At check out, Claus was relentless in tempting me back to du Volcan. Once again he pulled up the web cam for Piton de la Fournaise to reveal crystal clear views, but I was still unmoved. After sharing that I was bound for La Fenêtre, Claus reinforced the value of his local insight and recommended a loop trail, Piton Cabris, which began right at La Fenêtre and took roughly two and a half hours to complete.
Bid farewell to Claus and his hounds and drove off, looking over my shoulder to catch once last glimpse of charming Manapany-les Bains.
On the road again and the driving went smoothly to Les Makes.in the hills of southwestern Reunion. After Les Makes there is another ten kilometers of brutal switchbacks to La Fenêtre, (“the window” in French) this time weaving through lush forests. By now it had been embedded in my brain that switchbacks led to wonderful lookouts, so I went merrily on my way, up and up.
Thankful for relatively clear skies, I tried to capture a bit of the grandeur of La Fenêtre. Peering down into the Cilaos Cirque, this is an incredible viewpoint. Clouds would accumulate here and there, but quickly disperse and re-appear elsewhere in the broad panorama. If the enormity of the jagged peaks isn’t enough to blow your mind, the floor of this scene is sprinkled with villages tucked away, adding an intriguing touch. What vignettes might be unfolding in those delightful, secluded hamlets down below?
Time to hit the trail and stretch the legs. Piton Cabris is a really nice loop beginning and ending at La Fenêtre, featuring a fair amount of up and down and I would characterize it as moderately difficult, but certainly nothing requiring any specific equipment or prior experience. The trailhead begins beside a radio tower at the lookout and initially tilts sharply downwards. Along this initial stretch are the best views into the Cirque as the trail eventually wraps back around into the woods. You will arrive at a clearing where there are some benches and a railing at a lookout, which is where the trail splits. I stuck to the rim side and was oblivious of the split as it is not signposted and easy to miss the alternative since you are enjoying the views in the opposite direction. I would recommend sticking to the rim side because the trail soon begins a steep uphill which I remember thinking would be a bit challenging going the other way (downhill).
I believe this uphill leads to the peak of Piton Cabris, where there is another clearing and a covered picnic table. Similar to prior experience on the island, the picnic table was occupied and my uncertainty around whether or not the trail would actually loop caused me to utter “La Fenêtre?” and point my hiking stick in the direction I was progressing. The group responded with an assuring “oui” and I happily continued. Fortunately I ran into quite a few other hikers and consistently received that reassuring response.
Beyond concern over the trail looping, I will note that there are no blazes and exceeding few trail markers for this trail, explaining my motivation to query each group of human beings I met along the way. I was quite surprised upon suddenly finding myself back at the clearing with the railing along the rim because I hadn’t noticed the split. The amusing thing was seeing a pair of ladies sitting there enjoying some lunch – I had passed them going the other way earlier and posed my “La Fenêtre?” question. Clearly all roads led back to the starting point! I asked if it was okay to take their picture and after some confusion (they thought I was asking them to take a picture of me), they happily agreed.
A quality hike with some exceptional views, though nothing exceeding what is available at La Fenêtre. You might still consider it as an effective escape route to enjoy a lunch away from the crowds at the lookout.
Punched, the next destination, Dos d’Ane, into the GPS after the hike and was surprised to learn it was 55 miles away. Time to get moving. The first fifteen miles were a killer as I wound back down through the hauts, but the next thirty I got to breeze along the N1 at 110kmh --- the N1 is 1A with me!
It was 2:30PM by the time I arrived at Cap Noir, the lookout where another trailhead began for a hike above Dos d’Ane. I had reservations in a chambre d’hôte not far from here for the night. The clouds had rolled in with a vengeance and everything was fog. Regardless, the parking area was spacious and peaceful, so I relaxed a bit and savored the serenity before beginning the Roche Verre Bouteille trail.
Another loop, this one was supposed to take two hours and reach a splendid observation point midway. Once again there was a steep ascent at the start and as the clouds thickened my urge to continue thinned. I could barely see a few feet in any direction and this was one of the times when you feel like you honestly could slice the fog with a knife, so there seemed no point in persevering.
Back at the car, the good news was that the GPS communicated my lodging was less than two miles away. The bad news would be that it thought the place was a several hundred yards earlier than it really was. When the GPS indicated I had arrived I was in the midst of a field, and continuing on for a bit revealed no structures. I pulled into a farm and asked a guy, who gestured down the road and to the right, so I continued on and turned down a narrow alley that took forever to get turned around in. At least in the alley I learned that it was still back on the road I had turned off --- I engaged another local and handed him some paper and a pen to draw a map. From his detailed rendering I realized the first guy was only indicating my destination was on the right side of the road, not that I needed to make a right turn off of the road.
Les Acacias was shrouded in fog and the manager (owner, probably) spoke no Anglais, but I showed him my reservation and he showed me a room, so things went without a hitch. My room was a small space with four bunk beds crammed in, so I was quite pleased to recognize I was the sole inhabitant! There were about four other parties staying here, so as you might imagine they had a lot of rooms.
I sat outside in the common area and started writing in my journal, eventually entering into conversation with one of the other guests who spoke halting English. It was fun to realize that all the other guests were French nationals here on vacation and hiking from place to place. The groups were mostly comprised of middle-aged couples and I was inspired this sort of vacation activity had some proponents.
The cultural experience blossomed at dinner time. There were a couple bottles of rum on the table when I sat down, and the first order of business was shots. Then the table wine came out. Everyone staying at the hôte was here for the meal and the conversation flowed freely, me not understanding a bit of it but enchanted – the odds of Americans congregating in such a fashion was beyond comprehension.
Turned in with a warm glow of camaraderie surrounding me.
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