Altair Cruising Log

We are now in Reunion but will start this with Rodrigues where we left you hanging at the end of our last log. The island of Rodrigues is part of the independent country of Mauritius which is located 330 miles to the west. Rodrigues is the smallest of the three islands in this part of the Indian Ocean measuring only 5 by 11 miles and supports a population of about 37,000 people. It made a nice, easy reintroduction to a busier pace of life. When we first arrived the small one-way streets seemed teaming with life and a bit overwhelming, we found ourselves constantly dodging scooters and small, quickly moving cars. We adjusted quickly, found the closest bakery and easily got back into the habit of fresh baguettes for breakfast. The bakery was a short walk and everyone took turns going ashore by dinghy and for baguettes each morning.

What a great people! We spent more time interacting with and visiting in the homes of the local people here than in any other country. We hiked up into the hills through small farms and among tethered goats to spectacular views of the harbor. On the way down we were invited to join a group of young men in the shade of a tree who were sipping rum and lazing away the afternoon. Before long other family members came out of the nearby homes to meet us as well. The next day we had a few of them out to see Altair. Next we met Alain who had grown up here but now lives in Sydney. He invited us to lunch at the house of his cousin Ben in one of the oldest houses in town, a house we had admired and taken photos of the day before. What a treat to sip Phoenix, the excellent local beer, on the veranda. The lunch was wonderful spiced pork that we piled on fresh baguettes topped with a green mango salad made with local ‘piments’ (hot peppers). Ben is one of the island characters and a film crew came by after lunch to film a tourist spot of him playing his accordion on the veranda. We were also guests at the home of James Waterhouse and his wife Fifi. James keeps a record of all the yachts that have visited Rodrigues since 1990. He has each yacht sign the book and it has grown to several volumes.

The excellent bus service made it fun and easy to explore the island. You could hop on the bus in the morning to one location, hike along the dramatic coastline and catch a return bus to town at the end of the day. And all for about US$1.40 round trip. Each bus had a driver and a conductor who would walk down the aisles collecting fares cranking a ticket out of an old-fashioned hand wound machine. Roger, a British friend exploring with us, said it reminded him of riding the buses in England as a child.

Waiting for a return bus, we met Brian and Maureen on holiday from Zimbabwe. It was interesting to talk with them about their life in Zimbabwe and a bit about South Africa where their children now live. They commented on how relaxed and easy the relationships were here in Rodrigues between whites and blacks, so very different from the constant tension they feel at home theses days. We had them for dinner on Altair one evening and hope to catch up again some day.

We got a couple of yachts together and took a tour of the island to see the sights. Tourism is in its infancy in Rodrigues but we found several tour companies with shiny new vans to chose from. Our driver picked us up on the wharf and we headed across the island to pick up the rest of the group and our guide. We think it is great for the local economy to have both a driver and a guide for each tour. Highlights of the tour included spectacular views on the road with 52 curves and an underground cave with stalagmites and stalactites many of which had been named, making the somewhat uninspiring cave much more interesting and somewhat comical – Great Wall of China, Winston Churchill, Heart of the Cave, King Kong, among others.

Port Mauthrin, the main city on Rodrigues, has a wonderful bustling Saturday market, our first chance to buy plentiful, excellent fruit and vegetables at inexpensive prices since we left Darwin six weeks before. It was nice to see so many things that are grown locally with the exception of grapes, oranges and apples imported from South Africa. There were an overwhelming number of tables piled high with watercress, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, hot peppers, pineapples, etc. One of our visual favorites were the large pumpkins (squashes) - dark green on the outside and brilliant yellow gold inside, cut in wedge shaped slices with a large knife. Some pumpkins were so large you could barely get your arms around one.

It was difficult to pull ourselves away when it came time to move on. When we checked out the coast guard officer made a special point to let us know we are always welcome here, with special thanks for our help pulling a yacht off the reef in the dark. There will always be a fond memory in our hearts for the friendly people Rodrigues.

The trip between Rodrigues and Mauritius took three days with great sailing in 15 knots and a full moon so bright you could read a book. With the great visibility and manageable winds we sailed through the outer islets off the north shore of Mauritius and arrived in the capital of Port Louis at first light. After the relaxed life style of Rodrigues, Mauritius with 1.2 million people on an island perhaps twice as large was a shock to all the senses. It is one of the most densely populated places on earth with over 600 people per square kilometer!

We were overwhelmed by the constant cries of the street hawkers and the hustle and bustle of the market place. They have recently completed a new modern building for fruit and vegetables but the ‘meat department’ is still housed in the original older buildings over 100 years old. There are separate buildings, one each for beef, pigs, goats, fish and chickens. You can get any kind of chicken at one stall – eggs, live baby chicks, live adult chickens, whole dead chickens complete with head and feet, whole dead chickens minus head and feet, chicken cut up in pieces. Take your pick. We would love to say that we have shopped just like the locals, but our stomachs have urged us to shop for frozen meats in the supermarkets. We did enjoy shopping for fruit and vegetables, choosing from the many tables piled high with local produce and only a short walk from the marina. There was also a food court with an amazing array of Indian and Chinese dishes adapted with local Creole flavors. We enjoyed sampling the various dishes had several delicious, very inexpensive lunches here.

All Mauritians are descendants of immigrants, former slaves or former indentured Indian workers. Since there is no native population everyone seems to get along very harmoniously with none of the angst found in other countries between the local and immigrant populations. Although everyone gets along easily, there is little intermixing on a social level. The majority of the population is of Indian descent with the other 45 percent made up of Creoles (blacks or mixed race), Chinese and Europeans; most speak French or Creole on the street but many also speak English. The British abolished slavery in 1835, freeing 66,000 slaves and paying an indemnity to the owners. The following year, the French sugar barons, desperate for a fresh source of labor began to import field workers from India. Between 1836 and 1910 the sugar barons brought 450,000 indentured laborers from India to Mauritius. As the various cultures have mixed and interacted things have combined for a wonderful cross-cultural mix and delicious cuisine. The world could learn from this small island.

After clearing customs, we tied Altair up at La Marina for 250 Rupees (US$10) per night; there is no anchorage in the capital city of Port Louis. La Marina is part of the large Caudan development, a complex of shops and offices along with a casino, hotel, cinema and numerous restaurants, all very up market. The complex was developed in the past five years incorporating older stone buildings from the 1800’s and much of the new architecture is in a style reminiscent of years past for a wonderful overall feeling.

Being the first boat on the wall of the marina basin we did feel a bit like we are in a fish bowl. Many locals come to look at the foreign yachts and stroll through Caudan. They were not shy about looking in the cockpit and asking questions while we were having dinner. Their interest was genuine and it was fun to share with them answering questions ranging from where we were from to the number amps produced by our solar panels and wind generator. The area also seemed to be lover’s lane as at most hours of the day the park benches were occupied with lovers oblivious to what was going on around them. There even seemed to be a waiting area for the prime benches.

Mauritius is a success story in the African economic sphere; a growing offshore banking business and large garment industry contributes to the strong local economy. Many trendy and hip brands are made in Mauritius including Quicksilver, Peace Angle and Roxy. There were large crowds shopping at Caudan the week we were there which coincided with the big end of season sales before changing over to the new styles.

The traffic racing from one stoplight to the next kept us on our toes but we had a great time exploring the streets and their many shops. Many shops in the older part of town were only four feet wide but stretched back into dark recesses hiding numerous treasures. We always felt safe walking about even at night. There was a busy four-lane road separating the waterfront Caudan complex from the older town and market. To reach the central city, we took a pedestrian underpass that ran under the roadway. At times the four-lane road seemed like a moat keeping the hawkers at bay on the older side and creating an artificial ‘island’ at Caudan.

Port Louis is a wonderful mix of old French and British buildings that are found next to sleek, modern ones with their clean lines; an interesting contrast. While many older buildings are in great shape, others are very worn and in disrepair but creating a wonderful patchwork quilt of architecture. With the multi-racial population the city also has a wide range of places of worship including mosques, Hindu temples, Catholic churches and Chinese temples, some popping up in the most unlikely places. We visited the Natural History Museum to see a replica of the famous Dodo a large, flightless bird that was brought to extinction by visiting sailors who found it easy prey.

As with Rodrigues we hired a van for a day to explore the island with other yachties. We visited an area in the southwest with waterfalls and colored earth, seven different colors that will actually separate if mixed together. Casela Bird Park allowed us to see a variety of tropical birds and other animals including lemurs and tortoises from Madagascar. The lemurs were hiding in their trees in the middle of their cages until we enticed them to come closer by crinkling a plastic bag. They were pretty keen to see what we had to offer and all the lemurs in the various cages were quickly front and center. The highlight of the day was a tour of a sugar mill where sugar cane is crushed and turned into crystallized sugar and as a by-product - rum. It was fascinating to watch the process among the fast moving machinery, noise and heat. The cane is crushed six times, mixed with water along the way, to extract all of the juice and sugar. The left over cane pulp is then burned to power the sugar mill; they only use 40% of the power that they generate and sell the remaining 60% to the electric utility. It was interesting to see the process and taste the sugar at various stages. At the end we got to dip our hands in the finished crystallized sugar for a taste, something we are sure would not be allowed in the United States. The final part of the tour covered the making of rum from molasses and a tasting of their various rums.

Both of us being Patrick O’Brien fans (of Master and Commander fame) we read the fourth book in the series on the passage from Cocos Keeling to Rodrigues – “The Mauritius Command” – it just somehow seemed appropriate. While in Mauritius we took the bus across the island to visit the naval museum and see paintings depicting the major historic battle in the book. It was great to see cannons and other artifacts recovered from ships sunk during the battle while walking through an old house that was used as a hospital for those injured during the battle, including both commanders. We felt transported back in time.

We visited an old Creole mansion, Eureka House, which has been restored and displays a wide range of furniture from colonial times, many made from exotic woods. All the rooms were interconnected but there were no interior hallways; this was the purpose of the verandas. The house has 107 French doors to help with ventilation and to keep the house cool. There are windows above all the French doors and panels that could be pushed open over all interior doorways to increase circulation. A great, simple design so well suited to the local environment.

After ten days we made the jump from Mauritius to Reunion, a quick 24-hour sail of 128 miles. We left Port Louis early in the afternoon and had a nice sail down the west coast of Mauritius; it was a pleasure to sail with land in sight. At dusk we started the hop across the short stretch of open ocean to Reunion. The passage was okay but a bit choppy and only a small moon that did not rise until 3:00am, so different from our passage from Rodrigues to Mauritius with the full moon! We raised the SE corner of Reunion at dawn and had a nice sail along the southern coast with 25 knots behind us pushing us along at seven knots. Reunion is much higher in elevation that Mauritius, 8,200 feet compared with 2,700, steep slopes and a very dramatic shoreline. We had a pod of pilot whales (at least we think that is what they were) surfing the waves along with us just before we approached our destination, the town of Saint Pierre. The wind was blowing 20 knots, gusting to 25 and of course increased just as we were ready to take down the main and enter the harbor, blowing 30 gusting up to 40 knots. We debated continuing on or entering here to visit with friends and decided to go in. All went well but it's a fairly narrow entrance with tight turns inside to get to the marina, made for 20 tense minutes as we entered and tied up to the dock. Fortunately Altair has a great motor and turns well with her max prop so the tight quarters were not a problem. But we were certainly glad to be safely tied up to the dock! The wind continued to howl in the marina, we had to lean into the wind as we walked up the dock to visit with the officials.

What a great place! The marina has been enlarged from the original construction, originally a moorage with seawall it is now a marina with larger seawall. The old stone dry dock has been here more than 200 years. Its fun to imagine the square rigged ships from the 1700’s being repaired on the same spot. Of course they could not fathom the fine shops and topless girls on the beach that border the old dry dock today!

Reunion has been great with its spectacular mountain scenery. We have enjoyed our stay here but will save the tale of our adventures until the next installment. We are off tomorrow morning for Richards Bay, South Africa, about 85 miles up the coast from Durban. The passage is about 1,400 miles, about two weeks with luck. Until then, hope all is well with everyone, and for those Americans we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday next week.

Cheers – Suzette, Paul and Altair
Saint Pierre, Ile de Reunion, France