“Turtle time”
“If you wait until next summer we will have Rodrigues farmed pearls for sale”. The lady owner of the small boutique proudly answered our question. The pearls available were all Chinese. In the future this might be the only export industry on this small island. The locals are all extremely friendly and points out that crime is almost non-existent (although there is a prison nearby) compared to sister island Mauritius. If you feel stressed, looking for peace and friendly faces and “turtle time” as our sailing buddies Carmel and Gerry named it, Rodrigues is the Island getaway for you. Sunday we experienced some “stress”. The weekly supply ship was due to arrive. All yachties were notified on a black board to leave the harbor by 2 pm. We left early and used the time at the outer anchorage to get a nice lunch at one of the few “western” restaurants close by. The “Blue Marlin” restaurant serves delicious meals and drinks for a very decent price. Once the supply ship entered the small harbor area we experienced a bit of “navionic testosteronics”. All (male?) captains fired up the engines, hoisted anchor and followed the big ship in its wake to make sure “their” spot wasn’t taken. What was a bit special was that we were 13 boats to get along in a 150 by 150 meter quadrant. Last time we had this intimacy at anchor was in Bequia 2016.
As mentioned, we are now in turtle mode. We have a long list, added to during the long sailing from Sumatra that we need to work through. Some stuff requires a bit more sophisticated services, like a lower shroud with broken strands that needs replacing before we leave for the final South Africa leg. Some stuff is more basic. As always a Chinese hardware store have most of what we need. We have plenty of time so we have agreed the principle of no work after 12.00 or on weekends. Tomorrow we’ll rent a scooter and do some more extended sightseeing of this lovely island.
S/Y Tina Princess 