Piton des Neiges, meaning snow peak, is the highest point on Reunion Island and at 3,069m (10,069ft) is considered to be the highest point in the Indian Ocean. Reaching this peak was the first, and for some the main, objective of this day.
I had a rather restless night, tossing and turning with just two blankets for bedding. No sleeping bag or pillow (left behind in Cilaos in order to lighten the load), or for that matter sheets, as in the other Gîtes. It was warm enough but I was uncomfortable sleeping on bedding that was used (who knows how many times) previously by other people, and then of course my bodily discomfort because of weariness.
When my alarm went off at 3:30am I decided that I might as well attempt the summit. We got dressed as quietly as we could (some folk were still trying to sleep) and were out and heading up the mountain just after 4am. This was not the best idea. I was not rested and of course starting to exert without food or drink, especially coffee, never works well for me.
It was pitch dark and icy cold.
We soon got to the Alpine zone where there is little or no vegetation. The surrounds were stark and icy. And with the poor light conditions, rather dramatic.
With about a third of the way left to the summit, I decided to bail out. Roger would go on to the summit while I take a break and have a snack. Then I would slowly start making my way back. I regretted not sticking to my original idea of not doing this.
We had no sooner parted ways when Roger had a scare. His foot got stuck between two rocks while he was rushing up the slope. He fell forward, bracing his fall with his hands. In his mind’s eye he saw his leg snapping, but fortunately it came free just in time. He came away with only a bruised palm and an injured shin. Lucky!
Back at the Gîte we had a very welcome breakfast before getting ready for the rest of the day’s trail.
We started on the main trail at 10am. Way too late for the long day ahead. And we had been on the go since 3:30am. In retrospect, it would have been a good idea to do the summit, then spend the rest of the day and the night at Caverne Dufour to rest before taking on the last stretch.
It was a long and very taxing trail with a large section passing through the very beautiful Bébour Forest. Mostly down, down, down. Through mud, water, marshy stretches, steep stretches, places where it was almost impossible for me to reach without going on my bum or being assisted by Roger.
Suddenly Roger became very excited. A movement caught his eye. It turned out to be a Tailless Tenrec, native to Madagascar, much like a large hedgehog with a shrew-like snout. The first mammal we’d seen in the wild since we’d been on the island. Such excitement. Unfortunately, it scurried away before we could take a photo.
At some stage during the afternoon we realised that we were not going to be in time for our pickup at 3:30pm. We split up and Roger went ahead, hoping to find the driver and persuade him to wait. It was a long way from our pickup at Gîte de Belouve to Gîte Volcan at Pas de Bellecombe where we would overnight. And we had no way of knowing how to get there if the pickup did not work out.
A wonderfully kind and friendly man was waiting for us as arranged. We were about an hour late. This of course would make us late for our check-in. It was with great relief that I got into the vehicle and just sat back.
The drive felt never-ending. It took about 2 hours to get to Gîte de Volcan. It was already dark when we arrived.
During the drive Roger told me that when he found the driver he was told, with much signing, that there was a ‘wetness’ at the bottom of our transfer luggage. What could it be? Perhaps the bottle of vanilla oil we bought had broken?
As soon as we arrived at the Gîte and checked in I briefly inspected the bag and declared ‘nothing broken, all seems to be well’. What a relief.
We had about half an hour before dinner was served so our shower would have to wait until after supper. The Gîte was run by a ‘Mrs Rottenmeier’ clone; we dare not be late!
Dinner was great. We were seated together with a Scottish couple so it was nice to be able to chat while enjoying the really good food, not that we always understood their ‘English’ though…
During my shower I realised that my knees were really stiff and swollen from the days of continual climbing. When I got to bed I couldn’t sleep so quietly got up to find some Panado to ease the aching knees. While rummaging through my luggage I realised that there was something wrong. Oh my word, my bag was soaked in oil. The bottle had not broken; the top had popped off due to the pressure changes during transportation! I took my two Panados and decided to deal with it in the morning.
My Fitbit showed 148 flights of steps and 28,16km distance for the day