Reunion

The flight from Mayotte lasted for almost 2 hours and we landed in Reunion at 9:30 pm, there being an hours difference in time between the islands. After our flight it was a 20 minute ride to the Radisson hotel. Check-in was efficient and our room was adequate but nothing special, no views and limited suitcase room for our cases. We indulged in some Baileys which David had bought at the airport along with a bottle of wine which we will crack open in the morrow. A late night almost midnight before we turned in and we have to be ready for the off again at the later hour of 9 am tomorrow.



The hotel was much smarter on the ground floor, than on the bedroom floors. The breakfast room was very pleasant. But the pool was strange with only one way in, and that entailed paddling in a water bath, and exiting the same way

A very good breakfast and extraordinary pleasant surroundings at about 7:30 am. Then I went for a swim and we were ready to leave the hotel with the group at 9 am. It turned out to be a full day tour and we travelled in mini buses or large taxis. Our driver was Alexis and we also had his wife, Christiana, a Vietnamese 50 year-old lady, absolutely charming, and had been born and raised in Paris of Vietnamese parents. She sat on the backseat with us. We could not hear what Alexis were saying as he was rows ahead as a driver. So I really enjoyed chatting to her. There were several stops during the morning. Two stops were for waterfalls: the first of which, ironically called Niagara, had virtually no water in it but they surrounds the high cliffs covered with vegetation and vertical were absolutely stunning. The second waterfall was more bountiful but had the same sort of setting. We also walked along and across an abandoned bridge and went down to a beach where there was a restaurant earmarked for lunch was shut.


Called Niagara Waterfall, it had no water when we ..	..visited. You clearly have to be there at the right time.	There was the fainted hint of a trickle	An elaborate cathedral

Vanilla pods, which varied wildly in price on the island	An old suspension bridge.	..over a dry river ..	...is now for pedestrians only

This is the church that true believers think was saved from the lava flow by God himself. By the time the lava reached the church, the eruption was over. The road has been restored, and you only really get the picture of what happened from the drone shot

After this it was a half an hour drive more to another restaurant which was full of character. Here we sat down on a long table for 14 people and most of them had a main course, but David and I just indulged in a tiramisu, a beer and a passion fruit we left here about 3 pm. David and I sat in the front of the van for a change and had a super view for the next three hours which was mainly motoring. We stopped at a very rough coastal area and walked along for awhile. Stops at lava fields where the road had been cut by molten lava six months ago, but had amazingly been completely repaired. A stop at a church surrounded by solidified lava, but miraculously the church itself had been completely spared. A further stop at a blow hole and finally at Palm Beach in the Lagoon where we observed the Sun setting.

We were back at the hotel by 6:30 pm. We then had some Baileys and a snack and a cup of tea in our room before setting out for a walk about 8 pm. We walked through fairly empty streets of St Denis, the capital of Reunion, to the Cathedral where suddenly there was a vibrant nightlife with many many restaurants with tables outside on both sides of the street. We bumped into six of the other nine in the group during our meander. Back at the hotel we went up to the sunset bar and found this absolutely charming but with not an awful lot to see in the darkness.



We walked past numerous small waterfalls to a pretty beach.	The cafe we were looking for was closed	but we did have a fresh sugar cane drink	Further on more evidence of an eruption destroying the main road

The road has again been rebuilt			On to lunch ..

At an interesting restaurant that served sample of all dishes	The idea was you tried them all, and ordered the one you liked		Our guides on Reunion


We had a drive down a really rough track through sugar cane fields, to get to the wild volcanic coast, where enormous breakers are constantly bounding the cliffs. Later a stop to see the sunset.

A leisurely start the day of relaxation after battling with a shampoo and so-called conditioner bottles in the shower. We went down to breakfast around 9 am and had a very pleasant time there . We then set off on our 4 km walk round the town about 10:30 am. There was no Internet connection so we were unable to download the route to take with us but we went across to the small park between the hotel and the sea and discovered that Roland Garros, after whom the airport is named here and after whom the Paris stadium for the French Open is named, was born here in 1888 and was a famous pioneer of aviation, being killed at the end of the war in 1918. One learns something new every day.

We then dipped back into the hotel to see if there was any connection but there was not - the whole island was cut off for almost the whole day. So we proceeded without a live web map feed and walked to the cathedral and went inside. It was quite plain. We walked down the main shopping street and were surprised at how modern shops were there. David bought black and white summery trouser suit. We side tracked to a small market, before reaching two museums one of the works of Savely, very bright and vibrant - the other of general paintings over the years. After leaving the museums we proceeded down the Rue de Paris, formerly the rich peoples street, but most of their villas have now been flattened for redevelopment. . A few impressive looking mansions remained and if the building had been destroyed, an old photo was hung on the railings outside. It certainly had been and seems to continue to be, an upmarket town. We eventually came through to the seafront and made our way back to the hotel by which time it was about 2 pm.

And there was still no Internet. We were unpleasantly surprised to find that the room had not been done, but we found a receptionist along the corridor and arranged for it to be done at 3 pm when we thought we would be at the swimming pool ,which we were indeed. I had a very pleasant swim doing the full 10 lengths and then got changed down there in a shower room with very poor drainage. It eventually became too cold for us to stay and we came back up to the room soon after 4 pm and had a cup of tea. Then after 5 pm, we went up to the roof lounge and joined six of the others at a big table and had a banana and coca cocktail and a terrine between us. We stayed there for about 90 minutes then came back down to the room, packed one of the suitcases and then had a snack and a Baileys in the room. Ready for an early start and breakfast by 6 am in the morning.

An early morning start breakfast at 6 am for a 6:40 am depart to the airport which was only 12 minutes away. We got through check-in eventually as the locals have so much luggage. Our plane took off by 9 am