Some of the participants had arrived in
La Réunion a few days in advance, taking the opportunity to visit the " Magic Island ".

On the evening of Saturday 12 May 2001, they were hosted at the Garden of the Rising Sun guesthouse in Ste Rose by Guy Pignolet and friends for a creole party with barbecue and some excellent local pineapples.

As far as drinks were concerned, punch, coca, vodka and sake were evidence of the international flavour of the gathering.

For the historical record, it should be known that 23 years earlier, in the same house that became the family guesthouse of the Garden the Rising Sun, the famous role playing game "Dungeons and Dragons" was introduced and played first time in France...

At Théophane Bègue's ...

On the next day, after a short walk through the sugar cane fields, three participants from ISAS had the pleasure to enjoy lunch at the table of Théophane Bégue, a remarkable person who knows everything about the plants and the animals of La Réunion...

Here, Masako Koma is holding in her hands two magnificient tropical flowers raised with passion by Théophane Bègue...

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The guest table of Théophane Bègue, eight hundred meters above sea level, offers an exceptional point of view over the southern slopes of Piton de La Fournaise, down to the "wild" coast in Saint Philippe.

After the meal, Tomonori Nagakawa is tasting a cup of vanilla flavored coffee. The "Bourbon" vanilla produced in La Réunion has a reputation to be the best in the World...

Piton de La Fournaise

La Réunion's volcano is one of the largest and most regularly active volcanoes on the surface of our planet.

On the road that leads to the volcano's tourist lodge, Koma-san, Ikeda-san, and Nagakawa-san, and also the pre-tour participants, were able to discover impressive panoramas, moving in a matter of a few minutes from breathtaking canyons to mineral rocky plains reminding of the surface of Mars, to the eventual view over the lunar landscapes of the central caldeira.

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The great gala dinner

In the evening of Tuesday l5 May 2001, next to the swimming pool of the Sterne Hotel, all the participants of WPT'01 met with the honor guests of the regional administrations of La Réunion for a special evening of gastronomy and entertainment.

Masako Koma and Yukie Ikeda, of ISAS, took part in the show prepared by singer Sarah and her group pof Malagasy musicians, to sing in a most extraordinary interpretation of the main theme of opera "Granada" and the wonderful Jazz melody of "Blue Moon"...