Rodriguez

'We arrived a week ago after 16 days at sea. We set anchor about 10 AM on Monday June 6. We slowed down for the last day and a half so we would arrive during daylight. We had lots of squalls which forced us south and we were unable to get to the anchorage without doing a jibe to get back north. We had several squalls and rain as we approached Rodriguez on the jibe. Before the last day we set our clocks back 2 hours to get to the local time. As we were arriving a supply ferry entered the harbour which in Rodriguez means all the boats anchored in the inner harbour have to leave the anchorage and head out to the outer harbour. We timed it perfectly and came in just after all the other boats had returned to the inner harbour.

Our first view of the harbour after a squall 

Upon arrival the quarantine officer came aboard and we filled in the forms. He had a quick look around below and headed on deck to flag the coast guard dingy down for a ride to shore.  While he waited for them to arrive he filled us in on the town and told us where we could get a Mauritius flag among other things we inquired about.  Next the coast guard came aboard and there were more forms. We figured we would wait till after lunch to deal with customs and immigration. We got a call indicating they were waiting for us so Chris from sailing vessel Tom Tom offered to take us to the dock in his dingy. After another stack of forms we were finally complete. We headed off to get SIM cards for our phones and find the shops, French bakery, market, banks and grocery store. We also visited the information centre and went to a kiosk to purchase a hiking map. 

The next day No Regrets had planned a tour by van to see the sights of the island. We left early and drove along the coast and saw the billionaire's house

(28 Mauritius Rupees to a Canadian dollar) and the governor's house. We drove on & saw a bridge they used for bungee jumping. It was closed. Next we went into a limestone cave and saw how stalagmites & stalactites start their formation. We saw some neat shapes where they had us imagine we saw a cat or Winston Churchill or some other animal or person. We had a great lunch and then toured to other parts of the island including a walk to a great beach

Grandpa Bob building a sand castle for his grand children. His oldest grand daughter thought "he looked funny with the fur on his face" but wished she was there building in the sand 

We also visited a honey farm.

An abandoned limestone quarry of special interest being a geologist 

We ended the tour by visiting 2 monuments. One was to do with the abolition of slavery on the island. 

Our guide Julian in front of the monument 

The other had to do with the person who first introduced agriculture to the island in the form of a orange grove. The site was strategically located so that they could see any ships coming that might be a threat. The view was tremendous. 

The next day we took a bus to Point Cotton and went on a long hike from Point Cotton a quarter of the way around the island mainly along the east coast. We passed the same beach we had seen the day before. It was a very scenic hike and we had a great tour guide. The next day we went on a 2nd hike. We took a bus up to an interpretive centre and then climbed to the top of Grande Montagne (a 15 minute climb) where we had a great viewpoint.

We then followed several paths to the coast at Baladirou. At Baladirou there are many gardens full of all kinds of vegetables and it is highly irrigated.

At one point along the hike to get there Alfredo had us scampering along a goat path on the edge of a cliff. His wife Alleshia slipped at one point and one leg was dangling over the edge. Soon we were headed down through the forest to the creek below where we hopped from rock to rock along the creek bed. Once making it to the shore we climbed a cow trail to the top of a headland and had a great view of the barrier reef and the Indian Ocean beyond. We walked along the coast for a long way. Fortunately it was low tide and we were able to hop from rock to rock to get past several headlands to get to the next beach. We finally came to a road and we followed it along the coast to our anchorage. The following day we had to lift anchor and get out of the inner harbour so the supply ferry could leave.

Boats at anchor waiting for the supply ferry to leave the harbour. Beautiful Rodriguez in the background 

The rest of the day was filled with boat chores which included washing the salt off the stainless, canvas and plastic windows. I also polished all the stainless on board getting rid of the rust that constantly seems to form. 

The next day we took a group of 18 hikers and a small dog on the hike we had done 2 days before.  We started by going up to the viewpoint as before. When we started down we began at a different location to insure we were able to followed the marked path. We were able to follow the path markers the whole way. Unfortunately the lady with the small dog misunderstood the hike part of the equation. She thought we were going on a walk and was very unprepared. I ended up carrying her dog over the rough rocky river section and the sections that were rocky along the coast and up the stairs to the bus stop at the end.

The group of 18 at lunch break

Two of us walked along the road to the anchorage while the others waited for the bus. We got back at 4 PM and had to wait another 40 minutes for the rest to return. It was Sunday and the buses ran infrequently. 

Monday was spent on the boat. I spent a good part of the day cleaning the green slime off the boat at the water line. 

Yesterday was another hiking day. We did 2 different hikes. The first we started high and walked down past the suspension bridge

where they do bungee jumping to the shore and along the coastline. We took a bus and then climbed up a valley to the mountains above. It was a gruelling hike and I got a real workout.