Take a hack saw to France, chop off a bit of the coastline, preferably a mountainous bit, tow it South to the Indian Ocean, add rum and you have Isle de la Reuinion. There is an African/Indian Creole influence to the food and the people which makes it an even more interesting a place to visit. The food over the last week has been delicious and the places we have visited spectacular. We had a Halloween party on Wednesday night which we think may have been the best party of the World ARC so far, with pretty much everybody making a great effort (check out our sailblogs photo gallery for a taste).
The World ARC tour to the active volcano in the North was great - a bit like visiting a moonscape. We had hired a car, so we carried straight on to a village in another caldera called Cilaos where we stopped over night. Next day at sparrow's fart we hiked up and over to the next caldera (Mafete) to a village which can only be reached on foot. It was a little hillbilly (or whatever the French version of that is) but the scenery was stunning, if you have a head for heights. We stopped for an incredibly picturesque lunch on the way back to Cilaos, and I could barely walk by the time we reached the car (my knees are not what they used to be...)
We then drove on to a beach town called Ermitage les Bain and stayed at the Novotel for a little luxury, a swim and internet access. All of that would probably have been enough, but we decided to take the hire car up to the fourth caldera yesterday as it's the only one we hadn't seen. We drove up another amazing road to Hellbourg which is like a small French chocolate-box alpine village. It was All Saints Day, so the cemetery was a very popular spot and absolutely crammed with flowers (again, see our photo gallery). All of the old buildings in the town have been restored and form part of a heritage trail walk. The drive back down took us back past numerous waterfalls plunging thousands of metres from the cliff faces - this really is a spectacular island.
Tomorrow we set off for Richards Bay in South Africa, a leg we are a little nervous about. The weather and currents can be a little volatile as we get closer to the SA coast, although the formation of the lows seems fairly predictable so we hope to have good reliable weather advice. We will keep you posted with a blog or two as we make the crossing, which should take ten days or so. Wish us luck!