We arrived to Le Mourne mountain around 8a, but we struggled to find where the hike started. We drove all around the mountain looking for signs, and we knew we were close because we see it! We stopped at a coffee shop and talked to a guy who was leading an organized hike, he finally gave us directions, and off we went. We turned off the paved road and onto quite a poor dirt road. We barely got by in our rental car, but there were ditches everywhere. We rolled up to the parking area, saw groups of people readying for the hike, so we got ready too.
The hike consisted of three parts...an easy approach trail, a middle steep hike, and final climb to the peak. Because of time and fitness, we did the first two parts. The views were spectacular all along the way, and we also saw huge cactus plants and large beans hanging off trees...stuff we've never seen before! When we got back to the car, we had to keep moving as we had list of things to see.
Next up was the Charmarel Waterfall & Seven Colored Sands. This is the most touristy part of the island (it felt very much like an outdoor theme park). You had to pay a fee to go in! And there were tour buses everywhere. But we wanted to see the sites, and grab some lunch so we progressed on. We got to the waterfall, and it was a beautiful view looking done on the falls & basin. We then moved to the Sands, where honestly it was quite overhyped. Nadine was none too impressed, but we packed a lunch, enjoyed using running water toilets, and people watched (there was one of the most sunburnt pale people we had ever seen!)
Up next was the Charamel Rum Distillery. We popped in for a quick tour and tastings...and we almost got drunk from the free tastings! We ordered a yummy mint julip and watched the scenery, but then it was time to keep moving. Next along our drive was the Black River Gorges National Park. We strolled up to the overlook, and again the scenery was amazing. We snapped some photos and headed back to the car...the craziest part of this stop were the crazy monkeys that lived in the parking lot and harassed patronsb!
As we continued to drive back East to the airport, we came upon Ganga Talao, a major Hindu religious site. It the largest Hindu celebration outside of India. And the statues/dietys were huge, probably 10+ stories tall. We snapped a few photos and then onto the airport.
We returned our rental car and headed for our flight. We were sad to leave Mauritius, as we learned so much about a country we didn't even know existed a month ago! While we still wished we were in Seychelles, it was time for our next stop, the island of Reunion!
Arrive into Reunion
So we arrived into Reunion and the sun had already gone down. We looked out and lights covered the countryside just like a ski town. The lights went all the way up into the clouds. We were also excited to finally be in a place where we 100% knew we could drink the water. We were basically in Europe as Reunion is an island owned by France.
We drove to our hotel in the lovely town of Saint Denis (Den-knee). We freshened up in our small room and headed out to get some dinner. Nadine found a nice area of restaurants as we got closer, the alleyway was exactly what we needed. There was live music, outside seating filling the streets, and people everywhere having a nice evening. We found a place that was truly French. No English on the menu and our server couldn’t speak much either. So ordered whatever and enjoyed the warm evening.
We felt very safe and walked back to our hotel. We got a drink at the pseudo-bar at relaxed next to the tiny pool until eyes began to close.
Le Mourne Hike - Map
Le Mourne Hike - Amazing Views
Le Mourne Hike - Reading about the hike during a break
Le Mourne Hike - Where we stopped hiking
Le Mourne Hike - Tree with huge Beans
Le Mourne Hike - Large Cactus needles
Charamel Waterfall
Charamel Seven Sands
Chamarel Rum Distillery
Chamarel Rum Distillery View
Black River Gorges Nat'l Park
Ganga Talao
Our dinner spot in Saint Denis (Den-knee)
No comments:
Post a Comment