Reunion – Mafate, Turtles, Dinner and Baluchon

by svtrance

Sunday October 10, The Cirque de Mafate is a caldera, a large cauldron like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. It was formed from the collapse of a large inactive shield volcano the Piton des Neiges. It is 10,069 feet tall, the highest point in the Indian Ocean. There are over 90 miles of hiking trails in the cirque. Together with Magaly and Didier we hiked a short trail to a lookout.

Later we all went to the Le Jardin des Tortues, The Turtle Garden. It’s a private collection of turtles and tortoises. We even fed the large tortoises.

Monday October 11, Magaly and Didier invited us to dinner on their boat. She cooked an authentic French meal for us. For starters, there was Quiche Lorain, Flammiche and Escargot cooked with butter and garlic served with Kir, a French cocktail, a combination of Crème de Cassis topped with Bourgogne Aligoté, a white wine. The second course, Salad with Duck bacon and Rocamadour cheese on baguette slices. Beef Bourguignon was the main course, served with a 2018 Montagne-Saint-Emilion, a red wine blend. For dessert we brought Strawberry Tarts, served with their 1999 Loupiac Chateau des Roches, a dessert wine.

  • Magaly and Didier
  • Together they make Kir
  • Quiche Lorain
  • Flammiche
  • Escargot
  • Salad with Duck bacon and Rocamadour cheese on baguette slices
  • Beef Bourguignon
  • Strawberry Tarts

Tuesday October 12, we met Yann Quénet. A French sailor who is circumnavigating in s/v Baluchon, a 4 meter (13 foot) boat he built. Hyperlinked to his name is an article about him. When in Panama, his boat was too small to transit the canal, so it was transported across by land.

9 thoughts on “Reunion – Mafate, Turtles, Dinner and Baluchon”

  2. Wow!!!! The pics from your hike were amazing!!! What scenery!!! The turtles and tortoises were incredible!!! The pics of your French meal looked fabulous — exquisite! I’m eager to learn more about Yann Quénet and his boat — my sailboat is a bit shy of 17′ and I’m sailing on inland lakes — and his sailboat is only 13′ and he’s circumnavigating??? Oh my goodness!!! That’s so inspiring to me!!! A wonderful post!

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      1. Thank you so much for the link to his Facebook page — I was just on his YouTube channel — how fascinating!!!

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  4. Wow you guys eat well. That French dinner was amazing. Loved your Turtle pictures too. You two are having too much fun.

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