Mauritius

Mauritius is a small country with the population of 1.3 million people of mixed ethnicity. Considered part of Africa, the people are mostly Indian, Muslim and African. They have an interesting history. Although colonized by Britain, everyone speaks French and Creole. Their claim to fame is the Dodo bird. Driven to extinction by the Dutch and their introduction of domestic animals, this plump and awkward bird maintained the survival skills of a cow in a crocodile pit.

Broken Compass arrived in Mauritius at sunset on November 29th. Upon arrival, customs confiscated our arsenal of spear guns. The Marina in Port Louis is entertaining... we are located adjacent to a parking lot from the best shopping mall in Mauritius. Makai spends her time on deck and is by all accounts the only husky to ever set eyes on Mauritius. Mauritius has all the exotic African animals in a zoo... but no husky. More than once we considered charging for pictures as locals and tourists snapped hundreds of shots of the blue eyed wolf dog. In the marina we enjoyed simple luxuries such as hot showers and cold drinks (remember it is summer here in the southern hemisphere).

We moved up to Grand baie for a week of sun, beaches and water sports. Our favorite place in Grand baie was the yacht club. Everyday kids race dinghys across the bay and back. One day we were teaching kids how to play American football and I saw the most amazing sight. The wind formed a small water spout (mini tornado over the water) moving toward the young sailors. The kids screamed. Three boats were tossed and capsized. The event only lasted about a minute. Fortunately none of the kids were injured.

After 2 weeks in Mauritius our pre-departure inspection resulted in a “no-go” verdict. A keystone piece of stainless steel supporting the mast had failed. We procured material and a welder to fabricate a new piece. Killing time in Mauritius is an easy task. We split our time between boat work and entertainment with friends. We visited Flick en Flac in the South, the mountains inland and drove the coastline. With the holidays approaching, we decided to stay and leave with the new year. We met the director an orphanage called Terre De Paix and gifted school supplies and toothbrushes. The toothbrushes were provided by Global Grins, a non-profit improving smiles around the world including to our friends back in Tonga.

After a breathtaking New Year firework demonstration, we are ready to depart. There seem to be a steady string of tropical disturbances and cyclones in the area as we look towards South Africa. This is likely the most dangerous passage of our journey. Pray for moderate wind and calm seas.