Ive tried all afternoonato get aadecent bit of wifi but the signal is weak and variable at our gites aafew miles down the eastern coast from the island capital structure Saint Denis. Yesterday we got all the tourist and visual delights done in one long day. First we headed through the awful traffic even on lower populated eastern Réunion and then west up into the spectacular verdant mountains and less warm temperatures. We stopped for coffee at hell blurb a town named after a French governer of the island, up there it is a mainly creole population rastas and old UN's hanging around drinking beer. We then headed back to the coast road and more traffic chaos taking the only trans island route over to the turn off for the volcano. Miles of twisting small roads and yet more hair pin bends almost as bad as the earlier trip to hell and then across the volcanic dust fields on an unmade corrogated road which did sues back no good at all saw us eventually alight from the hired polo car and there was a manageable path which Mandy could negotiate to get to the railways overlooking the lava plain the the crater at the live part of thevolvanot. I think the clouds had caused the rangers to lock the path to the crater itself which is a five hour hike to and from the car park, I had a wander along to the point where the path descends above the crater. The whole area is covered in the barber wire plant which sells for a few quid in UK garden centres there were hectares of the stuff all around. Then we returned to the main road and headed to the east cost hoping to complete the loop back crossing the lava flow from the earlier eruption which went as far as the sea and up the east coast but the traffic was horrendous and the sat have useless and we ended up going back up the west coast motorway at rush hour past the resort shark infested areas to Saint Denis and gridlocked traffic which say us stuck for hours at a emails pace and it was by now dark and navigation the road to the gite in the dark was horrendous. Today I've been to Saint denis again, thankfully slightly less traffic and got the rest of my truck filming done, it was slot hotter today over thirty I would think, streaming with sweat running down into my eyes. The tickets were as friendly as they had been at the docks and I managed to capture a widevarirtyw of lorries although a lot I had seen already including the one paint job at the docks. Then I came back scouting around the town first to establish the urban bus stops, transfer are on the seafront at amoden gare routiere but the urban ones are at the town hall and inland from the transfer interurban facility further up the seafront?the girls are coming with me to sightsee tomorrow Thursday but it isn't that big aplavejust painfully jammed with traffic. They even gave advice in the urban fleet but more importantly I glimpse a transfer decker this morning coming back off schools duties but I can't locate thirty depot, it can't be far away from here but the frenchness of their sites screws up searches, an old fashioned phone book would have been more helpful all their site wants idyllic to phone a contact line or better still for them just click on their slightly outdated info on the website. Enjoyed a dip in the pool, sunniest afternoon so far. Pain not having a better internet. Got email back from sypte re the hassle at Rotherham they don't really give an inch their rules they reckon apply throughout the universe or so it would seem. fter here to edit.
Good eveing fromfreunion the part of france in the indian ocean where we arrived yesterday on aalong journey via Amsterdam, and Mauritius I and then to reunion. All the baggage arrived except Mandy's wheelchair but even this was just left in Mauritious and arrived at our gite in the evening. Nothing open here on a sunday afternoon but managed to get pizza and wine etc from a petrol station. We were pretty shattered as we got little sleep on board other than the short last leg which we got upgraded to business on. We also from eight thirty in the evening to the same in the morning. We had petrol station biscuits for breakfast but Monday afternoon we did a big shop in Carrefour which should see us through to the end of the week. It's an idyllic location in a small country cottage other than the narrow road up from the coastal motorway and the traffic, lors of tractors as it is sugar cane harvest. I went to the port this morning, the main road goes through the capital structure Denis and then past the new motorway through the sea. Got about your and a half of truck film, contenders etc plus all the construction trucks with huge rocks. Lots of colourful birdsong the garden, clouds up in the afternoons but about thirty degrees in the sun. Just about to get the gin opened ore cooking dinner, having an island explore to the mountains in the morning if we wake up. ro C here to edit.
Sue arrived this morning, we've got all the packing completed, checked the flights and ensured they were of Mandy's mobility needs and also checked on Arrow Cars taxi who have proved less than reliable but are the only franchised operator in our area, black cabs costs double. They let us down one Christmas so now we double check the day before. It's a three leg journey first KLM to Amsterdam then Mauritius to their home base and onwards to Reunion. I've sorted out all the documentation which should stay fairly neat as I've put each element together in a separate sleeve, usually at some stage I get everything mixed up in a panic of some sort. The concert at the RNCM with the symphony orchestra was superb and the food in Brodskys remains one of the best kept secrets for dining out in Manchester.Our next visit will be the opening night of the Christmas opera a double bill of Puccini one acts. I'll try and post as our journey progresses I know a lot of folk like to follow our travels and airport lounges are normally a good blogging point if the wif fi is ok. We look forward to sorting all your Christmas DVD requirements on our return 20th November. A couple of DVD orders on the phone this afternoon but the answer machine is now off as is the Amazon shop which has no holiday settings, EBay is on holiday advise mode, order if you wish but nothing goes out until 20th November and ditto our own shop but then if you are reading this you will have seen the message and indeed we have had adverts in the hobby press all advising of our November trip. I expect something of an avalanche of orders when we return. I've finished the DVDs and covers for this weeks film work and updated the DVD list on the shop front page. I'm adding the items to the shop this evening. I finished off the garden with the remainder of the spring bedding plants and bulbs in position and cleared and prepared the storm damaged side trellis ready for reinstatement later in the year. I went to Ellesmere Port had my hair cut and picked up more bird food supplies. We did the banking this afternoon and sent off the post, the last batch goes out tomorrow morning, our flight is on Saturday. Our lovely neighbours are looking after the house for us. The builders of the new housing development down the road are ignoring the requirement by planners to use an access via the main road and still trundle their equipment along our small estate road, they then have to constantly send a road sweeper round which is causing tremor damage, almost like having fracking here. We already have the sink hole in the pavement but with a max fine at £2k I don't think they care a hoot. Sue comes up tomorrow and we all go to a concert at the RNCM tomorrow night as well as eating there. Roger has just phoned with another last minute panic job for the WWI evening but I'll get it done in the morning for him. Other than that we are just about ready, packing my camera bag either this evening or in the morning, I've got all this weeks still images filed away although there is now a backlog waiting to go on the Smugmug still photo sales site, remember you can now download jpeg images and it even has a commercial use option. Photos from the A500 West yesterday. |
PMP Sponsors the North West Vehicle Restoration Trust at Kirkby.
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