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.