Adventures of NaDave: H'moon 9 - Reunion Point Noir

We awoke early to a yummy local breakfast and delicious coffee. Our first stop was Point Noir, which should only be 30-45 minutes away by highway. Well the highway was closed, so instead it took us 90 minutes to get the hike. But the drive was beautiful. We climbed up the mountain-side and looked over the city and right over the ocean. The road was super snakey and the line of traffic made for an intense drive.

We finally got to the parking spot for the hike, stretched our legs, and headed off. After 30 minutes we got to the viewpoint, and it was breath-taking. We snapped photos, and couldn’t believe the landscape.

Since our drive there so long, we couldn’t spend too long at Point Noir, so we hiked back, and drove back to Saint Denis. Next on our list was getting groceries and a SIM Card. But it was a Sunday in a pseudo-European city, so most things were closed. How do we get online to check where to find things? So we decided to drive back to the hotel, park outside of it, and use the WiFi. One had to stand next to the entrance to get a signal, so Nadine stood there and finally got the info we needed. Meanwhile Dave had to pee really bad, and walked around until he found a bush to hide behind, on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Our first stop ended up being a store with only frozen foods, hmm that wasn’t going to work. Our next stop took several U-turns to find, but it was a little corner store where we grabbed food for the next 3 days, and of course plenty of wine :)

Off we drove, with no SIM card and only the uploaded map on our phone. First stop was Cirque. As we got into the valley, waterfalls started to appear everywhere. It felt like a land version of New Zealand. The drive was gorgeous and our destination was Heibourg? A town into the mountains with great views, and we stopped for some lunch. Since it was Sunday, restaurants had odd hours, and we just snuck in before lunch closed. We ordered what we thought were Nadine-friendly food, but the octopus curry also had meat in it!

After lunch we walked the streets for some souvenirs and then headed back down. We made a quick side trip to what we thought was a scenic lake hike, but ended being nothing. Oh well, the fun of foreign adventures with your wife on your honeymoon!

We started the drive back to our overnight stay, and again just enjoyed the changing sights of such an incredible island. Before arriving to our location, we stopped for a quick hike, but it had to be quick since we lost 1-2 hours from our drive in the morning (and also, we were reading the book on what to do while driving, so we kinda making it up!) We hiked a lake that was suppose to have a nice view, but the clouds made for low visibility. But, we did see some neat plants with interesting leaves and bark.

We got to our bungalow-style AirBNB that was maybe the best place of the whole ‘Moon. The French couple welcomed us and showed us our secluded spot. We chatted a bit about world travels and how they had retired to Reunion, and then they gave us some advice for tomorrows adventure to see the Volcano! Our dinner was cheese and wine, and we had a place to our own with AirCon and a warm shower. Another great day.

Point Noir (Cirque de Mafate)