Postmen of Mafate
The Cirque de Mafate, one of three calderas on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, along with Cilaos and Salazie, is a valley more than 1,000 metres deep surrounded by huge cliffs and steep peaks that, for nearly two centuries, have been home to descendants of the “maroons”, enslaved people who fled sugar cane plantations.
The community of 700 Mafatais lives, almost self-sufficiently, amid palm, banana and filao trees. But there are only two ways to get to the cirque: by foot or by helicopter.
Every week, René-Claude and Cyril, the two postmen of Mafate, walk its 140km of paths to deliver mail and small parcels.
Cyril’s father, Yoland, helps to sort mail in the postal centre in Salazie. René-Claude and Cyril have an…
