Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 0262 37 14 86;
www.pinpindamour.com
;
56 Chemin Paul Hoareau, Le Baril; d incl breakfast €60, dinner €29;
)
Spending a night at this original
chambre d'hôte
makes a good story to tell the folks back
home. Your hosts have a passion for
vacoa
and
pinpin
(the palm's edible artichoke-like
fruit), meaning you'll be guaranteed to taste them at dinner (and sometimes at breakfast),
prepared in all their forms. Accommodation-wise, the six appealing, if a bit itty-bitty and
sombre, rooms sport pastel-coloured walls and honey-boarded floors. It's amid the sugar-
cane fields above Le Baril, about 2km from the coastal road. Alas, no sea views from the
rooms. There's a 10% discount for stays of two nights and more.
CREOLE
€€
Table Paysanne Chez Fiarda
( 0692 69 03 48; 21 Chemin Ceinture, Le Baril; menu €27; lunch by reservation Tue-Sun)
Plenty of
smiles from the owners, recipes plucked straight out of grandma's cookbook, a serene set-
ting in the Hauts and lovely views from the terrace - if you're after an authentic Creole
experience, this place is hard to beat. Here you can eat local specialities that are hard to
find elsewhere, such as chicken with palm hearts. Downside: it's not a walk-in restaurant
but a private home that's open by reservation only. It's signposted from the main road.
Le Puits des Anglais
( 0692 68 30 33; Le Puits des Anglais, Le Baril; mains €8-14; 9.30am-5pm Sat-Thu)
This unfussy little
eatery could hardly be better situated; it overlooks the saltwater pool at Puits des Anglais.
The menu concentrates on simply prepared Creole dishes as well as appetising Chinese
specialities and sandwiches (from €2.50). Also does take away.
CREOLE, CHINESE
€€
RÉUNION FOR CRAZIES
If you want to work off any extra pounds gained in Réunion's fine restaurants, here's the solution: take part in the
Grand Raid, one of the world's most challenging cross-country races. It's held every October or November. The
route roughly follows the path of the GR® R2 hiking trail, which traverses the island from St-Denis to Mare
Longue, near St-Philippe, taking in parts of the Mafate and Cilaos Cirques, the Plaine-des-Cafres and the lunar
landscape around Piton de la Fournaise.
Covering some 150km, the Grand Raid would be a challenging race over level ground, but runners also have to
negotiate a total of some 9000m of altitude change, hence the race is nicknamed La Diagonale des Fous (the
'Cross-Country for Crazies')! The pack leaders can complete this agonising run in 22 hours or less, but contest-
ants are allowed up to 64 hours to finish.
Too difficult for you? Try the 'easier' Trail de Bourbon, which starts from Cilaos and covers about 90km, or
the Mascareignes, which starts from Hell-Bourg and covers 61km.
For more information, contact the Association
Le Grand Raid
(
www.grandraid-reunion.com
).
