We are 2 days into our crossing to Madagascar and we have been having great winds, it is about 15 knots on the beam to on the quarter and you can't ask for very much more. The waves are about 2 meters so the boat is handling them very well, the wind vane is steering so life is good.  The boat we are traveling with, Mojombo asked that we not put our position on the page that everyone can access for safely reasons so I will report it here.  We are currently at 17 26S and 54 28E and heading north at about 6.5 knots. It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over in Canada, hope you are all well.

There's me on the stairs, the 1751 old volcano on the floor in front of the huge new  volcano. 

We rented a car for the weekend and it coincided with Barry’s birthday so off we went on another adventure. We drove along the south shore of the island then halfway up the east side before turning west and driving up to the middle of the island where the volcano is located, the top being over 8,000 feet.

Our first discovery was a lovely waterfall; we left the main road and wound through innumerable switchbacks across three narrow one way bridges and happened upon a lovely pool about 200 m below the falls, scrambling along the boulder on the bank we saw the horseshoe shaped falls. The east side is where the previous lava flows from the volcano have flowed into the ocean.

Barry with the car we rented in front of a fairly recent lava flow.  

The years of the flows were posted and there have been eruptions regularly in the last 50 years.  It was interesting to note the differing amount of flora that accumulated, a huge difference being perceived from the most recent eruption in 2007 and some lava that had been left in 1957 but even in the space of 10 years the difference in the amount of plant life was astonishing.

We came across a suspension bridge that was no longer in use.  We strolled along taking lots of pictures and took one look over the edge and figured out why they chose to close it!!!

The cable holding up the bridge, YIKES!!

As we drove up towards the volcano the fog closed in.  We had come up out of the main area of the switchbacks and were driving along a relatively flat plain.  The fog became very thick and we were crawling along about 15-20 km an hour, cars appearing with very little warning, the visibility was down to about 5 meters in places.  Thankfully we eventually came out of the fog and drove along in bright sunshine above the clouds for the rest of the way to the volcano.  One of the viewpoints was from a long high cliff top. There was a big flat wide plain, with very little vegetation, that the dirt road stretched across; it reminded us of the Dempster highway.  Once we crossed the plain we came to the volcano, we went and had a good look in case it was clouded over the next day.

Notice the switchback road in the foreground partly in the shadows.

We stayed at a gite or a rural house, what we would have called a backpackers hostel. There was a central building where there was a bar and served the meals.  They had about 4 of 5 cabins where there was a bathroom, a small sitting room and numerous bedrooms.  The room we stayed in was quite tiny and had 2 bunk beds stuffed in it, with very little room to move about.  We shared the room with a single English male and a single French woman.  It was not quite the romantic double bedded birthday treat I had imagined. The view was stunning though and we sat out on the balcony before dinner and shared a bottle of red wine and some nuts.  The evening meal was quite tasty; there was a soup and a creamed cauliflower entre then curried pork and a fish stew for the main dish as well as small slices of cake and the local rum liqueur for dessert.  Remembering we were over 7,000 ft high it was quite chilly, there was no heating in the cabins so I was very glad for the four blankets they had provided.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny and we set off for the volcano.  There was frost on the ground and I had socks, longish pants, a shirt, a sweatshirt and my jacket on to start the hike.  At first you went down a huge set of stairs over the edge of a cliff to the floor around the volcano.

A lava vent

The inside of this volcano

Notice the new darker lava flow. 

The path across the flats consisted of painted dots on the lava.  There were numerous vents along the way and a small volcano that had erupted in 1751. The walking wasn’t too bad, mostly on fairly flat smooth lava, occasionally going across newer jagged black lava that was a bit tricky to maintain your balance on.  Once we reached the base of the volcano we wound up and around to the opposite side to where the view point was.  This volcano is currently dormant on the surface, there were no bubbling pools or rocks being spewed up over the edge, but the hole was over a kilometre wide and over 400 m deep, a truly impressive hole in the ground.  Thankfully the interpretive signs were also in English so we were able to find out all sorts of interesting facts. Once again we were above the clouds, so although we could not see the surrounding mountains we enjoyed a clear view of what we had come to see.  Barry said this 5 hour hike was easier on his body than the last one we did.
We drove back down the mountain passing through the band of clouds again.  It was not nearly as thick as before and we were thankful.  It was a Sunday and we encountered lots of Reunionaisse as the locals are referred to, enjoying the day with a family picnic.  We had a lovely lunch in a local café we found and afterwards sat and sipped our coffee’s in the accepted leisurely French manner.
We are planning to head to Madagascar in the next few days.  Once we leave I will try and post our position daily so check on the link called “our position” to check where we are.  We are going to sail up to the north end and spend our time cruising along the west side, out of the prevailing winds.  We will be sailing with at least one other boat so once we arrive will have company in the anchorages.  Theft from yachts has been a problem there so we are hoping to discourage them by being in the company of others.

The marina, look at the whitecaps, and the surf, it blows like stink here most days,
we are glad of the seawall and the protection it offers. 

We have been quietly whiling away the time until our next voyage, which will be to Madagascar. We are going to head around the north end and visit there for about a month before we head to South Africa. The favoured time to head to South Africa is in October or November.  It is very expensive here on La Reunion so we have not been eating out as much as we have been used to.  Since leaving Australia it has been almost as cheap to eat out as to cook a meal on the boat.  I have convinced Barry that we should rent a car and go and see the volcano, apparently it is the same type that they have on Hawaii. 

The other day we took a stroll around to look at the old architecture in town.  We found city hall and then walked down a street that had lots of old buildings on it.  Crime must be quite a factor here because all the houses have big fences and then railings on top of the fences so that entry over the fence is almost prohibited, but the big thing for us is that you cannot see the houses.  Sometimes if you walk on the opposite side of the street you can catch a glance at the gems lying behind the walls.  I have enjoyed both here and on Mauritius taking note of the different types of railings, some are quite intricate, bent in different shapes and styles.  All the stores have pull down metal doors that cover all the windows and the doors on the shops once they close. 

St Denis old City Hall 

Yesterday we headed to the capital St. Denis on the bus.  St Pierre where we are staying is on the south coast of the island whereas St. Denis is on the north.  It was a lovely trip on the bus.  There was a double lane highway most of the way so traffic was not a problem.  We travelled along the coast line seeing beaches and the rocky shore. For the first half of the journey the land gradually sloped up until the mountain steepened.  There was a lot of housing in the sloping foothills, most of the population be concentrated along the shoreline before the mountainous region begins. As we got close to the northwest corner of the island the hills came down to meet the shore and there were dramatic vistas of the sheer drop offs from the tall hills into the sea. At one point the bus went through a 200m long tunnel, thank heavens it was quite a bit larger than the one we went through going up the mountains. 

My perspective from the second floor

Barry's lovely shot from the ground floor, what an eye he has!

St Denis had some lovely colonial buildings and we were able to tour through one of them learning about the life and houses along this interesting old street.   We headed toward the natural history museum thinking that our lack of French would not matter quite so much in there.  Unfortunately it was closed for renovations but we wandered around the lovely gardens instead.  We were fascinated by the old hotel de ville or city hall. It was very grand inside with a sweeping red carpeted staircase extending up to a grand ballroom on the second floor.  There was a lovely courtyard that contained a fountain with the statue of a maiden. It was diffused with sunlight and the beautiful curved portals and windows made a lovely picture.  For the most part the modern buildings here seem very stark and have ugly lines.  The roofs have no eaves which in my opinion make the houses and apartment buildings seem chopped off and have no flowing lines, the roof comes to the edge of the building and it just stops, yuck!   

St Denis valley, check out the apartment blocks with the roofs that just end

St Pierre is a party town.  The marina is located just opposite the main street, a strip of bars and cafes.  Each weekend night the music booms on until the wee hours, we have been woken at 0400 by screaming, hollering party goers.  Even if it is not the music in the bars the cars do a continuous loop around the waterfront with the tunes just cranked. As you know, sound carries across the water but when the cars take a left off the main drag and crawl through the parking lot located below street level the sound reverberates off the stone wall and thumps into our ear drums on the boat. There are few places to anchor around the island so maybe we should just go and join the party!

After our walk around town the other day there was a local Creole concert.  I had been hoping for some local music and this was my chance.  I stayed for about 6 acts, the first one was the only one with live music, actually just a rhythm section but it was very catchy.  The rest just sang along with a CD(boring), they had dancers as well and that kept my interest.  Lots of people in the crowd knew the songs and sang along so they must have been well known on the island.  It was a huge crowd and it was great to be part of it. 

We have been trying to get our fill of Olympic coverage, but our idea of what is of interest does not seem to correspond with French TV networks, unfortunately for us. Last night we were hoping to catch some more track and field and ended up watching the last half of the French vrs Spain team handball game.  This is not a game that I am very familiar with but it turns out that it is quite vicious.  We saw guys grabbing uniforms and hauling each other down, followed by the innocent “who me” look at the referee.  The elbow to the head and the finger in the eye gouges were a bit over the top but seemed to be par for the course.  We had found a great spot to watch, the local Walmart type store with a whole array of TV’s (about 12) tuned to the track. When a customer would walk in front of a set near the floor, which had great graphics, and pause with their shopping cart, I would switch to as set over their head and continue my viewing.  We watched all the heats of the men’s 200m and some women’s javelin as well as some diving.  We would be glued to the TV and then once the commercials started would wonder off into the store and examine other merchandise.  I think we bought some dental floss to justify our presence there.

Fording a small stream

Yesterday we took the bus up into the mountains and went on a 5 hour hike.  The bus trip was unbelievable with the driver blaring the horn around every hairpin turn warning the potential unseen drivers coming towards us to beware.  There are supposedly 500 curves in the hour and a hour and a half bus ride so there was a lot of honking going on! We went through 2 tunnels that must have constructed before the buses were built, they barely fit.  I am not joking, if you put your fingers out the window (your fingers, mind you not your hand or your arms) you could scrape the stone walls.  I cringed each time we entered the tunnel sure that I would hear the bus scrapping along the side.

The scenery was spectacular on the strenuous hike.  We wound down into a ravine where there was a lovely waterfall and then ascended. I figured we would then just hike around the lip of the gorge and end up back in town, but no, there were 2 or 3 more ravines in the way and we ended up going down into and climbing up several long steep mountain sides.  The paths and the footing were pretty good, it was just a long way up each time.  I am glad that we had the hikes in Rodriguez and the climbs in Mauritius in the bank to get our legs and lungs in shape before we tackled this trek. Barry’s ankle took a beating however and he is not anxious to do much more of that kind of hiking.

We have a map with a lot of other hikes on it. It is a big tourist attraction here.  There are houses along the way where you can stop for the night. There are 5 and 6 day treks you can go on but Barry’s body just won’t handle it.  I am really happy that we were able to do one and that he is not hobbling around with a cane like he was before we got to New Zealand. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we experienced a beautiful part of La Reunion.

We are now in Reunion, a island 100 nm to the west of Mauritius, that belongs to France, they fly the French flag.   We made a very boring passage the other day, so that we would get to the entrance to the marina when there was very little swell.  There is a surf break about 100 m from the entrance to the marina and it looks pretty hairy when you enter.  We wanted to enter at a low swell level so there was very little wind on the passage, we motored, then motor sailed for about 2/3 of the journey, sailing from the middle of the afternoon until the wind dropped before midnight.  Looking at the entrance yesterday with the swell surging in we were happy we had arrived when we did.  We are busy visiting bars and restaurants trying to find the best Olympic coverage, our favourite just refused to put the Olympics on so we will walk down the road to another spot.  It is very mountainous here so we are planning on doing some inland travels which involve hiking.  The money in Reunion is the Euro and French prices are in effect, we are currently coming to grips with the fact they want about $140.00 CND for internet connection for a month, thus we are in the pub using the free wifi along with quaffing a few French beers.  We are hoping to find somewhere to watch the 100m semis and finals tonight.

And they are at the gate!

The races were fun!  I ended up even for the day, having picked a few winners and a few losers. Barry was ahead for the day until the last race when he put his money on what he thought was the correct horse but he made a mistake.  The horse he thought he had bet on won but when he went to collect his winnings he realized he had made a mistake. The racetrack is celebrating it 200th anniversary so it felt like we were following in the steps of centuries of Mauritians when we were placing our bets.  The turf looked like it was in great shape, and we had great fun joining in all the hooting and hollering at the finish line!

We have been busy since then, we took the boat about 15 km north to a spot called Riviere Noire, where we had great access to the National Park.

The boat is anchored in the bay furthest from the camera.

We climbed the tallest mountain in Mauritius at 823m. While going up this peak we had to use chains and ropes to help us up and down some of the steepest parts.  On the windward side of the mountain it was very mucky and our shoes became covered in slimy mud. I felt at times as if I was hauling around twice the weight of my ordinary shoes.  The footing was a bit treacherous in the greasy conditions and Barry and I were glad we had sturdy walking sticks.  On another day we hiked down the front of different peak for a great day's outing. Once we got to the bottom of the mountain, it was another 6 and 1/2 km to get back to the boat.  There never seemed to be much traffic on the road and we able to catch a ride.  It was a very boring, long bit of  walking at the end of a enjoyable mountain hike. 

We were on the boat and one of our fellow cruisers spotted a very weird looking roof on shore.  There is an endangered species of bird on the island called a pink pigeon.  He was sure he looking at a roof that shaped like pigeon.  One day we went out walking to clear up the mystery of the unusual roof.  We tried to get in a gated community, but the guard that was there to keep out the riff raff took look and denied us entry.  We walked along and down the road we saw a tour bus, sure enough it was stopped before the building that had the bird roof.  It turned out to be a dove and it was on a church, just when you thought you had seen everything!!!!

Here is a video that Barry took on the top of the hill overlooking Port Louis, Mauritius.  It gives you a good perspective of what the island looks like. The suburbs of  Port Louis go on for miles, it is amazing that a tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean would have so much population. Historically, Mauritius or Isle de France was a stopover to reprovision and get fresh water for sailing ships rounding the Cape of Good Hope before heading to India.  The islands symbol is the dodo bird which became extinct in the 1600's shortly after European's landed.  Their demise was precipitated by the introduction of non-native species such as rats which ate their eggs as well as humans which ate their approximately 22 kg bodies.

The other day we took a tour of the southern part of the island. We engaged a local taxi driver and his car to conduct the four of us (the crew of Cat's-Paw IV and Tagish) around. We headed to Curepipe, a town where we visited a carpet store.

 As we sat enjoyed a cup of tea, they explained how the cashmere carpets were made, the emphasis being that the carpets were hand knotted.  They were stunning, the salesman showed us how each knot was made and he explained that a 30 year veteran would trim the carpet with sheers by hand when the knotting was finished.  He said they were magic carpets and rotated it under the light, the difference in shading was magnificent as they moved the carpet. I managed to resist buying one, but wonder if I will be sorry one day.

Our next stop was at model ship building factory. A couple of ladies were threading the rigging on the 3 masted ships. It was amazing to me that they could figure out where everything went.  One fellow had small .05 cm. sq. pieces of wood that he was sandpapering, they would be the ports for the canons, one ship we saw had 3 decks of canons on the ship.  They had all the famous ships from years gone by including a model of the Bluenose, I was impressed.

We headed out to southeast side of the island and visited the site of the first European settlement on the island, the Portuguese discovered Mauritius but the Dutch were the first to name and settle the island. The Dutch had a hard time with plagues and cyclones and were unable to maintain a lasted settlement.  

The French took over and colonized the island with slaves from Africa and introduced sugar cane.  The  British attacked and took over the island in 1835, they abolished slavery and indentured servants from India were brought in to continue to harvest the sugar cane.  The British were very benevolent conquerors, allowing the islanders to maintain their language and religion to this day the dominant language in French but English is learned at school and most officials, thankfully, are bilingual.  

Our tour continued with the natural beauty of the island.  We stopped to see a natural bridge made of volcanic rock.  The bridge was on the sea shore with waves pounding through the opening under the bridge, it was quite spectacular.  Standing on that bridge you could feel and see and hear the power of the waves. I was glad to be over top rather than underneath them. 

Our next stop was at a valley that bisected the island.  It was quite a deep rift and there was a long waterfall spilling down one side.  The mist gives this picture such a haunting feeling.  

Our next stop was at an unique spot.  It was called the coloured earth, apparently the basalt in the area had broken down and given it's colour to the dirt.  No vegetation would grow so the grains of dirt would blow around and form these fabulously coloured mounds.  I haven't seen anything else quite like it in our travels.  

We headed home after looking at a possible anchorage about 20 km down the island.  I think we might head there next week.  I went on another big hike up a hill called the Corps de Garde, it was a great day.  Barry figured his ankle might not like the climb so he stayed on the boat. We managed to extend our visa today.  It was the most bureaucratic experience we have had in awhile, having to provide proof of our finances as well as copies of all the documents we were given when entering the country, custom and health clearances. (I do not think these are computerized so not easily accessed.) It took us a very long and boring 2 hours of sitting around to meet all their requirements.  Horse racing is quite a tradition on the island so on Saturday we are heading off to the races. I don't think I have ever laid a bet at a race track so this may be a first!

 HAPPY CANADA DAY 

There are three Canadian boats in the harbour and we are planning a pot luck for later in the day.  I have made a potato salad and will bring burgers and buns so we can have a little taste of home on July 1st in the middle of the Indian Ocean.  I hope all of you at home have great weather to celebrate our nation's birthday. 

Port Louis, Mauritius, looking over the harbour

Development along the waterfront

We are in Mauritius now.  It is an island which is home to about 1.4 million people.  While Mauritius was home for the descendants of African slaves and the population was 90 % black, the people here are a mixture of the offspring of African slaves and indentured servants that were brought over from India to pick the sugar cane after the slaves were freed in the early 1800's. The Indian descendants seem to be in the majority here in the capital of Port Louis.

  Mauritius has more wealth than Rodrigues and there is an economic base here, clothing is manufactured as well as a booming IT industry and lots of tourism.  There seems to be the remains of a sugar cane industry as well as the production of alcohol.  We are moored at a marina tied up to our buddies Tagish, because there is no more room at the dock.  We have access to electricity, water and best of all HOT showers. 

                                        

Buildings in the older section of town, close to China town. 

As you can see there is a huge variety of architecture in the city, from very old fashioned structures to the latest in sky scrapers.  It is all in the space of a few blocks and give the city a very unique feel. The town in surrounded by large hills and mountains and has a great natural harbour.  We went hiking up one of the big peaks just to the east of town. 

La Pousse or The Thumb, our destination.

The crew of Tagish and Barry and I took a 45 minute bus ride to the other side of the mountain and set off for the summit.  It was a glorious day, it took us about 1 and 1/2 to get up and about 2 hours to get down, as we walked all the way back into town. We met this fellow on the way up, he was on his way to market from his garden, he has fresh cilantro and green onions in his basket.  It was an easy walk through cane fields at first and then the trail became rocky and steeper up through the trees on the mountain side. Some of the footing was tricky because in the trees the soil was still wet and it was very slimy and my shoes would slip and slide. 

The last bit was very steep, and you wouldn't have wanted to slip off the edge.  There were fantastic views from the top and you could almost see clear around the island. Barry could see the boats in a harbour over 15 kilometers away. 

     

Yesterday we walked up to Fort Adelaide built in the 1830's but never really used in war. It was a much shorter walk but quite steep and I was out of breath by the time we reached the fort. Once again it had great views of the city and the harbour.  The picture at the top is actually taken from the fort.  

Notice La Pousse in the background, that really was quite a hike!

Can you make out the date on the cannon?

PROOF

Well I managed to get up on the board when Barry was in the vicinity so we have proof positive that I actually can do it.  The day was really blustery and I had a few very good face plants after being pulled half out of the water.  Some days I think I have more guts than brains. On this day the owner said we will try it out but if I felt it is too much for me we would cut the session short. The guy in the boat called it off after only a half an hour on the water.  Both of the other people that I started learning with gave up. The fellow in his late forties gave up before he even got up on the board, he was taking on too much water, the girl in her early thirties, gave up after being dragged around under water for awhile, what can I say, they are wimps. I may give it one more try before we leave, I know I am almost of the verge of really getting it and going for long runs.  

We are hoping to leave this weekend for Mauritius, there is a good weather window and who knows when the next one will be. It really blows here and it is supposed to calm t 15 knots for a few days.  It is only a 3 day sail to Mauritius so the window does not need to be very big. 

 We have finished all 8 named hikes on the island.  We had wonderful time doing them and I figure with all that upping and downing I am in better shape than I have been for quite a long time.  This picture shows the area for kite surfing, the breaking waves are on the reef, so the whole inside of the area is free of waves and perfect for kite surfing.  

This is one of the lovely small coves that we came across on our walk that went along the sea shore. The sand is fine and soft, the water warm and protected in the cove and you can watch the surf endlessly.  This is the closest the reef gets to the shore along here and those waves were 2 1/2 to 3 meters, the power in them was absolutely awesome. 

One of the only staircases we have encountered on our walks, it is down to a very popular beach.         

We rented a motorbike for a day and tootled around most of the roads on the island we had not been on before. At one point we came to the end of the pavement and a very bumpy, dirt track lead down the mountain. Barry had great fun negotiating down the hill and commented that this was the way to get down a mountain, never mind all that hiking nonsense.  

A new church on the west end of the island, close to the water.

A cathedral built in 1939, the largest in the Indian Ocean. 

                            

This is the view we had on our second last hike.  We threaded around the left side of the hill and then picked our way through a rocky path to the water side.  We have been treated to spectacular views like this on most of our hikes. There is very little industry on Rodrigues. There are lots of small farm plots where market gardening takes place, they plant lots of green beans, onions and corn. The other main thing that seems to employ people are cottage crafts.  There are all sorts of jams, pickles, and chutneys available in the main market in Port Mathurin and there are road side stalls everywhere you look. There are also a great deal of woven baskets, hats and containers that is another main craft. The other areas of employment are bus driver or conducter, school teacher and street or sidewalk sweeper.  This is the cleanest country we have been to since leaving Australia.  The other main occupation is fishing, but they catch more octopus and calamari on the reef than actual fish. 

Octopus or ourite (in French) drying on the beach

                             

This is one of my favourite houses on the island. I am not sure why but if the houses are painted and not left in their original cement block colour they are bright and beautiful.  The combination of lilac, bright canary yellow and peach is not something you would typically see in North America. WHY NOT?  These are such happy startling colours, if I ever own another home I am going to paint it like this.