Sunday, Moe hired a car using his Nuie driving license. He had used this at one of our previous stopovers along with the 2nd part of the UK driving license. The Nuie license shows his photograph, the UK one does not. The Nuie driving license was available for around AU$10 from the police station. There was no driving test required nor was it necessary to prove that one had ever driven a car before. Several of the WARC participants utilized this facility, having left their UK license back in Blighty. It looks more like a telephone card with a photograph but no-one seems to query it.
Moe and Bev have spent a few nights at a hotel in the marina with Bev’s parents but have now gone off with them for the duration of their stay in Mauritius. Before he went off, Moe helped Dick transfer the 170litres of diesel from the fuel cans to the fuel tanks.
We have been indulging in egg and bacon for breakfast and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam for afternoon tea. The bacon, scones and clotted cream were a gift from Bev’s parents who wanted to bring us something typically British. They hit the spot. Many thanks.
Monday morning at 8.30 we took our fuel cans to the collection point for the run to refill them. We needed just under 225litres to fill the tanks and still have a reserve of 170litres in the fuel cans. A small tanker will arrive tomorrow at 7am to start to fill the tanks of those boats which presumably need considerably more fuel than us.
The boat which has been speckled with black ash now looks decidedly dirty. We had a light shower this morning and the black flecks of ash have now turned into a grey film, all over the boat. We welcome aboard Larral, a new member of the nursery team who has settled in very well with Boy bear, Girl bear, Snow bear, La-la and Jake. A photograph of the nursery team accompanies this blog.
We walked around St Louis, visiting so many places of interest that we spread the visits over several days. This was because we only did the tourist bit before lunch, finding the exercise in the heat quite exhausting. On a boat, the muscles are working all the time, even when we are sleeping but we don’t tend to get much vascular exercise. We visited China town a number of times and even had lunch there one day. We walked along the streets lined with street traders and hawkers, past the dingy rows of shops and found some concrete steps which we climbed to a restaurant which was huge. There were a number of people already eating but the room was not full. We took a table by the window overlooking the street below and ordered our meal which turned out to be enough for four people.
We had a guided tour of Aapravasi Ghat, where the indentured Indians arrived to work on the sugar plantations, after slavery had been abolished. The conditions on the ships were such that as many as half the passengers died en-route and their bodies were put over the side. Those that arrived at Port Louis sick, were put into quarantine but many died as did the doctors that treated them. The walk to the Citadelle was up hill but the view from the top made it worthwhile. It is not really known why the fort was built. Some say it was to provide a British base in the Indian Ocean but there were no wars here during the 19th century. Others believe that it was built to protect the 1300 British who were living on the island, from the French population, who were most angry at the abolition of slavery. We do know that 2 children were murdered there in 1951.
We went to Government house which was under wraps, being renovated and the Treasury building which is now the Prime Minister’s office. We walked through the Company gardens to the Natural History museum and admired the Dodo. It seems that a mass burial site has been excavated containing thousands of Dodo bones. The experts are trying to ascertain why this massive grave exists. The Dodo had a cute feathery tail which looked as if it was situated on the rear end of its back.
We admired statues, visited St James cathedral and St Louis cathedral, then checked out the Episcopal palace. We walked around an art gallery and went to the huge central market, bulging with exotic as well as everyday style, fruit and vegetables.
The rally party on Thursday night, was attended by the Minister of Tourism as well as Andrew Bishop, the WARC MD, all the people from the WARC boats, Paul and Suzana the rally control staff who have been looking after the fleet as we make our way around the world. There was an amazing selection of hot and cold food, lots of alcoholic, as well as soft drinks, colorfully dressed young men and women who entertained us. Every boat received a prize for something, even though there was no official start to the last leg, due to an unfavorable weather forecast. It was a brilliant party hosted by the marina and the tourist board. The rum was provided by the Rhumerie des Mascareignes.
Moe and Bev returned to the boat on Thursday. Bev had her hair cut and straitened during the afternoon and very lovely she looked. Bev’s parents will be staying in Mauritius until after we have left so they also came along to join in the evenings festivities.
Friday morning we moved the wine out of bond, not that it ever actually was bonded and washed the boat. The skippers meeting was as 1.30 so we had lunch early before getting the water taxi to the hotel for the briefing. Friday evening, after drinks on the boat, we went out to dinner with Moe and Bev and her parents. Saturday at 8am we will go through the checking out procedure, 9.30 there is to be a blessing of the boats ceremony and at 11.30 the leg to Reunion will commence. Just 130 nautical miles, one overnight passage.