Reunion Island

Our next stop was Reunion Island.   Well known to French vacationers (but not to us), Reunion is a tiny part of France in the western Indian Ocean.  The island combines volcanic drama with three volcanoes, one of which is still active, tropical beauty, and cultural richness.  The capital, where we visited, offers French style cafes colonial landmarks and Creole mansions.  In many ways, it reminded us of New Orleans architecture, right down to the shotgun style houses.

For a bit of history:, Réunion was first settled in the 17th century by colonists from France. Slave laborers were brought in from East Africa to work on plantations, and later Malays, Annamite’s, Chinese, and Malabar Indians were imported as indentured laborers.”