Our guide for the day was David, who spoke excellent English and our driver was Thomas. Reunion Island is a French territory so it is considered part of the European Union. It’s location makes it the most southern part of Europe. The 870,000 citizens are very content to remain a French territory and are they are known as Department 974. There are 4 flights daily directly to Paris. Due to the French influence, the island is known for it’s excellent health care. Most coastal cities are St something as the French at the time were very religious.

Our ship docked in Le Port, which is the 3rd largest port in the the Indian Ocean, as almost all products have to be imported, with a 20-30% import tax. Gas is imported from South Africa and the government sets the price, so there is no competition as every station has to sell at the government standard.

Until 1948, the main transportation was train. The railway system was very well-designed, but the introduction of the automobile was the railway’s demise. There are now no trains but 500,000 vehicles fpr the 870,000 residents. To accomodate, the ever growing transportation issues, a seaside bridge was opened, as the the old highway, frequently closed due to landslides.

The island is 70 kilometers by 50 kilometers, with an overall size of 2500 square kilometers. Being part of France, only Euros are accepted. There is not even a place to exchange money, but they do accept credit cards. The island was formed 3 million years ago by a volcano. It has the highest peak in the Indian Ocean at 3070 meters. It is called Piton de Meiges or Point of Snow. Due to the numerous mountains, the island has over 300 micro-climates. It is also a popular destination for hikers from all over Europe.

It was discovered by the Arabs around 1502, but they didn’t establish a settlement. They were followed by the Portuguese in 1523, but they didn’t stay either. In 1622, the French wanted to establish a settlement on nearby Madagascar, as a stopping point as they explored an easy passage to India. They were kicked out by the local tribesmen, so they sailed to Reunion Island. The French stayed because of the native coffee plants. The coffee is very exclusive as the bean is only produced on the island. It is known as King’s coffee and today in France, it costs 500 Euros, but is abit cheaper on the island.

In 1805, the island was named Bonaparte after Napoleon Bonaparte who was the Emperor of the French Empire. In 1879, to unite the residents of the area, the name was changed to Reunion Island. The first French settlement was called La Possession.

In the 1700s, sugar cane became the main industry, with labor coming from India and slaves from Africa. Escaped slaves went to the mountains to hide, because slave traders were too lazy to follow. Mountain cities were named by the slaves usually after a landmark or a family member. France abolished slavery in July 1848, but Reunion Island delayed until December, to be after the harvest was complete. Sugar is still an export, and the island has 3 rum distilleries. The sugar cane fields are rotated every 10 years, to keep the soil fertile. We passed by one of the sugar refineries.

Over the years, numerous fruit plants and trees were brought to the island and have thrived except kiwis and cherries which will not grow. Vanilla bean plants from Mexico were introduced in 1822, and our first stop was at a vanilla processing co-op that was established in 1951.

On the warm, humid, east side of the island, there are 180 vanilla famers. To aid the growing process, the plants are manually fertilized, as the Mexican bee can not survive on the island to pollinate the plants. When the plants first arrived, a slave accidentally fell on a vanilla plant and the next day the vanilla pod was growing. He learned that the flowers must touch each other.

Vanilla plants can produce at 3 years of age, and each flower produces 2 vanilla pods.

It was the end of the season, so we followed the process with posters throughout the facility. Mature pods are picked and then dipped into boiling water for 3 minutes. They are then air dried for 24 hours, followed by 10 days in the direct sun.

The pods are then brought inside and dried for 1 month, being rotated every few days.

The vanilla pods are placed in crates, to continue the drying for an additional 9 months. Each crate weighs 300 kilos, and is worth between 30-50,000 euros. The crate room is locked at all times!!

The pods are then divided by size and quality. In the gift shop, we bought powder vanilla which we had never seen before and vanilla sugar (the best of both the exports of the island)

After the vanilla co-op, we headed up into the mountains, to the dormant volcano and an area known as the Cirque of Salazie, which is a volcanic caldera.

It was an incredibly windy road, that Thomas, the bus driver maneuvered with ease.

Every Reunion house has two gardens…the front is for flowers and the back is for vegetables.

The wild plant, Christify, is very popular. It looks like a wild vine that covers everything. It is much like a cucumber.

Bridal Veil Falls drops 1000 meters. It is hard to see the waterfalls, due to all of the foliage.

Our bus stopped at a scenic viewpoint to see the Cirque of Salazie.

We made a stop in Hell-Bourg, which is named for Mr. Hell, who was the first common person on the island. Volcanic rock is used to build the retaining walls and also for sculptures.

Since no money is accepted except Euros, one of the guests on our tour wanted to buy a French baguette, but only had US dollars and no credit card. So we bought the baguette for him using our credit card.

We ate lunch at a French-Creole restaurant. It was a very interesting shrimp dish with a mango pudding for dessert. They also sold pastries.

On the way back down, we stopped for pictures at the Salazie Church with was built in 1840. It is officially known as Eglise Notre-Dame de l’Assomption. It is built in a Creole style, since the area was settled by African slaves.

The area receives a lot of rain, so the bamboo trees are huge.

Our last stop was in the town of Ville de Saint Dennis to walk in their tourist market. It was an interesting place with an intriguing outdoor toilet. The teen-age girls said “please take our picture”… lol.

Across the valley stands the church, Our Lady of Deliverance. It is Catholic church completed in 1897.

After a great day on Reunion Island, it was back to the ship for our final night of the first cruise.

A towel monkey waited for us in our room and good food in the dining room.

A beautiful sunset completed the day.

While most guests were packing, we were planning our day at the debarkation port on Mauritius. Second cruise here we come!!!