Last night on the island

After we came back from the market, we thought we'd have a leisurely afternoon to pack before we flew out the next day.

But as things turned out, Frédéric needed to help his uncle pick up some appliances. Once he got back from that, we were sitting in the yard enjoying the weather, when a car we didn't know drove up.

It was Frédéric's other uncle, his girlfriend, and her brother. We knew his uncle had some things to drop off for us, so we thought they were stopping by for a coffee.

Fun fact about Reunion Islanders: they don't just stop in for a coffee. They had brought all the fixings for dinner, and the brother brought his guitar. So a "stop-in" turned into dinner, and a songfest, which didn't conclude, from best I can tell, until around 3:15 am. We snuck off to bed around 1:30, since we had to get up at 5 am to fly out.

The flight was long but uneventful, but it is a heck of a lot colder here at home than it was in Reunion!

Circular crop fields in Africa

Sunset from the skies

St Pierre market

On our last full day, we visited the St Pierre market. It was hot, but not quite as hot as the St Paul market three years ago.

I know, we're perpetuating the stereotypes about Reunion - but they were so pretty!

And the part we'd all been waiting for - we finally found a grilled chicken stand!

Ermitage Beach

The day after Christmas, we went to the beach. After Not-Manapany, the boys wanted a "real sand" beach instead of the rocks that make up Grand Anse. So we went to l'Ermitage for the day, and invited any family members who wanted to join us to come along for a picnic.

Some of them took us up on it, and let me tell you - a Reunion Island picnic is not like what you might think of when you think of a picnic. We're talking rice and cari just as if we were at home. And it even stays hot.

Benjamin enjoying the lagoon

Our picnic spot, in the shade

Noah enjoying the lagoon

Later in the day, a storm came up, and we got drenched. The four of us were tired anyway, so we headed back to Frédéric's aunt's and uncle's house, but some of the others stayed and enjoyed the deserted beach until the rain stopped and the crowds returned.

Piton de la Fournaise

The day after Christmas was volcano day - but it turned out to not be a great one for it. It was foggy all the way up, and who knew that 14°C (57°F) could feel so cold!!

The sun came out just for a moment at the Plaine des Sables

Looking down into the volcano - can't see much, for the fog.

After the volcano, we wanted to see some lava flows elsewhere on the island. We stopped for a quick photo of the Sainte Anne church in St Benoit.

Ste Anne was built in 1857

Then we stopped at the pont suspendu de la Rivière de l'Est. 

The bridge, completed in 1894, was closed to traffic in 1979. It has been closed to pedestrians since 2016, and was classified as a historical monument in 2018. 

Benjamin and the suspension bridge

Noah and the suspension bridge

 

Noah, Benjamin, and bamboo

We continued our visit with Notre Dame des Laves, the church spared by the 1977 eruption, where the lava flowed around the church instead of destroying it.  

Then it was on to see the lava flows of 1977, which made their way to the coast.

Proof that I also came on this trip

The Best Laid Plans

We had planned to get up early on Christmas day and head up to the volcano. But as things turned out, we got to bed much later than we expected, so we decided getting up early was one of those things that probably just wasn't going to happen.

So instead, we slept in, and when we got up, we prepared an American brunch for Christmas day for the family, with pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and mimosas.

Then we headed out to St Denis to the Barachois, the southernmost point of St Denis, which used to be a small port. Cannons facing the ocean were meant to dissuade the English from attacking by sea.

Reunion Island flag

Noah and Benjamin with a cannon

Frédéric and me with a cannon

Manapany is not Manapany, it's Grand Anse

If you end up in Reunion Island one day, and someone tells you to go check out the pool at the Manapany beach - don't go. Everyone calls it Manapany, but you really want go to Grand Anse instead. We realized this after driving around Manapany and not finding anything that looked remotely like the beach we'd visited before.

Once you get to Grand-Anse, you'll see that there is a man-made pool of boulders (to keep out the sharks), which makes it safe to swim in.

Also, don't listen to Google Maps when you get started. It tells you to take narrow roads like this instead of hopping right on the national roads. Great views, yes. Can get by if someone is coming the other way? No.

Grand-Anse - not Manapany

Benjamin drying off after swimming.

The kids swam for a while, and then we got our "sandwiches bouchons" - pork dumpling sandwiches, or just plain bouchons for some of us, with soy sauce or hot chili sauce. Yum!

Look at the turquoise of those waves! 

It was Christmas Eve, so we returned to Frédéric's aunts and uncle's house for the festivities. A Reunion Island Christmas dinner is something to see. After apéritifs and entrées it was time for karaoke, and at midnight, fireworks and sparklers.

While we were outside with the fireworks, Santa came and left gifts under the tree for the kids. We hadn't had our main course yet, but we weren't that hungry anymore by that time! We ate some duck and green beans or cabri massalé (goat), and finished off with an ice cream yule log (bûche glacée) before finally heading to bed.