Today I visited a(nother) small group of islands called the Reunion
Islands. Were here for one day and it
felt like forever. I learned way too
much. They speak French and Creole here and their currency is the Euro. It’s the first place we’ve been so far where
no one accepted American cash AND wasn’t able to use the swipe on my credit
card- they inserted the cards in like at our ATM machines. It’s a relatively young island as it is –only-
2-3 million years old (vs. Mauritius 10 mill. yrs old.) The island was sooo beautiful. It seems the more places I go, the more
everything blends into one beautiful world.
Everything here was green, green, green and it was very vacant. We went on Dec. 23rd, a Sunday so
barely anyone was walking around. Our
tour guide spoke in a very thick French accent and she was hard to
understand. She would say- “Here in the
Ray-in-un Eyelun,” and “Now we are going further into the capital Sandaneize.” Which I later found out was just St. Denis-
oh.
The houses were brightly colored and some didn’t have doors. There was an elipital outside a man’s yellow
house. There was a graffiti of Carlton from Fresh Prince on a concrete wall.
The day was long and bizarre and it was
almost Christmas-but it didn’t feel like Christmas at all. Long days like this come in several
parts. When you look back on the
day-it’s hard to believe you did all that, let alone did it all in the same
day! Here is the recounting of my day in
“parts.”
The First Part
The Carsick Part
The Part when I never got the picture of me and a waterfall that I
wanted
The Part when I accidentally drank rum at 11 in the morning at a Vanilla
Plantation
The Part when I was having the greatest time Exploring on My Own
The Part Where I got Lost
The Part Where Everything turned out alright
The Part Where I freaked out
The Beach Part
The Get Ready Fast Part
The Part when I almost fell asleep in a Local African dance concert
The Fancy Part
The Argument
The Gift Rapping Part
The Chill-out Part
What a day!
The First Part was originally called “the normal part” before noticing
the oddity of watching CNN news while sitting in a white linen dining room with
one German man, eating an egg, 3 strips of bacon, a Danish, juice and 3 slices
of melon at 8 in the morning. (Actually
I just ate a big slice of baguette, half the egg, three bites of Danish, two
bites of melon and all the bacon, proving that all I really need is bacon and
carbs.)
I escorted a tour that began at 8:45.
We drove up a tiny road to get picture of the waterfalls. This is Bridal Veil Falls. There are lots of ‘Bridal Veil’ falls in the
world, including one in Provo Canyon, UT.
*Notice that I am not in this picture because an old generous man that
said he would gladly take the picture of me and the waterfall I wanted and said
“Ah, yes it looks great,” must have been talking about this picture instead.
After the out-of-the-way photo op, we went to a Vanilla Plantation.
There was this cute little baby walking around and a nice family talked
about their plants and we walked around for a little bit. 
Then they served coffee and- what I thought
was coconut milk & vanilla. Why did
I think it was coconut milk and vanilla? Because the old woman told me so. I even
saw her offer some to the baby girl! I
thought, hey we’re on a vanilla farm, this has gotta be good. I don’t drink coffee, so I had the milk “straight.” It burned my throat, was very sweet and
tasted like the rum flavored candies and cakes I have had before. “What is this?” I asked?
Thiiiiiiis much rum. Thiis much
coconut milk and this much Vanilla.
OH! Thanks for mentioning this… UGH!! Talk to me about in person, eegaadds!
& Now for….
The Part when I was having the greatest time Exploring on My Own
We were dropped off at the marketplace, and I broke off from the group
and walked onto a minature street. Of
course, it was normal size but compared to NY, it was miniature. The
main thing I miss about NYC, besides my friends, if being able to go anywhere,
anytime. I was finally on my
own-exploring and I felt safe. I was
safe. And then by a combination of the
miniature doorways, crafts on sale, local girls freaking out that I was
American and old people’s promptness, I lost the tour bus and fell into –what felt
like- a time-warp continum.
Turns out, 2 others got lost too and we found our way home.
It was a stressful day and when I came back I was way overly tired, hungry and sweaty and had to go to the
bathroom. I just felt like screaming- I
NEED A SHOWER but how can I eat while I’m in there? Ivan was waiting for me all day and after I
ate a chicken burger in three bites, changed into the last pair of clean
clothes I had and yelled at and then apologized to Ivan, everything was fine
and we went to the beach together.
The HILARIOUS part was- the beach was called: Plagues de Roaches Noises
and the restaurant on the beach was called Oasis de Roaches. The water was deep, salty, light blue with
strong current and we floated in the water and I just giggled at the name over
and over again.
When we got back, I rushed to change into a uniform like outfit to watch
the local concert that came aboard while we at port. It was like tai-kwon-do, drumming, chanting,
dancing. Then we “breaked” for a few
hours and again Got ready fast for formal night. Nothing like- having 10 minutes to change
from grungy to fancy, right?
Then hectic holiday prep ensued and things got crazy and my plan to get
to bed at 8pm was beaten out by Santa
Clause II, wrapping presents and talking to friends.
Thus ends my too-long of a time spent on thay Rayinun Islands! Bonjour!
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