St Rose to St Joseph

Today we drove around the SE corner of Reunion to St Joseph. The south coast is known as the wild coast of the island. It's wet, up to 7 metres of rain a year, exposed to the southerly winds and waves coming from the far reaches of the southern ocean.

These deep blue waves crash into the lava cliffs, sending up spectacular sprays....

....and the high rainfall produces lush tropical vegetation.

We visited Les Jardins des Perfums et des Epices. Our cameras worked overtime on the heliconias, and others, our French not being quite good enough. All identification ideas are welcome, and sorry about the number of photos...

...and the piece de resistance, being this unknown near black beauty...

We were also attracted to some interesting structures in the palms..

After lunch we drove up a tight river valley to the quite spectacular Cascades de Galet

Our accommodation for the night is 5 km above St Joseph in La Plantation guesthouse....

...with great views.

It is called La Plantation as it is surrounded by sugarcane fields..

... a bit of a time warp.