Having settled in we arranged to do a tour of the island, sharing a car with Brian and Alison off Ozone. Our driver/guide Clint was excellent value with good local knowledge and stories of life and growing up on the island. Hiring a car and driving ourselves would have been cheaper but we would not have seen so much and the roads outside the town are extremely narrow with sharp bends and deep ditches either side both driver and passengers would probably have been nervous wrecks by the end of the day.

Our anchorage is by the stadium and concert area where there are regular events and we assume practices for the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations. Concerts do seem to finish at a reasonable time and marching bands only practice during the day.

As a part of the celebrations the clock tower in town has been renovated and was unveiled by the President last week so we wandered into town to watch. Obviously we weren’t able to get the best view as the area was cordoned off and seating only for VIPs but the crowd was very relaxed and in a good mood.

We might still be here for the Independence celebrations but we are carefully watching the weather patterns to decide when to leave for our next passage, to Mayotte. This involves crossing an area of strong winds and corresponding seas that come round the North of Madagascar. Some boats have left already and we expect to go at the beginning of July before we need to apply for an extended permit for Meikyo.

We had a sail around the north end of Mahé to Baie Beau Vallon and spent two nights anchored here in strong winds but sheltered from most of the swell. Going ashore for a walk around this tourist beach area we landed the dinghy by the water sport hire area (Jet Skis) and our dinghy was immediately grabbed by the young guys there and carried up the beach. Good job as we had forgotten to fit the wheels. They promised to keep an eye on it for us while we went for a walk.