I got the message via e-mail that I can board the ship after 2.30 pm so
I decided to make in the morning another excursion – to the Mafate
Mountain Circus. There is no public transport like to Cilaos, but they
built a good paved road to the Maido view point on the edge of the
circus. My friend took me there by her car. It is only about 40 kms up
from Saint Paul but it took us more than an hour to get from the sea
level to some 2000 meters above. It is better to start early in the
morning because later the clouds cover the mountains and there is not
much to see. We were lucky! The view from Maido is exceptional: you can
see all mountain circus with small settlements in it, connecting paths
and pitons – single, sharp rocks rising from the circus.
At 2.30 pm I finally saw expedition ship “Marion Dufresne II” in the old
part of Reunion’s port. With its 9000 BRT it is much bigger than the
Russian ships known from my previous sailings to Antarctica. And it has
a special deck for the little helicopter. They were waiting for me. I
got a lower bunk in the twin cabin with bath and was soon introduced to
the captain and fellow passengers. At 5.30 pm we set sails for the
26-days expedition to the cold South. I do hope it will be one of the most
exciting sailings in my life.
