As expected, our transfer arrived on time. Now for that dreaded traffic. There aren’t direct flights on a daily basis so we were anxious to get to the airport on time.
While driving we noticed the most advanced construction happening in the ocean. We were both so amazed that neither of us thought of taking a photo.
According to an article by Fred Nathan in The Telegraph of 9 April 2014, the existing road between Saint-Denis and Le Port, at the foot of the island’s cliffs, is forced to close up to 40 times a year due to landslides and waves. This is very bad for the economy. The new construction is no ordinary road; there will be three lanes in each direction and it will be built to withstand 145 km/hour hurricane winds and waves of up to 10 m. Taking seven years to complete, the motorway, known as La Nouvelle Route du Littoral will link capital Saint-Denis to Reunion’s port. It will be built on columns rising out of the ocean.
Against all expectation we arrived at the airport with enough time to spare. Check-in went smoothly and we went happily on our way to the very sophisticated security area. Then things changed.
As I walked through the scanner archway the alarms went off. I was ushered aside and to my surprise they did not do the expected frisking and metal detection routine which I’ve had before whenever my watch or belt set it off.
An official took a swab, like a tiny wet-wipe, from a packet which he lightly wiped over the top of my hands and also over my belt buckle. The swab was put into a machine, which I later found out was an ETD (Explosives Trace Detection) scanner, and the screen started flashing a red alarm. He dumped the swab in a bin, peeled off his gloves and put a new pair on before repeated the whole swabbing routine. The alarm went off again.
Now a more senior official joined us and took me aside. At least he could speak English. First I was body searched by a very formidable-looking woman. Then my carry-on daypack was unpacked and searched before scanning it again. Then I had to answer questions while he was filling out a form. Besides the normal id-type stuff there was ‘what work do you do’, ‘what are your hobbies’, ‘did you pay for your own ticket’, ‘did you pack your own bag’, ‘what, if any, medication do you take’, ‘what was the purpose of your visit’, etc., etc.,
Everyone was very courteous and they eventually let me go. I later found out that I will now remain an ‘explosives handling/carrying’ suspect until my record is deleted from the system after 6 months. That is, if there is no recurring incident during that time.
A Google search revealed that these machines are very sensitive and something as innocent as glycerin in hand cream or liquid soap can set the alarms off. Mmm…
The Air Austral flight home was pleasant and uneventful.
Next time, if there is a next time, we will walk all the way to Piton de la Fournaise, and visit the black beach, and maybe take a helicopter flip, but certainly no more of these extreme hikes. My bucket list is done; for now.
But, who knows what the future holds…
