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American Spirit II - Day 294; Tour of Manteau Blanc Sur La Fournaise Volcan; Sunday, October 26, 2014



Up at 5:15 AM; early because we have a long tour today.

Breakfast at 7:05 AM: eggs, potato, chilled fruit cocktail and French bread.

Boarded 2 tour buses at 8:00 AM. We're in bus no. 1; tour guide Nicholas. We're going to a mountain/volcano that last erupted in either 2007 or 2010. Not sure which. We'll travel 230 kilometers toddy, according to our guide,since the mountain/volcano is in the southeast part of the island and we're in the northwest.

Along the way our guide tells us about Reunion:

850,000 people; 30% unemployment rate; and 150 micro climates, to start.
Sugar cane being harvested now; between July thru December.
People who work in government make a lot more money than in France in the continent that here; 35 to 80% more.
Reunion went from being a colony of France to a province in 1946. Part of France, literally,now. So we're actually in France; as much so as if we were in Paris, in France. Weird.
30 kilometers of coral reef on west side of island.
Used to hold a world class surfing competition on the island, but don't now due to bull sharks presence.
In 3 years there were 12 shark attacks, with 5 being fatal. A high percentage of deaths when historically on 15% of people bitten by sharks die. The average bull shark here is 4.2 meters; almost 14 feet. That's a big shark. Shark problem started 5 years ago.
Reunion stopped fishing for shark 50 years ago. GPS put on some of the bull sharks to track. 20 big sharks on 30 kilometers of the west coast. Too many.
The French East Indian Company ran the country for 50 years.
The leeward side of the island (west side) gets little rain. The windward or east side gets most.
A big sport on the island is para-gliding.
A rare type of coffee is made here. Only 3 tons a year. 200 Euros a kilo. I cup costs 1.5 Euro. No caffeine in it. 60% of coffee bought by Japanese.
Big cliff diving done here. 100 meter high cliff or cliffs.
Lot of turtles; and the humpback whales started migrating here 5 years ago. Don't know why. June to October 1,000 whales show up to give birth to their young.
The areas along the coast have French names; and the areas inland have non-French names. NOt sure why.
Three most important things to do on Reunion: eat, drink and talk.
Vanilla on Reunion the best in the world. One pound takes 2/3 years to cultivate. Reunion used to produce 80/90% of the world's vanilla. Now only 2%, but very high quality. Madagascar now the worlds biggest vanilla producer.
Rum made in Reunion is very strong; 50% alcohol (100 proof).
Reunion is the size of Luxemburg or Rhode Island.
Since the year 2000, 50 acres of island made by volcano.
Pirates were allowed to retire on Reunion as long as they stopped pirating.
Family important in Reunion. Visit every 2/3 weeks.
Go on a lot of picnics.
Cooking in homes important. Houses have a kitchen, but usually also an outdoor building to cook with a wood stove.
After family, enjoy life.
Natives drink a lot of Johnny Walker whiskey. 2% of the world's supply.
Biggest holiday of the year is Christmas. The country shuts down from December 20 thru the new year.
The Communist party has been in control of Reunion for 40 years.
50% of populace is Catholic.
The country hopes to be energy independent by 2033 - due to solar.

We arrived at the volcano summit at 10:40 AM. Clouds were rolling in limiting visibility. Last eruption was in 2007.

Lunch from 12:50 PM to 3:50 PM. A long lunch.

From 4:45 PM to 5:15 PM we stopped at a volcanic, black sand beach. Jeanine (Nexus) and Lucy (Folie a Deux) almost got pulled into the ocean by the breaking waves. Lucy got totally soaked.
The island is a great place to see the 'Green Flash.' When our guide said this everyone started clapping and yelling at me as we're the 'green flash experts' on the trip.

We were back at the boat my 6:00 PM.

From 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM we watched two movies: 'What Planet Are You From?;' and 'Safe House.' Both good movies. At around 8:00 PM while eating some popcorn I had a bridge fall out of my mouth. Bummer. Will have to see a dentist this week.

In bed at 11:30 PM.

Brian Fox

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