2 September Grand Etang National Park

The literal translation of Grand Etang is Big Pond and it's a shallow lake in the caldera of an extinct volcano 8 miles from St Georges.

Our friend Vintura called us in the afternoon to see if we would like to join him and his visitor to the island, Paras, for a trip to see the lake. Of course we said yes.

It's a windy climb up into the hills to this popular tourist spot except there are very few tourists at the moment. For the fit and adventurous there's a muddy path leading up to waterfalls. It was just too muddy today so we walked around the car park and admired the view.

David, Vintura and Paras

On the way back we passed another tourist attraction. A resident group of Mona monkeys. Mona's come from West Africa and are thought to have been introduced by ship in the 18^th century. Some are deep in the forest, but this little group have discovered the joy of a free banana meal.