Fire in the Iron Hole

Of course I miss home, but perhaps never more than when I end up talking about that certian gem of culture that is so near and dear to my heart, the epitome of what it means to be American... Along with descriptions of the Ozarks' unpredictable weather, my love of folk music, Thanksgiving dinner, and all sorts of other aspects of my life at home, my new friends are always most amused when I start recounting my obsession with one of the most enjoyable places in the world: Silver Dollar City. I mean, come on, who doesn't love screaming at the top of their lungs "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" while plummeting downwards in the darkness? Still, I'm not TOO anxious to leave here just yet...

Last weekend was another successful randonee (hike), this time to Trou de Fer, translated as the Iron Hole. The five-to-six hour round trip is mostly made up of steep switchbacks overlooking the Cirque de Salazie, or else just pure mud once the terrain levels out, but the view was very cool. We actually hiked in a group of six, but camped with a couple other groups of our friends - something like 18 people altogether.

Another lovely aspect of the weekend was that to access Trou de Fer, you depart from Hell Bourg, a little mountain town that has been repeatedly voted the most beautiful town in France. Imagine a quaint, sunny little town with big, bright, beautiful Creole homes with open doors and
open windows welcoming the late summer breeze. We didn't spend much time there, but the drive getting there was gorgeous enough to make you drop your jaw (and twisty enough to make
you want to loose your lunch)... From these little towns in the Cirque de Salazie, you see the mountains towering dramatically above you with impossibly tall waterfalls barreling down the lush green cliffs. Then of course we got to see more of these incredible cascades from our point of view at Trou de Fer.


A few other highlights from recent explorations: Last Friday was a girls' day out to a sugar cane factory in St. Leu, the seaside open-air market in St. Paul, and the dinkiest little carnival I've ever seen. The carnival was an utter waste, but the rest made up for it!

You'd think the weekends here are cool enough on their own, but I have one more gem to add to my recent recollections: PLONGEE BABY. That's right, I went scuba diving. In the Indian Ocean. With my friends. For 10 euro. I was underwater for nearly 45 minutes total maneuvering over, around, and between the coral, and I saw half the fish from Finding Nemo, nearly touched a green turtle, and sat on the ocean floor! It was just as incredible as it sounds.

Okay okay, I promise I'm almost done... but one last great thing I did this week: booked my flight to Madagascar! A few of my friends and I will be spending 18 days in May in the incredible country that has some of the most incredible biodiversity on Earth. All this, plus the fact that there's only 5 weeks left of classes, and I think it's fair to say it was an excellent week.