OMG….this place is AMAZING!!!
Google images…The Island of Reunion 
Le Port is on the NW side of the island 
The Le Port harbor entrance
We had some reservations about Reunion island before we arrived and was unsure how long we would stay. We were told if you don’t speak French, it’s really difficult to connect or engage, this held true for us in the cities of New Caledonia and French Polynesia. However, this is not the case here in Reunion…everyone we have encountered has been incredibly friendly and helpful…even though we struggle (a lot) with French. For this reason….it has been a very social time here, a slight understatement but first a little bit of administrative info : )
New Marina, The Office at the Old Marina, and the Boat Yard
New Marina
The new marina was built recently to accommodate the demand for berths as there are no safe anchorages around. We are not sure but suspect that many sailboats here are owned by Europeans (French perhaps?) who come to Reunion and sail during Europe’s winter months. It was said that when the new marina was built, it was a struggle to keep “open berths” for foreign yachts therefore there are not many berths available for us cruisers so advanced notice and contact with the marina is a very good idea. The facilities were good with hot showers, garbage and recycling, and security seemed very good.
The harbor in Le Port is generally protected from wind and swell, but as the island is circular there are times when the swell/surge does affect the marina. Most days staying at the new marina was especially pleasant with a nice breeze and hardly any mosquitoes!!!! The sun was warm and the nights were cool enough to sleep with a blanket….we really enjoyed the weather here.
The harbor entrance can be closed by port authority when the swell and surge is especially strong. We saw plenty of deoth in the entrance but there is a shelf just outside that can create larger swell. 
Drone shot of the new marina. The berths are numbered odd on one side, even on the other. 
Well…these are our fenders after our stay in Mauritius against the concrete wharf. In Reunion, be sure to set your fenders about a foot off the water as the finger piers are high. Additionally the slips are “skinny” so leaving a fender on the other side for any incoming or leaving boats next to you. 
The finger piers are “short” meaning for us, it ended about half way down our hull. If you have been to New Caledonia…it is the same there as well. The use of multiple spring lines is a must. Spring lines will also help for the swell/surge that can sometimes wrap into the new marina and create the boat to swing…this is our snubber we had on our spring line after a 48 hour period of swell…..others chaffed through dock lines as the cleats are not quite “rounded” and an “edge” is still present that acts like a little knife to lines. Chafe protection on lines would be a good suggestion. 
Fob keyed gates to the docks and into the parking area help keep the spaces isolated. 
A drone shot from the marina looking towards the mountains…here specifically towards, Cirque de Mafate. Town is not too far away from the new marina.
The Office at the Old Marina
We contacted Jerome Belhuerne (no photo as he went on holiday back to France for 3 weeks) at the Marina months before we actually arrived. Jerome was responsive and thorough. Jerome and team at the marina act as the port captain on CH 09, different from the Coast Guard on ch 16. They organize procedures for clearance in/out of the country. We were asked to complete an arrival form with an estimated date of arrival and a few days notice when we would be arriving. In return we received a map of the marina with our berth assignment.
As instructed, we hailed them on CH 09 3 miles from the harbor to confirm our berth assignment and upon arrival, we met Pierre and Angelique who soon became fast friends. Pierre had a welcome package which included keys to the gate, wifi passwords, maps of town and local advertisements. He kindly took the time to show us all the good places: cheapest rental car, grocery shops, laundry, cell providers, and of course the boulangieries! Two officials showed up to the boat and within 5 minutes, we were cleared in! Got to love the French : ) This team was so much fun and helpful with local knowledge…..5 star service here!
Meet Pierre. After showing us on the map of all the boulangieries near by…he returned to the boat with 2 pastries for us. He said he saw my eyes widen when he talked about them. We returned the favor the next day for the staff at the office. What a guy! 
Meet Angelique. She was in the French Navy years ago in which she landed here in Reunion. Much of her family is still in France. She has 2 beautiful children and she loves sweet wine : )
Drone shot of the “old marina”. It is a 15 minute walk from the new marina. Becareful that the yellow gate on your way to the old marina may be closed on Sundays and I don;t know if you can get around it…we just never tried. 
The marina office. 
Jerome has a list of all the cruisers that are coming in…and leaving… 
Contact information we used. 
Here is the photo we received from Jerome with our berth assignment….we have never received anything like this and generally “wing it” when coming into a new port or marina…..this was so helpful!
The Boat Yard
Since we hauled out in Mauritius, we didn’t have the need to utilize the boat yard here in Reunion, but we had our friends on SV Miriari (Iker and Noemi) there and met Susanne on SV Nehaj who were at there. We were happy that we decided to haul out in Mauritius as the facilities were much nicer…but with that said, here, there seemed to be plenty of expertise and available parts. Additionally, speaking English was not as much of a hindrance as we might of thought.
There is a navy base near by and there are expertise for a lot of things, you just have to find them.
Google image of the boat yard area. Unfortunately we heard the shower drains overflowed with “water” and the security was pretty non-existence. 
Pascal is the owner of this chandlier…becareful..he is a serious clown (LOL). He loves to joke but he is very knowledgeable and is very helpful. 
Electronic shop…also very helpful as we were looking to replace our Garmin wind indicator. They did not have it in stock but could get in in within 5 -7 business days. 
Another chandelier down the way. We also heard there is a canvas guy near by for helped our friends on C. Coquin with a broken zipper on their dodger.
SV Nehaj
Meet Susanne… She is from Germany and circumnavigated in 2015-2016. Her custom made aluminum hull, SV Nehaj, suffered structural damage after being swept onto the beach in front of Le Port harbor on July 25th, 2019. We were still in Mauritius but saw a FaceBook post about her incident from a mutual friend. When we arrived in Reunion, we made a point to find her and her “home” to introduce ourselves and to offer any assistance we could provide. Susanne is an incredibly self-sufficient woman and beyond capable of any of the “help” we could extend…so instead I felt that just spending time with her and allowing her to talk about whatever she wanted to was all I was able to offer.
Read a short letter at the link below that she wrote to the South African Maritime Mobile Net after her circumnavigation.
https://www.sailblogs.com/member/southafricanmaritimemobilenet/389855?fbclid=IwAR13Im7vRgh74V5IJOMMuyHIZr8uI-tItGP0d-UYKvG874tXmOa9EIOBUVA
Most of these photos below are provided by Marc Tournet and Peter Schieder from their post in the Crossing the Indian Ocean (on passage) FaceBook group.
She had anchored just out front of the Le Port Harbor and had planned to come into the marina the next morning. Unfortunately, a large front added with a spring tide, the wind shifted and soon she had a lee shore. She began to drag anchor and the swell began to take her closer to shore. Other details I am not breast to but nonetheless, the waves pounded her up the beach.
Not our Photo. 
Not our Photo. Not our photo. A tracker first ahd to pull the Nehaj 150 yards across the beach so that the crane could reach her. The largest crane was used and had 30 tons as ballast. The crane had to be placed on a bridge and there was a discussion regarding the bridges capacity to hold both crane and vessel. 
NNot our photo. The rescue plan was pretty perfect according to Susanne. From beach to road, from road to the inner harbor. Nehaj had to float in the water before being ahuled out which confirmed the hull had no water intrusion and the engine worked! 
Our photo: When we left Reunion, repairs were underway and she had met with a welder to repair the 8 stress cracks in the hull. She had already contaacted the designer of the boat back in Holland and they confirmed repair was possible. Susanne knows this boat inside and out and we have no doubt she will be back to “snuff” in no time. 
Our photo when we visited Susanne and Nehaj. In short, she explained the swell lifted her up, slammed her on the beach and the returning wave would then lift her again to the other side…this happened every 12 seconds for 45 minutes….I just can’t imagine the horror!
Below is a link to the article here locally in Reunion. You will have to translate the page to English but the video is only provided in French…
When we left Reunion, repairs were underway and she had met with a welder to repair the 8 stress cracks in the hull. She had already contacted the designer of the boat back in Holland and they confirmed repair was possible. Susanne knows this boat inside and out and we have no doubt she will be back to “snuff” in no time. Her wish is to keep going to South Africa and we sincerely hope to see her this season.
Susanne…if there is anyone who can get through this…it is you! You are one of the most determined people I have ever met, with a kind heart, and extraordinary audacity! We wish you and SV Nehaj a swift recovery and headed back out to sea where it is clear, you both belong…hugs!
Town of Le Port
It’s true….we have gained at least 10 kg here in Reunion…..good French wine, baguettes and pastries every day….A slice of France in the middle of the Indian Ocean!
The town was quaint and clean, very civilized with a mix of old and new buildings. Plenty of shopping all around but note that most shops close between noon-2pm. Some shops are closed Mondays or Fridays so check the hours before assuming everything will be open.
Provisioning was great! Lots of options but we spent most of our time shopping at the Jumbo mall and caught a ride with Louise, now know as our “Uber” driver (LOL). Meats, cheeses of all kinds, really…anything you can think of…except for black beans?!….we haven’t seen black beans for ever and thought for sure we would find them here…nope. We thought food in general was a bit more expensive here than Mauritius, but the variety sure did make up for the cost!
Jumbo Supermarket and mall. Louise our “Uber driver” always offered to take us with her at the perfect times! She gets a 5 star rating : ) 
It is literally a mall…but if you go on a saturday late morning, it is a mad house! 
The Super U- it’s a 10 minute walk….easy to refill your wine or beer. It’s a small store but has the basics. 
Photo of the Super U. 
The Score (also owned by Jumbo) is across the street form Garcia car rental and is about a 15 minute walk. It;s the medium sized store.
Wednesday morning market. Don’t miss it! The produce is so much cheaper here than at the stores. George, a local guy who lives in the new marina on his catameran, offered to take a few of us and explain the different foods….what a treat! 
The market is blocks in lenghts…be sure to take plenty of shopping bag both because you won;t be able to resit the goodness, and also because they don;t hand out bags for you. 
Baskets…we were told that these baskets are actually made in Madagascar…. 
There was even a second hand clothes for sale?! 
Fresh eggs with the chickens in the background for show?! 
Look at all this leafy greens…we even found kale and rainbow chard! 
If you don;t feel like prepping your self…there were plenty of vendors who sold pre-cut/portioned veggies. My style of cooking : ) 
The banana man…. 
George showing us a new to us fruit….you peel the thin skin off and eat it … careful there is a pit inside. It was similar to a lychee fruit. 
Vanilla!!! We were told that the vanilla sold off the streets in Reunion are not really ready and will spoil before you use it. Also, often vanilla vendors will try to sell Madagascar vanilla as local Reunion grown. Not sure how to tell the difference…. 
Peppers galore…Trevor’s personal heaven. 
Oh man….the meats looked so good…all of it! 
…So good that Trevor bought out one trucks entire rib inventory….each rack was about $5 usd….OMG! 
George showing us this “cooking lemon” which is very strong…in which I think we would call it super sour. 
Mini pineapples…. 
HUGE avocados…. 
Ok…we haven’t seen celery for almost a year. So you can image that we were excited to add it back to our diets. At the Jumbo supermarket, 1 bunch cost about $15 Euro?! At the market…it costs about 2 Euros….just saying : ) 
So this root is called “Poire de Terre”…which I think means… “Earth Pear”….. 
This is what an “Earth pear” looks like peeled and cut up. It actually had a sweet taste and a texture like a pear. 
This bunch of leaves is similar to “All Spice”. We used some for a Moroccan rub for chicken…it was fantastic! 
No idea what this gourd is called but you skin it and slice it and saute it in oil, salt/pepper. George says the smaller ones are better tasting than the large ones. 
I had a big giggle….selling a coconut sprout…..we should of collected them and we could of made a fortune (hahaha).
Laundry 
Angelique confirmed this place was the cheapest and ebst place to do laundry in the town. For this it’s popular but we never waited more than 20 minutes to start our rounds. 
There are different sized washers and 3 large driers. The place was clean and this place made laundry a much pleasnat task…specifically when you do it in company (Louise and Laura) : )
The office of Tourism was the place that has good information about different hikes and tours. Bruce and Laura went here and found a great hike we did in Cirque de Mafate we all did…it was FABULOUS!!!
Internet was great with the marinas wifi so while we were at the boat, internet was free (well you have to pay for the berth so not exactly free). However, when we did get a SFR SIM card, they told us to get a “tourist” SIM which cost us about 15 Euros. We had to go every 5 days to top up and it was a pain. We later found out that the marina will write you a letter stating something to the effect that you are a “resident” which allows you to get a “non-tourist” SIM card and can take advantage of better priced plans. Just ask Angelique or Pierre for the letter and they will provide one.
As you can see….plenty of fabulous services here..no wonder we stayed almost a month here. Unfortunately I can’t fit into any of my clothes….
Up next: One step at a time…Hiking Cirque de Mafate