La Réunion

At the turn of 2014/2015, I have been for 5 weeks on La Réunion. Together with my that time partner, whose family lives there, I traveled the island. Again, there were many peculiarities that promoted a deeper understanding and other experience of the world. First, there is the discrepancy of being in the middle of the Indian Ocean and at the same time in France, which also shows itself in the self-understanding of many residents.
Through the different population groups – simplified one-third of the descendants of European immigrants, Indian work migrants and African slaves – there is also a special point of view from there to the world. In addition, the island had been uninhabited prior to the arrival of the Europeans.
The island lies on a volcanic hotspot. In addition to an active volcano, it has three old craters, from which one can only be reached on foot or by helicopter. A multi-day hike through this landscape gives an impression of how this island may have been partly before the arrival of people.
The warning of a cyclone, fortunately only the remnants reached the island, gave an idea of how the chaos and the violence of nature brings living on an island, which appears in the middle of the sea.