Réunion Map

 

 

 

         Map of the Indian Ocean

latest picture: March 24, 2012

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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

• 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