Since you guys enjoyed the previous story so much here is the next installment. if you missed it you can get the first one here
https://steemit.com/travel/@borderjumper/the-island-no-one-knows-about-day-1
So we woke at 6am packed our gear and headed for the bus station that was right around the corner from our accommodation.
I was sent on a very important mission to buy bus tickets, since my French was the worst out of everyone else’s. I approached the ticket counter flaunting my full tourist outfit and in the sexist mentally disabled accent said:
Me:”Une Tike!” – One Ticket please.
Her:”Vous avez couru cela par un traducteur n’cest-ce pas?” – Incomprehensible gibberish
Me:”... Une” and using my index finger to show one “Tike” – One Ticket please
Her:”Pourquoi ai-je du acheter les billets stupides de bus?” – I assume she was complementing my accent I have no idea
People were starting to stare at me like I was a special needs child who escaped the local mental asylum and my sexy retard accent wasn’t helping. I called out to my brother to translate since he can speak perfect French, as he’s been studying it for 8 years! But nooooo! Send me to buy tickets, makes perfect sense in the loony bin.
It turns out she was saying that she can clearly see we were in a group and if we buy together we can get a discount. 0.6c from 1euro a ticket, damn that’s cheap, cheaper than Africa I was shocked. I was more shocked when the bus arrived on time, these guys have obviously never heard of Africa time – A concept that governs Africa, a concept that states things will be done when they are done. If anyone is Africa tells you he’s going to do something now, it means he’ll do it anywhere from now to later if ever. If he says he’s going to do it now now... well that just means “when I get to it” so about never. http://www.joburgexpat.com/2011/02/just-now-or-now-now.html
Anyway the bus takes you along the coast, around the island on a sometimes, two lane mostly one lane but rarely one-way-single carriage highway, the oncoming traffic just disappears. We arrived in St.Leu on time, still strange and we have to make our way to our accommodation... which was 3km away from the coast except on the slopes on the volcanic caldera and its so steep that the winding roads makes it 9km away... ugh now reunion has tourist centres through the island in most cities, yet no one can understand English in any of those tourist centres. It took us a few hours to find a bus that can take us to our destination.
So in the mean time we checked out the local area including swimming a small reef. Walking along the coast you’ll see loads French people part time in the national sport Pétanque which I honestly didn’t even know was a thing but, it’s really big over there. We went from restaurant to restaurant enjoying the different atmospheres which if you’re from a 3rd world country is kinda depressing when your exchange rate is 13:1; Most expensive banana split I’ve ever had at 11Euro! That’s four times what I’d normally pay.
So if you’re like me a poorer than hobo in a first world country you make a budget and you live by it everyday... feels bad man.
After some sightseeing we finally to a minibus to your accommodation for the night, now this place was amazing, it was a huge tree house with 8 beds! A reading room and patio with an amazing view I wish we could have stayed longer but we had to ask the landlord if she would be willing to take us down to the bus station at 3:30am. Sigh. Why do I do this to myself?
3:30 am comes and in the pitch black we climb into a blacked out panel van with a rather peculiar smell, it was either a murder van or, a drug van; I chose to believe it was a drug van for my sanity. Now this lady was crazy, she’s racing down the mountain in the pitch black like we’re in a fast and the furious movie, with each turn I could feel my stomach content swirling and swishing around... OMG I just closed my eyes hugged my hiking bag and tried has hard as possible to go to my happy place. This must be what riding the vomit comet feels like.
Finally we arrived at the bus stop! And things are about to get scenic!
