During the 18th century Reunion was subject to visits from pirates, and some of the islanders living on the coast preferred heading inland to avoid being the target of such attacks. One of the places they went to live is a now-deserted hamlet in the district of Saint-Benoit that later came to be called Ilet Bethléem.
The
îlet can easily be visited by anyone at any time, but we recently had the opportunity to join a guided visit organised by
Les Aventuriers de l'Est during which we would learn all about the history, fauna, and flora to be found there. We met our guide Geoffroy at the nearby car park, which is home to a large number of
weaverbirds who make their nests in the surrounding bamboo.
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| Weaver bird nests on bamboo stalks |
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| close-up of a male weaverbird and nests |
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| male weaverbird |
The walk to the abandoned îlet takes about 20 minutes down a wide sloping path.
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| crucifix beside the path |
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| sign in Creole beside the path, asking visitors to keep the site clean! |
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| vegetation overhanging the path |
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| shrine beside the path |
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a Phallus indusiatus, commonly called the bamboo fungus, bamboo
pith, long net stinkhorn, crinoline stinkhorn or veiled lady |
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a star laid out in stones beside the path,
in reference to the star of Bethlehem. |
The
îlet is beside the
Marsouins river, which must have been a good source of fresh water for the villagers, who subsisted by hunting and fishing.
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| Riviere des Marsouins, with bamboo on the opposite bank |
In 1855 the wife of Governor Hubert de Lisle became concerned about the poverty of the
îlet's 500 or so inhabitants, and built a chapel - dedicated to
Our Lady of Fatima - and workshops there. It was she who gave the hamlet the name of Bethléem. The chapel still stands today and continues to be used.
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| chapel interior |
Four nuns came to instil Christian principles in the girls living there, and to teach them sewing, cooking, and gardening. The hamlet became a parish in 1860, and by 1873 the villagers were healthier and 60 pupils (of which 40 boarders) were attending school. However the nuns ended their charitable activities there in 1935.
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| chapel exterior |
In more recent years a
gîte was built, but apparently it never actually opened and so the buildings have fallen into disrepair.
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| one of the former gîte buildings |
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| looking through the corrugated iron roof of one of the gîte buildings |
The îlet remains a popular picnic spot.
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