Mountains and the sea.

Reunion Island reminds me a lot of Hawaii. No, I have never been to Hawaii but I confess that during my teenager years I pretty much spent all my spare time surfing on the internet and browsing through books and magazines to read about different countries. I also had these notebooks with some of my closest friends where we would always write a letter and then glue beautiful pictures of paradise beaches or other interesting-looking places in the notebook. Therefore I dare to say I know what Hawaii's nature is like and I find it very similar to Reunion Island's nature. First of all; everything is unbelievably GREEN and then the reason why I love it most of all is the fact that wherever you are you can always see mountains and the sea. And you people who know me know that this is the most perfect combination for me. I really love waterfalls and rainforests as well but the ocean is just my love number one. Even though the shores close to St Leu are not even close to being able to compete with Hawaii's pipeline (a world famous surfing spot known for its huge waves) Reunion Island has REALLY good spots for surfing, so yes, even this can be linked to Hawaii in my opinion. Also the volcanic activity on this island is a thing that Hawaii is famous for as well... so quite a few things that these two places have in common I'd say. But enough about Hawaii now, I want to tell you guys a bit of my trips in the streets of St Denis and the surroundings.
Strolling around St Denis is so lovely. Even in the centre you see the lush green mountains and blue water from almost every corner. I guess this also shows how small this island is.I love all the cosy restaurants and bakeries and the smell of the hot air, although it has been a little bit too hot lately I have to say... Even the locals are complaining and the newspapers have been writing about the exceptionally hot weather as well. Climate change really is showing its many faces around the world.

On my way from my place to work I get to see so much real everyday life. I barely see any white people if I may say so... Parents taking their kids to school, others going to work, some are waiting at a bus stop and some are getting their freshly baked morning croissants or Samoussas, similar to spring rolls but more to my taste ;)
One could say that everyday life here is relatively similar to life in Finland but on the other hand, the setting and people's attitudes are very different. It feels like nobody's in a rush and everyone's got time to talk to their friends or other people that are passing by either in the streets or at the bakery. Some days on my way to work I hear a car honk and stop next to me during green lights ;) and it's someone from the office telling me to hop in the car, always a nice surprise.
At the checkout counters in the supermarkets people are also extremely slow and paying with cheques is still very fashionable - just like in metropolitan France. Paying with your card is quite slow as well but on the other hand they also have lots of self service counters which we don't have in Finland or at least I have never seen one.
When I go to Carrefour I feel like I'm in France or Belgium because everything is always written both in Dutch and in French and of course lots of the products are the same too.

Another thing that I find extremely cute and impressive is the stray dogs, and there are A LOT of them here. They are so used to the traffic and the french way of driving that it is not unusual to see a dog cross the street at a zebra crossing - just like people. There are also lots of cats here but I haven't seen them do any special tricks yet.

That's it for now folks, hope you're all having fun wherever you are.

x E