It almost seems like it isn't possible. You step on a plane in Paris, fly 11 hours to the south east, get off the plane and your clothes immediately stick to your body due to the high humidity, and you're still within the EU! Welcome to Île de la Réunion, a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean, and full of contrasts. My first WOW moment had to do with food- of course. We stopped at the first Carrefour we saw to stock up on food for our bungalow we were renting. Still tired after the flight, I wasn't really paying any attention to what we were putting in the shopping basket. So far everything looked french. But when we got the the fruits and vegetables I suddenly woke up and started jumping up and down. Huge piles of avocados, papayas and pineapples, bunches of greens I had never seen before in my life. "Let's try this," was my standard sentence, while holding up something. We certainly didn't go hungry while on the island. I tried many different things and left inspired to recreate the dishes we had.

Our first day on the island took us to the Takamaka valley, which is accessible on foot. But if you want the spectacular views promised on the post cards, then a helicopter flight is the only way. The photo on the left was taken from the trail head. The waterfalls seem to go on forever in the lush green rainforest. Walking through the rainforest is also an adventure. Everything is moist and green. Huge spiders make their webs in the branches above the trail. There are trees with red fruits, called goyavier on the island (a type of guava which is used in many dishes). Small waterfalls suddenly appear on the side of the trail.

In the afternoon we walked to the Bassin de le Mer (photo on the right) where we made our first acquaintance with the aggressive mosquitoes which inhabit the island. We never become good friends... There we also saw our first vanilla plants. A dip in the cooling waters made up for the mosquitoes and by the time we were back at the car, we were dry again.

Everywhere on the island, remnants of the old sugar refineries can be found. Some older made with stone and some newer with old machines lying around. Sugar cane is still grown on the island, but only two large refineries and distilleries (for rum) remain.

The plants! Many, many I had ever seen before in my life. Many I had only every seen at the florist's and a few I knew from growing up in California. When I was young, I had a coloring book with tropical plants. Plants I thought I'd never see in my life. Well, I actually saw quite a few of them. Every time I saw a plant, especially a flowering one, whether it was new to me or not I stopped and took a picture of it.

The one I wanted to see the most was the plumeria (frangipani). I saw it only once the whole time we were there.

The one that had me doing a little dance (luckily no one saw me!) was the Heliconia rostrata, because I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever see this growing.

Finding a little gem of a beach in the Sud Sauvage (wild south) just by following a little road was one of the many highlights on the island.

One can't go to La Réunion and not climb the volcano Piton de la Fournaise. The volcano which is supposed to be one the most active on earth. Lava is always coming out of one hole or another, but the last huge eruption was in 2007 and is still very noticeable, especially since it changed the course of the road around the southern part of the island. And it wasn't the first time it did that!

We got up at 4 o'clock to drive to the trail head and started hiking at sunrise. What an experience! We walked across the huge crater with every glowing in red. There were so many different kinds of lava, each from a different eruption. We stood on the rim of the Dolomieu crater in the early morning. Looking down into it, we could see the steam and knew it was still very active. Looking out down over the volcano towards the ocean was a beautiful view with fluffy clouds. We were back at the car at noon. By that time there were hundreds of people walking around and across the huge crater. Most of them wouldn't be going up to Dolomieu. The drive back wasn't less spectacular. We had arrived in the dark and didn't know what to expect. Driving back had us stopping more than once to take a picture.

Once we reached the Pleine des Remparts, the afternoon fog caught up with us, but we were still in awe with the landscape. It's as if you never know what you'll find behind the curve in the road.

But La Réunion isn't only about the volcano and the rainforests. There is also the coast line. Mostly cliffs and dangerous currants, there are a few beaches. But that is a story for another time.