Smart Travels: 2016

Saturday, 24 September 2016

September 2016 volcano eruption

The Piton de la Fournaise eruption that took place from September 11th-18th was very image-friendly: weather was generally good, and it was visible from Piton de Partage or Pas de Bellecombe. So local photographers were able to shoot a wide range of photos and films, some of the best of which are below. (I took my own pictures when I visited on September 16th/17th, but they're not as good as these!)

The night of September 16th coincided with a full moon.

Reminiscent of Mordor ? © Luc Perrot

This satellite photo was taken on 11th September by the

Landsat 8 (USGS/NASA Landsat) satellite

Alain LeRedac also filmed this video:

Quand le soleil a rendez-vous avec le Piton de la Fournaise from @LeRedac from Reunion Island on Vimeo.

September 17th at 1:30am © Dronecopter Jonathan Payet

Jonathan Payet recently won 3rd Prize in the Nature & Wildlife Category of National Geographic's 2016 International Drone Photography Contest with this picture taken during the brief eruption that took place in May 2016.

Sunday, 18 September 2016

Recent Piton de la Fournaise eruptions

The Fournaise is one of the world's most active volcanoes - in the twentieth century for example it erupted 72 times - that's once every 16 months on average. Below is a list of its recent eruptions (since 1998).

Eruption of Piton de la Fournaise (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before the eruption in 1998 which lasted six months there hadn't been one since 1992. Altogether there have been 300 recorded eruptions since the island was inhabited in the mid-17th century (and probably a few more that went unrecorded in my opinion).

Start Date: 2016 September 11 - Stop Date: 2016 September 18

Start Date: 2016 May 26 - Stop Date: 2016 May 27

Start Date: 2015 August 24 - Stop Date: 2015 October 31

Start Date: 2015 July 31 - Stop Date: 2015 August 2

Start Date: 2015 May 17 - Stop Date: 2015 May 30

Start Date: 2015 February 4 - Stop Date: 2015 February 16

Start Date: 2014 June 21 - Stop Date: 2014 June 22

Start Date: 2010 October 14 - Stop Date: 2010 December 10

Start Date: 2009 November 5 - Stop Date: 2010 January 12

Start Date: 2008 September 21 - Stop Date: 2009 February 4

Start Date: 2006 July 20 - Stop Date: 2007 May 1

Start Date: 2005 October 4 - Stop Date: 2006 January 18

Start Date: 2005 February 17 - Stop Date: 2005 February 26

Français : Contact entre la lave et l'océan. U...

Piton de la fournaise eruption, lava reaches sea 26 Feb 2005
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Start Date: 2004 May 2 - Stop Date: 2004 October 16

Piton de la Fournaise eruption, 2004 © Serge Leplege

Fournaise eruption reaches the sea, August 2004 © Serge Leplege

Start Date: 2003 May 30 - Stop Date: 2004 January 10

Start Date: 2002 November 16 - Stop Date: 2002 December 3

Start Date: 2002 January 5 - Stop Date: 2002 January 16

Start Date: 2001 June 11 - Stop Date: 2001 July 7

Start Date: 2001 March 27 - Stop Date: 2001 April 4

Start Date: 2000 June 23 - Stop Date: 2000 November 13

Piton de la Fournaise eruption November 2000 © Serge Leplege

Start Date: 2000 February 14 - Stop Date: 2000 March 4

Start Date: 1999 July 19 - Stop Date: 1999 October 23

Start Date: 1998 March 9 - Stop Date: 1998 September 20 (?)

Source : Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution which lists all known eruptions for the Fournaise.

See also Reunion Island Geological Information Center for up-to-the minute volcano information in English and live webcams.

Follow this link for my photos of the January 2002 eruption.

Eruption of Piton de la Fournaise (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Saturday, 3 September 2016

'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse on Reunion

On 1st September in Reunion we experienced a 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse, when the shadow of the moon crossed the Earth.

The shadow's central path was 13,400 km long, but only about 100 kilometres wide at maximum eclipse, and on Reunion we were just slightly north of the eclipse centreline.

The path of the eclipse crossed central Africa & north Madagascar

Fred Espenak

Fred Espenak

My own photos are useless, but here's a round-up of some of the best photos, time-lapses and videos of the occasion. (Note that the sky wasn't extremely dark, but filters were needed in order to photograph the sun, which gives the impression of a black sky).

Woman looking through telescope at St Louis, where a viewing centre
had been set up. Photo: Richard Bouhet/AFP/Getty Images

People look through eclipse viewing glasses, telescopes or cameras in St-Louis.

This photograph of the partial phase by Stephane Moser was chosen as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on 3rd September 2016.

Image Credit & Copyright: Stephane Moser

from Etang Salé forest
© Dronecopters - Jonathan Payet

Time-lapse © Luc Perrot

Time-lapse © Frog 974

Time-lapse photo © Slooh

A combination of pictures shows the beginning to the end
(top L to bottom R) seen from a beach. © Reuters

Palm tree leaf during the eclipse © Olivier Payet aka Tofruokal

The event was also widely talked about in the world's press. Although it was visible in parts of Africa and across Madagascar, most press pictures come from Reunion.

'Ring of fire': Moon passes before Sun (BBC)
Africa stargazers glimpse 'ring of fire' during annular solar eclipse (The Guardian)
African stargazers enjoy rare 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse (The Telegraph)
Video: Solar eclipse spectacle on Reunion Island (Reuters)
This video shows the entire 3 hours 10 minute duration of the eclipse!

Sunday, 28 August 2016

Podcasts about Reunion

If you live in Reunion you may have heard about Anglais.re, a language-learning concept and website created by my dynamic duo of compatriots, Richard Thom and James Christie. As well as proposing English language training online (free and paid versions) there's also a weekly podcast.

Every Thursday a native speaker of English talks about their experiences and adventures on Reunion. From tasting fried wasp larvae in Ste Rose to getting hypothermia in Salazie, every story is fun and full of surprises, lasting no more than 5 minutes. There are two speeds to choose from: normal and slow. You can also read the text while you listen, and there is even a list of the difficult words translated into French. It's free and you can of course listen as many times as you want. Recent episodes even have a video version where you can watch the podcaster record their story and see a real-time translation of the difficult words on screen. At the time of writing this blog post they're now up to 104 episodes, and the 64,000 plays make them Reunion's most listened-to podcast!

Although I'm not a English teacher I recently recorded two podcasts for English language learners: the first about life as a translator in Reunion Island:

and the second about the struggles of getting a decent cup of tea in Reunion when you're a tea aficionado like I am.

P.S. For more about my visits to tea plantations and sampling of locally-produced tea around the world see the post My ABC of travelling.

Useful links:

Saturday, 30 July 2016

Marseille, Frioul Islands, & Montpellier

A trip to the south of France was the occasion to visit Marseille, France's second city.

Marseille Vieux Port (Old Port)

We started off by visiting the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, known as the MucEM. It is France's first national museum to be located outside of Paris and was inaugurated in 2013 when Marseille was designated as European Capital of Culture.

Fort Saint-Jean, built in 1660, which now houses the MUCEM

a modern part of the MuCEM, linked to the older buildings by a footbridge

another modern part of the MuCEM

Perched on a hilltop, Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica is probably the city's best-known symbol.

Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica, which dominates Marseille's Old Port

The inside of the basilica is very nautically themed, with model ships and planes.

inside the Basilica

view over the Vieux Port from the Basilica; Fort Saint-Jean in the centre

Corniche Kennedy is a boulevard nearly 4km long that skirts the Mediterranean sea.

Corniche Kennedy

We spent two nights on the Frioul archipelago, a group of four islands, to go diving there. The islands are only 4km from Marseille.

Frioul islands

We stayed both nights on a (stationary) boat in the marina. Unfortunately the Mistral kept us awake with the wind banging ropes against the mast all night!

our accommodation

gull, Frioul islands

our dive club, Plongée Frioul

Nearby, Chateau d'If is an island former-fortress-prison that features in Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo.

Chateau d'If

After a side-trip to Corsica, we headed to Montpellier, France's eight largest city.

Les Arceaux, Montpellier, an 18th century aqueduct
built to supply the city with water

Montpellier's Faculty of Medicine is the oldest in the world and is housed in a former bishopric next to Cathédrale Saint-Pierre.

Montpellier Faculty of Medicine

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre is a 14th-century Gothic cathedral.

cathedral main south entrance

house, old city centre of Montpellier

Porte de Peyrou, a triumphal arch built in 1693

Place de la Comédie is a square which is a focal point in the city centre. It features a fountain, the Three Graces, built by sculptor Étienne d'Antoine in 1790, and the Opéra national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon is also located on the square.

at Place de la Comédie, with the Opera in the background