Sailed out of one harbour (Mauritius), sailed into another country (Reunion) a day later, and took a couple of days to see Reunion island before setting off again.
Our heads are whirling: it has been amazing.
Picturing Port Louis harbour from our boat before departure…
In the foreground is a small cargo boat: yes, it is afloat, but barely, and must be shipping water!
Behind that is a line of rafted Chinese fishing trawlers – apparently fishing season down here has started, and the Chinese trawlers are permitted to moor in Port Louis but must stay out of Mauritian waters when fishing. This was a line of 18 trawlers attached to a single mooring buoy!
Behind that some more trawlers and then the fire-damaged cargo ship ‘Brandenburg’ awaiting its tow to somewhere for repairs. Beyond that: silos. A busy harbour, this.
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| Leaving Mauritius and its moored Chinese trawlers behind us |
The sail was wonderful and easy with light winds and we were treated to an indigo blue sea which offered up two magnificent Dorado (freezer and tummies all full!) and showed us whales wallowing and blowing nearby. Heaven!
Then there was Reunion in the distance.
We got into Le Port and tied up on the fishing harbour wall. Here are our neighbours…
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| Our front neighbour rests and works on his boat in his tiny jocks (an all-day treat!) |
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Back neighbours: lucky to have a ladder, as low tide provides challenges getting off the boat.
We have no ladder and Irene no longer has dignity!
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Reunion is a beautiful island, with unique features and huge contrasts – white sandy beaches… and also black volcanic sand beaches.
The island is volcanic and in its centre are ancient collapsed calderas, called the Cirques: three unique “amphitheatres” that were once covered by a single huge dome which collapsed. Each cirque is isolated by steep mountains, and each is unique due to differences in rainfall and accessibility.
We went up to Maido, an overlook into the Cirque de Mafate.
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| Driving up to Maido viewpoint |
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| Above the clouds, looking down on the cirque |
This is the most isolated cirque with no road access into it. There are communities living down there: the cirque was originally inhabited by slaves who escaped into the rough terrain to hide and their offspring remain. They have to carry everything in or have it dropped by helicopter.
A trip to another of the cirques, Cilaos, showed huge mountains with sheer sides and rivers winding along the bottom of ravines.
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| One of the three villages seen on the plateau within Cirque de Cilaos |
Getting to Cilaos village requires driving along exceptionally windy roads - the road to Cilaos famously has over 400 twists and turns, plus tunnels and sections of one-way traffic.
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| Switch-backs and hairpin bends... |
Driving on these roads, in the “wrong” lane, in a car steered from the “wrong” side (left hand drive country), on bends where it is impossible not to encroach on the oncoming lane to achieve the turn, and with the locals speeding past no matter the road circumstances… hair-raising!
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| Two lanes but only when the oncoming truck agrees! |
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Nowhere for the road to turn, so it had to be taken back under itself
… in the space of about 200m |
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| An impasse in pass! |
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| Cilaos Village… lovely but touristy |
One of the most active volcanoes in the world is on Reunion - Piton de la Fournaise last erupted in 2007, for the third time since 2000!
We drove the coast road (the “Lava Road”) and in the south-east saw where the latest lava eruptions flowed down to the sea.
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| It is startling to be surrounded by acres of black lava, and see its stream from mountain to sea |
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Notre Dame-des-Laves is a church that was in the path of the lava in 2007.
It was spared: the lava flow stopped three feet from the building on three sides. Extraordinary |
All this driving required refreshment stops and there are many opportunities for this. Reunion is very French: French cars (note our trusty Citroen above), signage, streets… and if you have many Euros you can enjoy your baguettes and coffee frequently. But be polite…
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| If you say please (s’il vous plait) here, you get a discount on your coffee! |
What a marvellous visit! Reunion deserves so much more time than this, but we are grateful to have had a short stop-over and tomorrow we leave to sail to South Africa.
In the foreground is a small cargo boat: yes, it is afloat, but barely, and must be shipping water!
The island is volcanic and in its centre are ancient collapsed calderas, called the Cirques: three unique “amphitheatres” that were once covered by a single huge dome which collapsed. Each cirque is isolated by steep mountains, and each is unique due to differences in rainfall and accessibility.
am sorry to have missed Reunion, looks lovely! thinking of you as you set sail back to SA cant wait to see you all :-)
ReplyDeleteLooking back through your archive of blog reports reminds me of how much you have done over 4 years. Amazing experiences. Well done and happy sails
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