Reunion Island

Sunday, November 24th - Thursday, November 28th

Reunion is a volcanic, mountainous, lush island framed by areas of beautiful beaches and rocky shorelines. It is French owned and inhabited by roughly 800,000 people. Its economy is based on sugar cane products and tourism. And it feels very French. Many of the tourists are from France and many of the people who reside there have relocated from France. And it’s much more sophisticated than many of the islands we’ve visited - good roads, great restaurants, shopping and breathtaking nature preserves. It doesn’t take us long to realize we’re going to enjoy our time here.

All the fleet has already departed toward South Africa except us, Distraction, Ostara, Poco Loco, Larimar and Babiana’s crew (owners flew home to Britain for their son’s wedding.). We’re all docked along a cement marina wall. The marina itself isn’t very appealing, like some we’ve experienced. Word has reached us that a rental car is a must, but can be difficult to attain. Taxi’s are very hard to find, which is so odd for an island as contemporary feeling as this one. Fortunately, Rob had reserved a car a week ago, so we have one waiting for us. After picking up the car, we drive in search of some lunch. Well, it’s Sunday in Reunion, which means all the restaurants are closed. We end up eating at a Burger King! The BK Lounge is even worse than we can remember (it’s been years?). Ironic - we’re looking for a quaint little French bistro, but nope. We did manage to swing by the big Carrefour grocery store (once again, it’s located inside a big mall with no outside entrance directly into the grocery store. Weird.). Fortunately, Emm and Mike are able to find a pub for a group of us to meet for Sunday dinner. It’s always really great to see our fellow traveling friends. Many of them we don’t see for long periods of time, so it’s always appreciated when we can get together. Distraction and Ostara are the two boats we spend quite a lot of time with while on Reunion. The following day we meet them at a quaint seaside village, Boucan Canot, for a long, leisurely lunch at Ti Boucan. We overlook the Plage de Boucan Canot, the local white beach. There’s a few brave swimmers out there, in a protected swim area. The shark attacks here have been so frequent, a swimming ban has been enforced, except in these netted areas. No thank you. We choose to drink wine, eat lovely meals and observe the beautiful ocean views. The following day is similar except Rob and I take a hike to a waterfall (which turns out to be dried up) and then meet them for lunch at an artisanal village for a delicious, leisurely lunch (the food on Reunion is exceptional compared to our prior stops) and some shopping. I like how all our European friends eat very leisurely meals. No hurry. Plenty of time to chat, eat, digest, eat dessert. We close the day with drinks and bites on Poco Loco. Sadly, the owner, Dave’s wife, Sue is at home in Britain. She doesn’t enjoy the passages so skips them, but she’s a hoot when she flies in for a visit.

Our last full day on Reunion, I convince Rob to drive the 2 hours up to the Cirque de Cilaos, a caldera formed by the collapse of a volcano into itself, leaving a large crater behind. This particular crater is forested with tall trees and lush, green undergrowth. The Piton de Niege towers nearby, the tallest peak in the Indian Ocean at over 10,000 feet. We set our sites on the small village of Cilaos to meet Mike, Emm and Neil (Distraction) for a hike and then lunch. We set out early knowing the clouds roll in around 10 or 11 and will impede our views from above.

The drive up to Cilaos is easily one of the most breathtaking drives we’ve ever experienced.

With over 400 narrow curves in the road, hugging along the cliff side, it’s as thrilling as it is spectacular. The sheer drop offs, somehow still blanketed with greenery, are vertical, vast and so deep and narrow across the gorge we’re unable to see the base. Along these cliff faces are deep crevasses creating long black vertical spaces which break up the green. White birds, barely visible in the distance, fly out of some of them and soar across the open space of the gorge. At times, the road becomes one lane. Rob honks before rounding these blind curves. We are fortunate not to meet any traffic at these spots. Or in the single lane tunnels. It’s hard to imagine backing up down this road. I would say it was worth the discomfort to finally reach our destination, but as the driver, I’m not sure Rob would agree.

Rob and I sit and have a cappuccino and a pain de chocolate at a patisserie, waiting for the others to arrive. This is a real hiking community. We watch as many backpackers prepare for their hiking trips into the mountains. The trails are extensive here, many of them falling under the “hard” level on our All Trails app and many more miles than we care to tackle today, or could tackle in one day. Due to time constraints (we’ve invited everyone for final night farewell drinks on Jolie in the evening), we are only able to hike for a few miles through the hilly woods and then return to town for lunch. We all enjoy galettes at Le Crêperie before beginning the circuitous drive back to the Port de Plaisance. A lovely day concludes with cocktails and appetizers on Jolie. We really enjoy the time with Distraction and Ostara, but also Larimar (from Estonia) and Poco Loco. We had 17 people in the salon and galley of Jolie! A bit tight, but no one seemed to mind. A fun farewell before beginning the tricky passage to Durban, South Africa.