La Possession, Reunion

March 17, 2025

Good Morning readers, this morning we docked in the port of La Possession on the Island of Reunion. Reunion is part of France and the EU. It has a population of approximately 895,000. The Capital is Saint Denis with a population of 160,000. Reunion is a hikers paradise with its over 1000 km of trails  inside the 105,000 hectare national park. It is also home to many beaches. Swimming is restricted in some areas due to the presence of sharks. One of the world’s most active volcanoes is located on Reunion, it’s named Piton de la Fournaise.

For today we booked a tour to visit that Volcano. Around 9AM. the bus picked us up for our trip up the Island. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day with frequent rain showers. we followed the highway with small villages below us lining the seaside. After an hour or so we pulled into a gas station for some refreshments and a well needed toilet break. This was a little bit of a challenge, one toilet for 37 people. After our stop we continued on towards the volcano. We ran into some serious switch back roads, this made for a very challenging drive for our driver, barely able to make the turns on the narrow road. The higher up we went , the denser the fog became. We made a stop at a large scenic ravine, but because of the fog we couldn’t see very far. By now we had entered the flats outside the Volcano, in this area the roads weren’t paved anymore. we were driving over graded Lava. The area looked like a landscape of the planet Mars. After driving on this very rough and bumpy road, we arrived at the volcano orientation center. Here our guide gave a talk about the volcanoes history. There was also a chance to buy very expensive refreshments. Outside there was an opportunity to peek over the edge and look into the volcano grater. Unfortunately, because of the foggy weather conditions we couldn’t see much inside the volcano. After our half hour free time was up, we boarded the bus, on our way back to the small village for lunch. When we arrived at the restaurant, they had our lunch all ready for us. Rice with Pork and Tuna was served, complimented with red wine. After our lunch break, we got back into the bus for our ride back to the harbour. We didn’t arrive back till 5:00. for a 5:00 departure. They literally pulled the gang plank in as soon as we got on board. Luckily we were on a HAL excursion , otherwise the ship could’ve left us behind.

After we were on board we were informed by the captain that we were in for 18ft waves through the night. Not much fun!  Later that night I received pictures from our tour guide, of what the Volcano views should’ve been without the fog. This included a picture with the Lava stream stopping at the front door of the church.

Cheers

Cor and Carol