Mauritius 4; Labourdonnais
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Tue 27 Oct 2015 21:47
Labourdonnais is a Mauritian hero. He was a very able and active French governor of both Reunion (where he is more or less ignored) and Mauritius towards the end of the monarchy. He completely reorganised and galvanised life on the islands, much to the betterment of the inhabitants (the white ones, anyway - this was still the era of slavery). His name lives on. The VS crew visited Chateau Labourdonnais, named in his honour long after his death by a rich German-Danish immigrant family who had become rich on the sugar trade. And what a lovely spot it is:   The place remained in the family until recently, becoming semi-derelict, but has now been fully restored to fabulous condition, with a fascinating explanation of the history of the estate and sugar trade - your hero is visible in the second photo, in traditional cruiser garb (we can instantly recognise fellow cruisers in the street by dress sense alone) soaking up the history. The whole is surrounded by a mango orchard - there is an almost unbelievable number of varieties of mango, a rum distillery and a bijou restaurant. A very nice spot, an oasis of calm in a somewhat frenetic country. |