It is my first time in Malta and i am very happy about it. I like those places that smell of old stones and sun. It looks that I will have a lot of work here but thankfully the week ends are there to go visit.
My stay started well as I woke up Wednesday morning with more than 75 bites on the arms and the torso (my wife counted each of them). I concluded right away that the bites where from the previous evening and that the mosquitoes were not bothered by the mosquito repellent I had applied on my skin. My wife discovered later some blood drops on my bed sheet and then found a bug full of blood. You really like it when you stay in a hotel and you get stung by bugs while you are sleeping! It is not the first time that I have slept in sheets with bugs but I have never been stung that much before! We have changed room and I haven’t been stung at all during the night, to be fair I am sure I wouldn’t see the difference. Who wants to come to Malta?
It took us three trips to La Reunion to go to "le Piton de la Fournaise". It is no wonder that the volcano is the first touristic place on the island, the area is truly amazing.
You have to know that one has to deserve the volcano, we woke up at 4:30 AM to meet some friends and get there as soon as possible. If you don’t like waking up early it is ok too, it is not mandatory to be up at the same time as chickens do to go see the volcano but the weather changes quickly out there and the clouds often come down quite quickly. Moreover the later you get there the more people there will be on the way to the top, you may think it is not that important but it truly isn’t the same thing when all is quiet next to the crater.
Before getting to "le Pas de Bellecombe" to start hiking you will drive through "la Plaine des Sables". I have to say that this area is quite amazing, I could say that it looks like you are on the moon but I have never been there. I can at least say that it is the most astonishing landscape I have ever seen, on first look you would think that the ground is dark but when looking closely you will see here and there some red and orange. This place deserves a short hike to fully enjoy its beauties.
I like the fact that you have to drive for 2 hours to know whether you can go hiking our not. Once we arrived at "le Pas de Bellecombe" we could see that "l’enclos" (the plain that leads to the volcano) was covered by the clouds but the volcano was not. It is funny to be walking in the clouds and see them disappear as we walk. Don’t expect to find a nice little track, don’t forget that once you have come down in "l’enclos" you will be walking on cooled volcanic rock; you will have to follow little white dots painted on the rock to reach your destination.
Things start to get serious when you start climbing the volcano, powdery rock replaces the hard volcanic rock and you feel like you are walking on sand; you will then walk on sharp rock and will have to be very careful not to trip. The walk is not too difficult but you always have to watch where you step. You will see truly unique landscapes on the way: some green here and there, cloud movement, secondary craters... Getting to the crater is the reward, the picture speaks for itself. You are at 2450 meters above sea level, it is cold but you don’t care because you are so happy to be there. The picnic we ate up there was the best picnic I ever ate.
No need to tell you that the walk back is easier but this doesn’t prevent your knees from working hard. At the end of the hike, you will have to climb all the stairs you came down to get to "l’enclos", you will really love this. These days the pressure is building up in the volcano and a volcanic eruption is to be expected, it would have been great to be able to witness that while we were on our hike.
Last week-end we followed the riverbed of "la rivière des Marsouins" to go to Takamaka, this week-end we followed the riverbed of "la rivière du Mat" to enter the Salazie Circus and we discovered a little part of paradise.
You will get a good view of the gorgeous tropical vegetation on the way; La Reunion has quite a diverse vegetation, you just need to drive for a few miles to see it change. If you are lucky not to be the driver you will get to enjoy it as well as numerous waterfalls like "le Voile de la Mariée" that you can see below. Those of you who like being surrounded by lush vegetation will be fulfilled and will not want to exit the circus.
When you get to Hell-Bourg you will enter a little village full of charm, it is a member of a very select club called the club of the most beautiful villages of France. It is indeed full of charm because you don’t live there, I would want to kill myself if I had to live there for a full year. Take your time to walk through the streets and use the opportunity to walk in the middle of the street because there won’t be many cars to force you to be on the sidewalk. Stop for a while when you pass by those famous "cases Creole" with their pastel colours and if you are interested you can buy one for when you want to spend your holidays in a quiet place. Hell-Bourg is definitely the town where many would enjoy growing up but where few people could actually live. The village is well known for offering many hiking trails. Whether you are a beginner, an average walker or a pro, you are certain you will find something to your liking. So even if the village doesn’t offer much to do you can still stay a few days to have time to explore the different hiking trails.
You must visit « la maison folio » before leaving, for 5€ the owner will show you the place. This house was built when the area became a spa and the high society started to come to relax. You will visit the house as well as the garden, you will learn that vanilla is in fact an orchid and that curcuma is very good to prevent Alzheimer's if eaten cold (it loses its properties when it is cooked). The garden is full of beautiful plants and you will see some nice flowers depending on the season. The guide talks about everyday life in the "case Creole" and of the food of course with the ingredients most commonly used around here.
When the road allows you to (it is not often the case), don’t hesitate to make a quick stop to look at nature, it is quite stunning in the valley.
Tippex just released a new ad campaign, watch the ad below and select "Shoot the Bear" at the end. You will get different videos depending on what you will type between "a hunter" and "a bear", i really like the idea.
There always come a time when the place I am staying feels like a second home and when that happens it gets more and more difficult to get out of the house on the week-end.
In La Reunion, we have been staying in the same apartment since my first assignment started in may. As my trips to Paris were very short I could leave stuff in there instead of travelling back and forth with everything. The landlord is extremely nice and it is a treat to be located at a 5 minutes walking distance from the beach and a 2 minutes walking distance from the city centre. We are starting to feel at home and we are not always in the mood to go visit something or to have an activity during the week-end. There is still a lot of things we haven’t seen: le "Piton de la Fournaise", le "Piton des Neiges", le "Cirque de Salazie", le "Cirque de Cilaos", la "Plaine des Palmistes"... The whales are staying quite close to the shore these days because it is the time when they give birth, you really have to be careful to what is going on at sea when you are driving along the coast line and if you are lucky you might see something. There are so many things to see but since our arrival we feel the urge to stay home or go to the beach far more than the one to go visit the island.
We went to visit the eastern part of the island this week-end, it was the first time since our arrival and we went to Takamaka. As soon as we drove out of Saint Denis we could see that the vegetation was quite different, the East is much greener than the West. There were sugar cane fields in every direction and you could also see some wind turbines on the side of the mountain. Takamaka is one of those beautiful viewpoints you can find on the island, you will have to go through the winding roads that my wife loves so much. Even though she dislikes those roads they are always a good training to improve her driving and in La Reunion those roads are mandatory to get to see the beautiful places. Takamaka is a must see, once you get to the viewpoint you will see the lush and green mountains with some waterfalls. It is possible to go for a walk on the side of the mountain but the area is quite damp so the track is often muddy. I really wanted to use the small cable car to go down in the valley but it can only be used by the dam workers. You have to go to Takamaka even if you don’t stay a very long time; the waterfalls may seem far but the panorama is amazing.
