Farewell Rodriguez

Its 6:30 am. The wind is awake, rumbling in the rigging, calling as I struggle below with the internet, trying to coax some weather over the local phone network. At last. Winds for the next three days 10 to 15 knots from the SE. Perfect for the 330 mile sail to Mauritius. Eitan and I will put back out amongst the waves this morning after we go ashore and stoke up with fresh bread and a few more vegetables. Irena, now in Singapore will meet us in Mauritius on Saturday.

The big sail beyond Mauritius to South Africa is still weeks away, but already, I am watching the weather and learning the tricks to tackle this difficult passage. To reach South Africa we must leave behind the brisk but consistent SE trade winds of the Southern Indian Ocean and venture south of Madagascar into the cyclonic storms spawned by the great Southern Ocean. Low pressure systems are spun north east every three to four days from south of the Cape of Good Hope, with SW winds typically of 30 knots or so. These winds meet the south west flowing Agulhas Current creating very big seas. www.passageweather is an excellent place to watch this weather phenomena.

But that's all later. For this week, we will pull up our sails, set the fishing lines and enjoy a great sail to Mauritius.

Cresswell

Rodriguez - A place away from time…..

What would you imagine about a small, sub-tropical island, with less than 40,000 people, tucked deep in the South Indian Ocean, a 1000 miles from anywhere? About a place of predominately African people, living a lifestyle heavily influenced by the French? A place where life revolves around the weekly supply vessel and the Saturday morning, oh so early, market in the small main village, where nearly everyone on the island is there, either selling or buying?

It’s clean! It’s friendly! It’s gorgeous!

Clean air, clean water, clean land. The place seems untouched by human hands, except to

farm small holdings, to build small dwellings, and to pass the time in happy, timeless companionship of family and neighbours.

Rodriquez is serene, with peaceful people reclining in a peaceful outlook, living in a sumptuous blend of natural earth tone vistas, from the arid leeward deserts to lush, fruitful windward farmscapes. A land framed in every direction by broad turquois reef waters reaching out to the white reef breakers, still audible from shore sometimes 5 km away, a deep blue, white-cap-crested sea beyond.

Here, somehow most places can see most other places, feel most places, be most places. It’s as if the island is a single body, with everything and everyone sharing a common heartbeat.

Looking down from the main road, a twisty, narrow paved two lanes, we run along atop the high ridge that spans the length of Rodriguez astride a couple of small motorcycles, sucking in our breath in the cool higher air at vista after vista out to sea. The island is only about 10 k on its longest axis, maybe 3 km at its widest. Eitan says “I think my first motorcycle ride will be the most beautiful ride I will ever take”. I think this is the prettiest, most peaceful, happy place I have ever been.

Twice we have rented motorcycles and toured around the island. Once for sightseeing, once to take our first kiteboarding lesson.

We have been on Rodriquez about 10 days and expect to be here about 10 days more before we set sail for the bigger island of Mauritius.

I can’t imagine we'll ever find a place prettier than this.