Le Maïdo

Our ship docked very early at Reunion Island. There was a general strike in France and as Reunion Island is part of France the workers here were striking from 6 am so our ship had to be docked by then. We disembarked just before 9 am for our first excursion.

Reunion Island Is even smaller than Mauritius with a population of less than 900,000 people. Geologically it is very young with active volcanoes. The face of cliffs have barriers to stop stones dropping on to the road. Our first excursion was across a bridge which had been built in the sea to avoid the rock problems. Our guide pointed out it was the most expensive road in France. Yes Reunion Island is considered France. They speak only French, use only euros, the car number plates are the same as those you would see driving in Paris. The population however comes from Africa, Europe and Asia.
We travelled along the coast road and through the mountains to a waterfall. Absolutely spectacular, mountainous terrain. There were many waterfalls as it is subtropical and with a very high rainfall. We finished at a vanilla farm, delicious coffee. Reunion was of course, as we were told the best vanilla in the world. Bob insisted on buying two bottles of vanilla essence and a small jar of vanilla powder.

Back to the ship and set sail for two days at sea.Read more