Reunion continued

We certainly didn't budget enough time here and will have to come back for more because two solid days isn't enough to explore what this great island has to offer. The entire island was at one time fully covered by a volcanic dome and the subsequent collapse left enormous gorges and a stunning landscape. Dare we also say that it's the best part of France? We'll have to see about that since we haven't been outside of Paris....yet.

Over our three night stay we've been based in the capital of St. Denis but ventured out via a frequent, clean and reliable bus system to some coastal towns.
The architecture of St Denis can easily be described as French colonial which makes it a beautiful town in its own right along with the beauty of being in a sunny bay up against the cloudy hills.

We originally wanted to take a flight over the island to view the interior but the top of the island was constantly obscured by clouds so we'll leave that for the next visit.

Here are some photos that we didn't take of the interior, click on the link:
Photo1
Photo2

Ryan liked it more than anything because it's very uniform interms of what a tourist sees and how people live. Mauritius seemed 'staged' with the disparity of how locals lived vs. all the enclosed resorts. Ile de la Reunion doesn't have a five start hotel as far as we could tell and doesn't really market itself as a tourist destination. The beaches aren't spectacular but Reunion offers great surfing, parasailing, mountainbiking, hiking and other activities. We'll be back for sure!

Tomorrow we're flying back to Johannesburg via a long layover in Mauritius and then the following morning we're headed to Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls.