Reunion

It was a scene straight out of the TV show, "The Amazing Race." Matt and I were in a strange country...with a map in a different language...a specific destination in mind...and only a few hours to make it!

We had most of the day off on a recent assignment to Reunion, so we decided to take in some of the local sites. Reunion is an island formed by a volcano (which still smokes and is active sometimes). The island is known for its extreme sports - surfing, kite surfing, rappelling, canyoning, paragliding, diving, etc. With so many options, we decided to go for one that wouldn't take a lot of time - we chose to find some of the famous waterfalls on the island.

With a map in hand and my very bad French - we set out in the car. No surprise that we got lost and had to stop to ask for directions. We got a little worried when everytime we asked the answer was, "Whoa - you have to go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight, go straight and keep going straight!" But the directions proved to be exactly right - we went straight for a very long time. And "voila!" we found one of the millions of waterfalls on the island. Even though we thought we were the only competitors in the "amazing race," there were several others that beat us to the spot - so we were eliminated. (ha-ha!)

We also had a chance to eat some really great French cuisine and Creole food. We met some really great people. One lady I talked to came from a family of 20 kids. While that's not a lot for an "African" family, Reunion Island is not considered "Africa." Reunion is a French protectorate. So, in essence, it is France.

If you ever get a chance, visit Reunion. It's in the Indian Ocean - just a bit east of Madagascar. It's nothing like what you would expect for an Island off the coast of Africa. It's a little piece of Europe, hidden in the Indian Ocean.