamarins and descending on the far side to the village of La Nouvelle. After a simple br... read more

Woke up to a great morning, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and my tummy is churning, not something I ate but from excitement, since I came across Reunion on the internet, I have always looked forward to finally getting to the hiking trails and discover it's natural beauty. People say it's like a small version of Hawaii, I have never been to Hawaii but from the pictures I saw, I can see why, the interior of Reunion is mainly lush vegetation clinging to volcanic jagged cliffs, it rains a lot here too and thus it's all green, vines of chouchou(chayote) grow wild all over the place, deep valleys, volcanoes, mild climate, this is indeed the French Hawaii. Reunion is a French department and thus part of the European Union, not Schengen compliant yet, ... read more