Mauritius

Wandering Dream
Steve Litson
Tue 3 Nov 2015 05:24

Mauritius
 
What a Stunning Place!
The scene was set at Customs House on the Quay; having cleared customs and immigration, we were told to wait for a Quarantine inspection. 45 minutes later a uniformed man leaned over the harbour rail. “Have you got a boat’s stamp?” He enquired. We did, he wanted us to stamp his four pieces of paper. “That’s you inspection complete.” He said. So off we went to the yacht basin. We were immediately visited by the sail maker, the laundry man and Rashid the local taxi driver. He offered to do anything and everything for us at a better price than anyone else. True to his word he did. The yacht basin/marina was run by the carpark security people. Toilets locked at dusk until dawn. It seemed the whole one hundred and fifty million inhabitants liked to promenade along the marina wall and have their photo taken with us in the back ground. Most nights we were lulled to sleep by noisy families picnicking on the harbour wall. Lorraine a pilot from England wanted to meet up in Southampton for a sail, a couple from England wanted to be taken for a sail. Ex Mauritian holiday makers from England wanted us to know they really lived in England but were visiting families here.
 
Starbo came in a couple of days behind us and a small social gathering from the Cocos Keeling group was re-established. We all went out for meals and drinks together.
 
The town was a real East meets West, with expensive shops around the marina and the thronging market stall streets of the town selling the same stuff and a quarter of the price. You could get most anything. One of the items to repair on WD was the Formica work top in the galley. It turned out almost as cheap to replace with S African Corian and have a shop fit it...that’s just what I did.
 
We said goodbye to Tony who flew home to Perth and welcomed Bryony who had flown out from England. She races with Denis and crew on Roller Coaster in the Solent.
 
We rented a small car from Rashid...it was his wife’s Toyota Starlet. Cedric and Christophe squeezed in and we went to explore the North of the island: Pamplemousse Botanic Gardens, Grand Baie where we had a street food lunch, and then along a stunning beach road and finally to an exclusive resort for coffee. Day Two: The south of the island: a volcanic crater, Rochester Falls, accessed via a sugar cane field and bumpy track, we were concerned the suspension wouldn’t last. The falls were formed from crystallised lava and the water cascaded down vast columns of hexagonal rock. The local youths were demonstrating their manhood, by leaping from the top into the brown swirling water below. We continued along the coast road, and as it was a public holiday weekend, the beautiful palm fringed beaches were crowded with locals enjoying picnics and bbqs