Quickie to the River; Great Drive

My map shows hot springs nearby so I figured I'd use the last hour of daylight to take a look.

It turns out that the springs must have been hotter at some point in the past. There are old (closed) bath houses and a tepid creek.

Very pretty and I enjoyed a cold swim in the large waterfall-fed pool before a warmish shower in the 'hot' waterfall.

It was a nice intro to the area.

Driving up was spectacular. The road follows a river/canyon up to this very large volcanic cone. I'm told that there are 140 hairpin turns, and by hairpin.... It's a slow down to 1st gear type of turn. Fun. The views are soaring. Huge walls of green-covered jagged lava. The clouds rolling and swirling add a mystical other worldly feel.

I suspect that the rain may cause me to adjust my ambitious hiking plans. Perhaps Cilaos is a planning/resting day instead of a peak-bagging day. To be determined.Read more