Take a quick look at Reunion

Sailed out of one harbour (Mauritius), sailed into another country (Reunion) a day later, and took a couple of days to see Reunion island before setting off again.

Our heads are whirling: it has been amazing.

Picturing Port Louis harbour from our boat before departure…

In the foreground is a small cargo boat: yes, it is afloat, but barely, and must be shipping water!

Behind that is a line of rafted Chinese fishing trawlers – apparently fishing season down here has started, and the Chinese trawlers are permitted to moor in Port Louis but must stay out of Mauritian waters when fishing. This was a line of 18 trawlers attached to a single mooring buoy!

Behind that some more trawlers and then the fire-damaged cargo ship ‘Brandenburg’ awaiting its tow to somewhere for repairs. Beyond that: silos. A busy harbour, this.

Leaving Mauritius and its moored Chinese trawlers behind us

The sail was wonderful and easy with light winds and we were treated to an indigo blue sea which offered up two magnificent Dorado (freezer and tummies all full!) and showed us whales wallowing and blowing nearby. Heaven!

Then there was Reunion in the distance.

We got into Le Port and tied up on the fishing harbour wall. Here are our neighbours…

Our front neighbour rests and works on his boat in his tiny jocks (an all-day treat!)

Back neighbours: lucky to have a ladder, as low tide provides challenges getting off the boat. 

We have no ladder and Irene no longer has dignity!

Reunion is a beautiful island, with unique features and huge contrasts – white sandy beaches… and also black volcanic sand beaches.

The island is volcanic and in its centre are ancient collapsed calderas, called the Cirques: three unique “amphitheatres” that were once covered by a single huge dome which collapsed. Each cirque is isolated by steep mountains, and each is unique due to differences in rainfall and accessibility.

We went up to Maido, an overlook into the Cirque de Mafate.

Driving up to Maido viewpoint

Above the clouds, looking down on the cirque

This is the most isolated cirque with no road access into it. There are communities living down there: the cirque was originally inhabited by slaves who escaped into the rough terrain to hide and their offspring remain. They have to carry everything in or have it dropped by helicopter.

A trip to another of the cirques, Cilaos, showed huge mountains with sheer sides and rivers winding along the bottom of ravines.

One of the three villages seen on the plateau within Cirque de Cilaos

Getting to Cilaos village requires driving along exceptionally windy roads - the road to Cilaos famously has over 400 twists and turns, plus tunnels and sections of one-way traffic.

Switch-backs and hairpin bends...

Driving on these roads, in the “wrong” lane, in a car steered from the “wrong” side (left hand drive country), on bends where it is impossible not to encroach on the oncoming lane to achieve the turn, and with the locals speeding past no matter the road circumstances… hair-raising!

Two lanes but only when the oncoming truck agrees!

Nowhere for the road to turn, so it had to be taken back under itself
… in the space of about 200m

An impasse in pass!

Cilaos Village… lovely but touristy

One of the most active volcanoes in the world is on Reunion - Piton de la Fournaise last erupted in 2007, for the third time since 2000!

We drove the coast road (the “Lava Road”) and in the south-east saw where the latest lava eruptions flowed down to the sea.

It is startling to be surrounded by acres of black lava, and see its stream from mountain to sea

Notre Dame-des-Laves is a church that was in the path of the lava in 2007.
It was spared: the lava flow stopped three feet from the building on three sides. Extraordinary

All this driving required refreshment stops and there are many opportunities for this. Reunion is very French: French cars (note our trusty Citroen above), signage, streets… and if you have many Euros you can enjoy your baguettes and coffee frequently. But be polite…

If you say please (s’il vous plait) here, you get a discount on your coffee!

What a marvellous visit! Reunion deserves so much more time than this, but we are grateful to have had a short stop-over and tomorrow we leave to sail to South Africa.

Mauritius 4 - last month

In a week we will be gone from Mauritius, taking with us some wonderful memories…

 

An old Dutch fort lies under these French military ruins at Old Grand Port, Mahebourg

The Dutch first landed here about 1638 (calling the island after Prins Maurits van Nassaueiland). But the Old Port at Mahebourg proved disastrous, being on the SE side of the island which is exposed to the worst weather and their time here was characterised by hardship and failure. 

And the extinction of the large, flightless one-egg-per-year endemic Dodo bird.
And the destruction of most of the Ebony forests.

 

Looking eastwards to sea: a bad location for the port, as this area suffers heavy weather

The Dutch cleared huge swathes of Ebony forests but made some positive contribution by bringing in sugar cane plants from Java before they abandoned the island, leaving also macaque monkeys, java deer and fugitive slaves.

They had found, on the other side of the island, “Rade des Tortues” - “Harbour of the Tortoises”. 

 

The endemic Mauritius Giant Saddle-Back Tortoise became extinct but numbers of other large tortoises are now nurtured in parks

The French colonised this abandoned island in 1715, naming it Isle de France, and used “Rade des Tortues” (now known as Port Louis) as the main port, using mainly slaves to develop the island. The French influence has remained dominant, despite the British ousting them about 1810 and governing the territory until its independence in 1968.

We visited Le Morne peninsular, which is dominated by 556m Brabant mountain (in the distance on the left, seen from a Black River Gorge area viewpoint) - a basalt rock peak and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Le Morne (“Mournful One”) Brabant mountain: site of slave tragedies

The craggy mountain is dotted with caves and overhangs and was a refuge for runaway slaves - and the site of tragedy. The British abolished slavery early in 1835 and a police expedition travelled there to inform the slaves that they had been freed; but the slaves misunderstood the reason for the policemen’s approach and leapt to their deaths rather than endure re-capture. The day is remembered by Mauritian Creoles in an Annual Commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery.

On the other side of the mountain, Le Morne lagoon is a windy playground - a stunning kite boarding spot!

Brilliant colours of grounded kites waiting their turn

We saw about 30 kite-boarders out simultaneously in a small area: an amazing sight!

 Discovering these areas with friends and family was a treat. We also enjoyed sharing some lovely areas of Port Louis with them… even if they sometimes complained about long walks!

 

Their smiles lie - Rolf and Carmen growled at me all the way up to the top of the Citadel!

But the view from the top was superb

After slavery was abolished, the British had to satisfy their subsequent need for cheap labour; they began a system of bringing in indentured labourers (a form of debt-bondage) particularly from India but also from China, Malaysia, Africa and Madagascar. This (often brutal) system ended in 1920, and has resulted in a mosaic of cultures living on the island. 

There are attractive reminders of Mauritian history and culture around every corner….

  

1736 windmill alongside harbour

 Lovely street lights on Place Nelson Mandela circle, at Port Louis Theatre

 Welcome to Chinatown

Small shrine on the water’s edge

Office of the Prime Minister of Mauritius

Many of the old Mauritian walls are built of beautiful black volcanic rock, as in the Prime Minister’s Office building, and any walk along the coast will take you clambering over these tumbled rocks.

 

Strolling around Grand Baie: sometimes white beach, sometimes black volcanic rock

Pretty beaches, beautiful sea, vibrant streets and colourful displays: lots to see here!

                            

 

Magnificent fresh fish for sale in Grand Baie

Driving fish towards their nets in Merville Bay

 This is how you do it if you are a tourist – but YOU don’t keep the fish you catch! 

The boats each came in with about 6 magnificent Dorado

Colourful Dodo?
One wonders why the Natural History Museum in Port Louis shows them like this…
and behind it an artillery piece!

Our 4 month visit here will soon be over - we leave Mauritius on 30 September.

As we leave the harbour, we will pass a sight that has become familiar in our numerous entries and exits: this fire-damaged ship, the Brandenberg, was brought in by local tugs months ago.

The owners of the containers on board must have been frustrated…
but they were eventually offloaded and trans-shipped

 

Hopefully the overhaul and repaint has now begun

Au Revoir, Mauritius!

We will stop for a few days in Reunion then, when the weather prediction looks good for at least the first 5 days, we will set off for Richards Bay.

To see where we are on that voyage, go here….

Mauritius: magic month 3

Imagine a beach house leading from patio to shady grass to white beach to turquoise sea.

Imagine living on a yacht anchored a short distance from the beach, with your family in the beach house.

Imagine what a great place this would be for a family reunion... well, it really was!

Soft, balmy sunsets

Babies practiced "walking" (sorry sideways...!)

Grandparents got stronger!

The dinghy was always on standby, to act as transport and often climbing frame for beach children!

The yacht was a great place for celebrations...

... and also provided winches, ropes, anchor chains, fenders and other interesting play-items: a strangely different, wonderful new home to explore.

A window that looks down on people!

There was a successful day-trip to an island: even 90-year olds, if determined and plucky, can get from beach to dinghy to boat safely - what a celebration!

We ventured out for a car trip to a waterfall in the Black River (Riviere Noire) area: beautiful even in the dry season.

One of the most famous sights in Mauritius is the Seven Coloured Earth (s), a striking geological formation nearby, in the Chamarel plain. These sand dunes have seven distinct colours (approximately red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple, yellow); he differently coloured soil components settle in different layers, giving the dunes a beautiful patterned appearance.

Then followed a drive along the scenic south coast to the Gris-Gris headlands of Souillac, a rugged area very exposed to the SE Trade winds.

Back to the beach-house - at the end of the holiday, left-overs and toys were ferried back to Ketoro at the end of the holiday.

Mauritius had been a magical place for a family reunion!

These little ones inspired us to take another look at our journeys and experiences on Ketoro, and tell them in a way that would keep us close to them. So we have set up a blog for them:

www.ketorograndies.blogspot.com.

At this stage it shares our animals with them - and all other children who may be interested!