Breakfast was at 7:30am rather than the usual 7am that we had gotten used to. It was Saturday morning and it was Cilaos, I suppose. The spread was no different to any of the other Gîtes though. After a leisurely, chatty breakfast hour we were on the road by 8:45am.
It was interesting to see how many people go walking with their families, especially on weekends.
Without preamble the path headed straight up the mountain. The beauty fortunately occupied some part of the brain that somehow mitigated the hardship. Initially at least. As the day wears on, so the endurance wears thin…
We got to a lookout point where we met two young German doctors, doing their internship in Reunion. It was great to converse in English for a change. After chatting and taking photos of each other they went on their way. Obviously a lot faster (and younger) than us. We might see them later at the Gîte. At least we had reservations. They were not sure if their reservation was actually successful, also due to language difficulties.
Then we found ourselves on the slope of the mountain again, going up and up…
In places it was so steep and unstable that there were steel steps to make things easier.
It was a long hard day on tired limbs and feet. Again, the steps often required Roger to extend a helping hand. As we finally approached the highest point for the day we noticed that there was ice on the ground. No wonder it was getting so cold.
Then suddenly, and not a moment too soon, the end was in sight.
The water supply was inadequate for the number of people, to say the least (48 inside and unknown number camping). At least the 4 toilets worked. It was so cold that neither of us were too interested in taking a shower under a trickle which may at any time peter out. The decision to skip on this occasion was unanimous. A face-cloth wipe and toothbrush would do just fine…
Supper was a fun, festive affair, very likely due to the aperitif which is customary to all the evening meals, it seems. I did not like it. It tasted rather like medicine and that red colouring, oh my word! I just quietly had my quota of whiskey.
We were in bed early. The next day would be even longer than today. And slower due to the accumulated fatigue.
The plan was to be up and out at 3:30am in order to get to the summit, Piton des Neiges, by sunrise. Then back to the Gîte for breakfast before starting the trail to our pickup point. I was not keen on going to the summit because of my slow pace and state of fatigue besides the fact that it would add at least 2,5 hours to the day’s walking. It would be a pity to miss out but I decided to make that call in the morning.
Our doctor friends ended up having to sleep in tents due to late booking and a full house. I felt rather sorry for them because it was icy outside.
My Fitbit showed 427 flights of steps and 18,57km distance for the day