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American Spirit II - Day 295; Slow Day in Reunion & Dinner at Merlin of Poole; Monday, October 27, 2014



Fifty one days until Joel and I are home for Christmas; December 17.

Up at 7:00 AM. Jeremy is already up, reading in bed. I close the V-Berth door so I don't wake Joel up. Then coffee and to the cockpit to continue reading the book about the history of South Africa, The Covenant.

Breakfast at 8:40 AM: eggs; potato; chilled fruit cocktails; and breakfast crackers (we're out of bread). A rainy day.

I go to the Dodo Restaurant and talk to the owner/manager about my bridge problem; that I need to see a dentist today to have the bridge cemented back in. As I'm doing this, Paul, unbeknownst to me is also working on getting me a dentist. The restaurant manager gets me an appointment at 4:00 PM; then Paul tells me he has arranged for me to go immediately to see a dentist; and that the marina manager will drive me there and back. I'm in tooth fairy heaven! I go to the dentist, who happens to speak English; and the bridge is cleaned, then cemented and put back in. That's the good news. The bad news is that one of my crowns on the bridge is broken,so I'll I have to deal with that when I'm home for Christmas or next May.

It is Paul Tetlow from Rally control last day in Reunion and in dealing with us face-to-face around the world. The next time we see Paul will be in St. Lucia on April 8th next year. He's off to tend to another Rally, then to the Canary Islands to deal with the World Cruising Club's largest rally, the Atlantic crossing involving 250 yachts. I'm sure he'll send off the next World ARC in January in St. Lucia, also. Busy guy.

At around 11:00 AM a car pulling a trailer has an accident. The trailer disengaged from the vehicle (that's why you're supposed to chain the trailer to your vehicle; those pesky runaways!) went off the dock, right onto the starboard side of Nexus. A lifeline stanchion was bent, and some of the fiberglass was damaged. But fortunately, a large window was missed by 6 inches. The damage won't delay Nexus from departing this Saturday for South Africa.

At noon I run into somebody looking for Hubert on Chicka-lu; and I direct him to him. Turns out Hubert has rented a car for the week and the person I'm talking to is driving him to the car rental office to pick up his car. I ask the car rental person if he has any other cars to rent. He says he might; so Jeremy and I hop into his vehicle for the ride to the car rental office, a long way away, but only 7 kilometers from the airport. The car rental guy, after giving Hubert his car, says he has a car just returned at the airport; that its available; but that it hasn't been cleaned yet. I tell him so what, we'll take it! Off to the airport. Before driving away in the car, Jeremy and I go to the terminal building and have lunch at a cafeteria restaurant called La Place Gourmand. A pretty good lunch, rice and beef with some curry beans, plus a dessert.

At 2:00 PM we go to the Air Mauritius ticket office and I buy a ticket to Mauritius and return tomorrow, to pick up the parts we need for the forestay. Round trip is 265 Euros, or about $337.00. The flight leaves at 12:30 PM and returns at 9:45 PM.

I talked to the rigger in Mauritius, and he says that the parts will be ready for pick up from custom's between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM Tuesday. We hope.

On the way back to the boat we get lost in Le Port. It's a big area and we don't have a good enough map to find our boat; and I can't get Google Maps on my phone to work. You know, acquiring the satellite problem, I guess. In the process we go to a supermarket and buy some eggs and French bread for breakfast tomorrow. Finally, we get back to the boat around 5:30 PM; then off to Merlyn of Poole for a dinner party at 6:00 PM; guests of Jonathan and Jenny. Charlie, Cathy and Peter from Celebrate have been invited also. As we're having cocktails and wine in the cockpit; Sigi is preparing a salad below wearing a chef's hat. We then go below into the main salon for dinner. The salad is stupendous. Sigi is obviously a 'closet chef!' Who knew? The main course consists of a curry dish and rice; and was also good. Dessert was a brownie and whipped cream (whipped by hand by Jonathan); followed by a couple of pieces of Jenny's famous fudge. During dinner it started to rain, hard; a very unusual occurrence in Reunion on the dry side of the island. Joel has left his new computer outside in the rain, but I remember and get it just as it starts to rain. No harm done.

Back on the boat at 9:10 PM, we watch the movie 'Alex Cross.' A detective movie. Not bad. Jeanine stops by after the movie starts and stays until its over; then off to the shower for her.

We're in bed before midnight.

Brian Fox



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