A surprising journey
The pandemic- a social context filled with restrictions, shortcomings, frustrations. A paradox, an unimaginable existential vacuum, a limited contact with the outside world and with ourselves. Speaking about paradoxes, perhaps the greatest of them was the impossibility of traveling, the hard-to-digest difficulty to see the world deprived of people, of laughter, of the happiness of passing by others, of seeing faces.
In this respect, the pandemic gave me perhaps the greatest paradox of all. Although it was the period with the most unforgiving travelling restrictions of my life, I succeeded, surprisingly, in embarking on the longest journey I had ever had ever taken: Réunion Island, France, 11,000 km away, crossing three continents, a few seas and an ocean, dozens of countries and hundreds of islands, by air. Finally, I have arrived. An unexpected Erasmus+ project, an opportunity I would not have thought possible at the beginning of 2020, in the winter of 2021.
It was an adventure and an exploration, a place of special exoticism, an infusion of warm air, flowers, spices, exotic fruits, which I felt with my whole body. It was a fascinating location, with special people, a magical coloristic given by the mixture of the sky, the earth and the Indian Ocean. I explored every inch of the island that was offered to my senses: from the sensational smell of plants from the small village of Entre-Deux, to the narrow mountain valleys, from the immensity of the volcanic crater Cirque de Cilaos to the rocky volcanic coast of the Indian Ocean, from the exotic gardens with thousands of trees and plants to the immaculate beaches with black or white sand, full of palm trees and coral remnants. A few delightful aspects absolutely caught my attention. Firstly, the heat of the volcanic mountains stood out. They appear like a wall, in the middle of the island, a colossus reminiscent of his fantastic brother from Game of Thrones. You expect for permanent winters up there, in bitter cold, in harsh winds, as it is customary at altitudes of over 3000 meters. Far from it. It's not like that at all. I was surprised by the warmth with which these mountains welcome you, as if they were wise old men who loved children, meaning us, their visitors, and they wanted us to feel safe in their midst. They seemed to say: "We are high and pointy, but we warmly welcome you on our peaks, however small you people may be”. Another surprising feature was the large natural oceanic pool. Well, this is another different story. We all wanted to take a dip in the Indian Ocean. We were like toddlers that had the toy in front of them, but they couldn't play with it. Why? For two reasons: first, because we had a busy schedule and the ocean part was happening later in the program; and secondly, when we approached the beaches of the island, we had no access to the water, as it was not meant for such a thing, and the danger of sharks was imminent. So, quite comforted by this aspect, we had no choice but to wait for Thursday that week, a day with an intense beach schedule. We were amazed. For the first time in our lives, we experienced a huge natural pool. Protected by an anti-shark dam, at about 300 meters from the shore, the bathing area offered a unique bathing experience, gleaming crystal-clear water, full of exotic fish and corals of various shapes, a fauna and vegetation like no other found in the European lands. I sat in the warm water for hours exploring every millimeter of what was offered to us. With great difficulty, I managed to give up on such an experience. Finally, what got me equally amazed was the Garden of perfumes and spices, of Saint-Philippe, a unique place in this world. With over 1500 species of exotic plants and trees, this garden offers a delight to the olfactory and visual senses. It was the first time in my life that I had seen and touched fruits and plants I had only heard of: ylang-ylang, vetyver, vanilla, lichties, turmeric and more. It was like we were characters in a video game, on a newly-discovered island. Last but not least, I was impressed by the people. Exoticism, autochthonism, the creole tradition are the great features that define them. The mixture of nations, races and ethnicities are raised as if in the spirit of the island, with an absolute respect for nature, a cult of it, found in a permanent connection, through the senses, with the flowers, the trees, the perfumes, the vivid colors of the surrounding environment, with the water and the mountain, even with the annual hurricanes and earthquakes. It's a mutual respect, which has not yet been altered by civilization and the evolution of the world. And many more like these…
The 15-hour plane journey back home had the bitter taste of abandonment of this wonderful place, but also the awareness of the inevitable difference in temperature, between Reunion and Romania, the change from 30 degrees to -5 being felt even in the depths of the soul. I was silent for a long time, on the way home, both my traveling companion and I, each of us, perhaps, digesting everything wonderful that had happened that week. Personally, I filled my thoughts with this unique experience, recalling, day after day, each centimeter I had come into contact with. I promised myself to try to "reunite myself again" with this unique, exotic space, if possible, in this life…
Article written by Fărău Adrian
