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Pictures of our Réunion trip –
part 2: Les Makes-La Fenêtre-Saint Louis-East Coast-The Volcano-Grande Anse
 
Réunion part 1: Saint-Denis & surroundings-West Coast-Salazie-La Paix-North Coast-Takamaka-Dos d'Âne
Réunion part 3: Cilaos-Grande Anse-Le Maïdo-Saint Pierre
 
 
 
Réunion Map
 
 
 
         Map of the Indian Ocean
 
latest picture: March 24, 2012
  • click a picture to see details

 
 
 
 
 
 
076  From the viewpoint of “La Fenêtre”
(the window) 6 miles above “Les Makes”,
accessible by the road D20 from St. Louis
in the Southwest, we are mesmerized by
the grandiose mountain scenery of the
“Cirque de Cilaos” with its 10’070 ft. tall
“Piton des Neiges” in the background …..
077  ….. “Cilaos” the village that
gave the cirque its name, sits at
3’983 ft. altitude and is the biggest
settlement of this cirque …..
078  ….. an amazing sight are the small
hamlets scattered on slopes and tiny plat-
forms between the rugged mountain
peaks of the “Cirque of Cilaos”. In the
foreground “Peter Both” and behind, a
bit bigger “Le Palmiste Rouge”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
079  Between 9am and 10am the first
white banks of clouds sweep from the
coast towards the “Cirque de Cilaos”
covering its beauty in the shortest of time
080  The fresh pure mountain air favors
the growth of the beard lichen (Usnea
filipendula) at the viewpoint in
“Les Makes” on 5’207 ft. altitude
081  Nestling at the foot of a nearly
vertical forested mountain on an altitude
of about 3’280 ft., the village of “Les
Makes” spreads an atmosphere of peace
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the lofty heights of “Les Makes”, colorful wildflowers adorn the forest path:
082  a carpet of red and
white wildflowers
083  blue hydrangeas
084  Kahili Ginger (Hedychium
gardnerianum) with its pale yellow blossoms
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
No day goes by without being able to enjoy the colorful bird life:
085  the “Red Fody” (Foudia
madagascariensis) is changing its
plumage in a blazing red when
looking for a bride
086  the Red-Whiskered Bulbul
(Pycnonotus jocosus) with its
black crown and red ears
087  The yellow village weaver
(Ploceus cucullatus) that peals with
its beak in no time four blades from
a sugar cane plant for building its nest
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
088  Saint Louis in the Southwest owns
the biggest church of the island …..
089  ….. and a splendid mosque …..
090  ….. and in Saint Pierre stands
a very beautiful Hindu temple
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
091  At the “Tai Poosam Cavadee”
celebration, the Tamil people are marching
through the streets of Saint Louis towards
the banks of the Saint-Etienne river …..
092  ….. the beautifully adorned
ceremonial “chariot” with the statues
of the gods is pulled by hundreds
of devotees through the city …..
093  ….. ”Tai Poosam Cavadee” is
one of the most important celebrations
of the Tamil people and symbolizes
the purification of the soul and heart
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
094  We are looking down to the coast
of Grande Anse at Petit Île in the South
that is dotted with a few palm trees.
Palm-fringed beaches are not the main
attraction of La Réunion …..
095  ….. the sandy beach of Grande
Anse looks picturesque at calm sea …..
096  ….. next day, the sea is roaring.
Due to the presence of sharks,
swimming is only allowed within the
boundaries of the pool enclosed
in a wall of big boulders
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
097  Liliana enjoys letting her
gaze wandering across the
sea at Grande Anse
098  In the early morning hours,
the bay of Grande Anse lies
peacefully in front of us
099  At Cap Méchant on the wild
South coast (Sud Sauvage) the waves
crash against the windswept black cliffs
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
100  At dusk, a bird is tweeting
happily into the setting sun
101  An approaching thunderstorm darkens
the evening skies at Grande Anse …..
102  ….. the next day however, the sun-
down performs a fantastic display of colors
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
103  On the East coast, we drive through
the eerie moonscape of “Le Grand Brûlé”,
formed by the lava flows of the different
eruptions of the active volcano
“Piton de la Fournaise” …..
104  ….. along the older lava flows
various kind of flowers, plants and
ferns are restarting to grow .....
105  ….. at certain places, it is still
steaming like here at the “Rempart du
Tremblet”, the eruption of 2007
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
106  Lava streams, which flowed into
the sea, formed the landscape of the
4 miles wide uninhabited coastal stretch
of “Le Grand Brûlé” on the East coast
107  The “Vierge au Parasol” near
Bois Blanc South of Sainte-Rose in
the East of the island was erected
by a local farmer hoping to protect
herewith his vanilla beans from
the furies of the volcano
108  The church in “Piton Sainte-Rose”
miraculously escaped the destruction by
the 1977 eruption. When the lava flow
reached the church, it split and reformed
behind the church newly. Since then, the
church is called “Notre Dame des Laves”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
109  The suspension bridge “Pont des
Anglais” over the “Rivière de l’Est“ between
Sainte-Anne and Sainte-Rose is now only
accessible by pedestrian. At its construction
in the late 19th century, it was said to be
the longest suspension bridge in the world
110  The “Biberon” waterfall to
the North of “Plaine-des-Palmistes”
drops 787 ft. almost vertically through
the forest down to the valley
111  Purple and white Spanish
daisies (Erigeron karvinskianus) are
found especially in higher altitudes
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
112  On our way to the active volcano
“Piton de la Fournaise” we gaze across
the fertile “Plaine des Cafres”. In the back
the 10'069 ft. high dormant volcano
“Piton des Neiges” peaks out of the clouds
113  From the “Belvédère du Nez de Bœf”
the view across the valley “Rivière des
Remparts” is shrouded in clouds
during our first visit …..
114  ….. on our second visit however,
we are able to enjoy the imposing
sight of the long narrow canyon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
115  The volcanic scenery at the
“Cratère Commerson” – 771 ft. deep
– halfway to the volcano is wild and
rugged. In the distance towers the
dormant volcano “Piton des Neiges” …..
116  ….. we climb to the rocky plateau
where impressive sights of the deep
crater and surrounding open up
117  The vertical mountain wall of the
”Rivière des Remparts” rises around
6’000 ft. skywards – another awesome
view on our way to the volcano
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
118  From “Pas des Sables” at 7’743 ft.
altitude we gaze at a plain of volcanic
ashes: The “Plaine des Sables”
119  Our LandCruiser is ready to tackle
the switchbacks down to the lunar
landscape of “Plaine des Sables” …..
120  ….. and to cross the “Plaine
des Sables” on the corrugated
and potholed gravel road
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
121  At the “Pas de Bellecombe” –
7’582 ft. – the crater rim – a relief
informs about the hiking possibilities
122  What a gigantic sight: A poster in
the cafeteria of “Pas de Bellecombe”
shows an eruption of the volcano …..
123  ….. and another poster the different
lava flows. The volcano is erupting some-
times every year, the latest in 2007 and 2010
(since the 17th century over 150 times)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
124  View of the Western outer
crater wall of “Piton de la Fournaise”.
At the edge of the wall, trees are
putting down roots again …..
125  ….. superb view of the volcano and
the ochre colored small “Formica Leo”
crater in front. The „Piton de la Fournaise“
belongs to the most active volcanoes
in the world …..
126  ….. view of the Northern
outer crater wall with the small
crater “Formica Leo” in the plain
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
127  The descent to the small crater
“Formica Leo” lasts around 20 minutes
on a well maintained stepped path.
Difference in altitude about 1'000 ft.
128  Liliana stands at the bottom of
the small crater “Formica Leo”.
It looks like a quarry
129  The freezing of the Lava formed
different patterns, and the
vegetation starts regrowing
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
130  On our way back from the volcano:
Our LandCruiser starts the climb from
the “Plaine des Sables” through the
switchbacks to the “Pas des Sables”
131  Evening mist climbs from the valley
to the fertile “Plaine des Cafres”. The
last rays of the sun catch a herd
of curious cows
132  The fog meandering through the
“Plaine des Cafres” gives the trees
a mystical appearance
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
133  On the “Col de Bellevue” (pass
5’335 ft.) above “Plaine-des-Palmistes”
we admire the beauty of this mountain
hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata) …..
134  ….. the sweet and intrepid
“featherball” of the Réunion Stonechat (Saxicola tectes), called Tec-tec
that lives in higher altitudes ...
135  ….. and a carpet of wild blue
bigleaf hydrangeas
(Hydrangea macrophylla)
embedded in scrub
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
136  Liliana is enjoying the spectacle
of the over a dozen waterfalls of the
“Cascade de Grande Galet” in the
Langevin Valley Northeast of Saint-
Joseph in the South of the island
that rush into a clear pool …..
137  ….. a young Réunion-lady
feels the same enthusiasm and
takes one picture after the other
of the impressive scenery
138  At the entrance of Saint-Joseph
in the South of the island – West of
“Pointe de la Cayenne” – we discover
this beautiful deserted black-sand cove
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
139  We rent for some time the yellow
bungalow at “Anse de Cocos” at Grande
Anse Bay near Petit-Île in the South …..
140  ….. Maridza, Didier, daughter
Cécile and Marcel (checkered shirt)
visit us for a coffee on our porch …..
141  ….. Liliana enjoys everyday the
sea view, the garden, the birds and
the beautiful Indian Ocean sunsets
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
142  This peculiar “Balloonplant”
(Asclepias fruticosa or Gomphocarpus
fruticosus) (local name Ti-Ouette) is
growing in the bungalow garden of
“Anse de Cocos” at Grande Anse. It
disperses the seeds like the dandelion …..
143  ….. there is also a small
vegetable garden where among others
also eggplants are growing …..
144  ….. and right besides our
bungalow there are avocado trees
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
145  Wasps are busy building their nests in
the bungalow garden of “Anse de Cocos”.
This one is hidden in the leaves of a
flowering Ginger bush …..
146  ….. this wasp nest hangs on
the avocado tree next to our
bungalow. One morning we
discover the first white larvae …..
147  ….. in Réunion they are considered
as a delicacy and are compared with caviar.
A few days later, we get them served
roasted by Maridza and Didier. Honestly,
we cannot find anything special about it!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
148  Marcel, Didier and Emil discuss
how to overcome the difficult access to
the enging mount that has to be replaced.
It broke on a very steep climb and was
only available in France. Heartful thanks
to both our supporters! .....
149  ….. after the business, the pleasure:
The delicious Creole meal, prepared by
Maridza, is ready …..
150  ….. we spend a couple of relaxing
hours with eating and chatting with
Maridza’s and Didier’s extended
family and friends
 
More websites from Réunion:
  • Réunion part 1: Saint-Denis & surroundings-West Coast-Salazie-La Paix-North Coast-Takamaka-Dos d'Âne
  • Réunion part 3: Cilaos-Grande Anse-Le Maïdo-Saint Pierre
 
Articles in newspapers about us in Réunion:
Article"Vingt-sept ans autour du monde", Daily Newspaper "Le Quotidien" - February 19, 2012