This year, our travel destination was decided when I found out about Fabienne’s surprise transfer to Réunion. So it was now or never to go.

So it won’t just be cycling, but also plenty of hiking in places you can only explore on foot.

After a somewhat long but uneventful trip, Fabi picks me up at the airport. After a quick coffee, we head to watch the start of the May Day parade in Le Port, then explore the beach in Saint-Gilles. I didn’t get much sleep on the plane, so a quick nap is in order in the afternoon before meeting up with friends for drinks and a bite to eat.

The next day, our first hike to the Kaross Basin waterfall. There are six or seven of us on a leisurely walk, at the end of which we take a dip under the waterfall. Above it lies the Pilon Basin, our original destination, but the ground is very slippery, so we have lunch and eventually head back, driven away by the bad weather.

Sunday : hike along the trail between Dos d’Âne and Verre Bouteille. Splendid view of the Mafate cirque. This hike is said to be the most beautiful on Réunion.

By evening, my legs were a little sore, so the next day I went for a bike ride to Sainte-Marie and the Niagara Falls in Sainte-Suzanne. Along the way, I came across a striking Tamil temple, the Chapelle du Front de Mer : it was a new discovery for me, but it turns out there are actually many of them on the island. In the morning, a visit to the Grand Hazier vanilla plantation. A very interesting tour that explores the history of vanilla cultivation. It also reveals that vanilla is so widely used around the world that the vanilla flavoring found in ice cream and other industrial products is actually made from cloves !

Today, a little bike maintenance, some shopping, and a visit to Saint-Denis.