116. The Isle of Rodrigues
14 October 2014
The Customs, Immigration and Quarantine officers came aboard in quick succession, and we were soon free to go ashore and explore Port Mathurin. The narrow streets in the centre of this bustling little town are crammed with a wide assortment of shops, occupying an attractive mix of premises ranging from colonial era stone buildings to modern concrete structures. Irrespective of age, the majority are well looked after, with many of them painted in primary colours and others decorated with murals. The market at the edge of town offers an abundance of wonderfully fresh fruit and vegetable, and there are also stalls selling locally produced specialities such as lemon and chilli pickles, honey, or crafts such as basketwork and wooden toys. Outside are a series of kiosks, each specialising in either chicken, beef, pork, goat or fish. The market is particularly lively on Saturday mornings, when people from all over the island do their weekly shop.
Rodrigues was uninhabited before the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century. The current population of 38,000 is mainly descended from African slaves freed from the plantations of Mauritius. The official language is English, but most people prefer to speak Creole, which is much closer to the language of the earlier French colonists. Rodriguans voted against independence from Britain in 1967 with a 90% majority, but were outvoted by the greater number of Mauritians, with whom they are politically joined. Rodrigues is allowed a degree of autonomy in its affairs, with a Regional Assembly, which occupies an imposing art deco building at the back of quay, and an Executive Council, which sits in 'La Residence', a house built in 1873 for the British chief commissioner. An example of their independent forward thinking is that plastic bags have been banned, which has greatly contributed to the lack of litter around the island. Overall, there seems to be a very happy feel among the people we encountered.
The island is about 10 miles long by 5 miles wide, with a rugged, hilly interior. Volcanic in origin, it is surrounded by a wide lagoon protected by a coral barrier reef. The road out of Port Mathurin climbs steeply in a series of hairpin bends to the town of Grande Montagne, situated on a ridge at an elevation of 350m. From there, a series of roads radiate down through narrow valleys to small villages nestling by the sea, only a few of which are linked by coastal roads. The island is served by an extensive network of buses, which are individually named and colourfully decorated, most of them terminating at the bustling station on the edge of Port Mathurin. On our second day, we rode on one up to the hill-side village of Citronelle and returned via a rather poorly marked path through dense woodland, across scrubland and down steep escarpments, eventually reaching the coast at Anse aux Anglais. On the way we passed through remote villages where women were washing clothes in streams and men were tending their crops. We were particularly struck by the pride that people took in the building of their ornate and colourful homes. After a paddle in the sea and an ice-cream, we walked back along the road to Port Mathurin. On another day, we took the bus to Graviers on the far side of the island, and from there walked the coastal path via Trou D'Argent to St. François. This is a delightfully scenic route, running along the top of low limestone cliffs, around horseshoe coves and across sandy beaches, with a backdrop of grassy hills on which goats were grazing. There are lovely views across the turquoise lagoon towards the ocean beyond the reef. Afterwards, we had lunch at 'Mazararoo', a low-key restaurant which is little more than a shack beside a partially covered courtyard, but with a reputation for cordon bleu cooking. We then caught another bus back to Port Mathurin.
Rodrigues was once home to giant tortoises, but they became extinct after all had been taken for food by the crews of passing ships. They are being reintroduced at the François Leguat Reserve, albeit with two different species originating from Madagascar and the Seychelles. Around two thousand of them roam about on a canyon floor like a scene from 'The Lost World'. Also at the reserve is a colony of Rodrigues fruit bats, which are golden brown in colour, large and almost cuddly. The breed had been close to extinction and was the world's rarest bat in the 1970s, but numbers have since increased from a low of seventy individuals to several thousand today. It is too late, sadly, to save the solitaire, a large flightless bird that became extinct, like its cousin the dodo. An added attraction at the reserve is a network of limestone caves which can be toured with a guide, who entertains visitors with special lighting to highlight the strange shapes of the stalactites and stalagmites. Back at ground level, there is a small museum, a restaurant and, of course, a souvenir shop.
We had driven to the reserve in a somewhat battered utility vehicle that we'd hired from a Chinese general store in town, so took the opportunity of driving the length and breadth of the island. In almost every bay we saw groups of double-ended open boats hauled up on the beach or on moorings, and others out fishing under their lateen style sails. The large St. Gabriel church, which stands at the centre of the island, has an imposing stone west wall, towers and portico, but the other walls and roof look delicate in comparison. However, it has been built in a hollow surrounded by trees, which would probably provide protection in the event of a cyclone. We ended the day at Chez Jeannette, a guesthouse and restaurant, where we and a couple of residents ate at a large table with the proprietor and his family. The set menu that evening was a delicious Creole style meal, including, for a starter, the island's signature dish of octopus salad.
Having our boat moored alongside a quay was convenient for getting ashore, but the downside was the dust that blew onto our decks, including steel swarf which left rust stains on the fibreglass. Throughout the week, the area was busy with cheerful dock workers moving cargoes, such as emptying a container full of rice sacks onto pallets. Occasionally, someone would wander over for a chat - perhaps to enquire after the prospects of Portsmouth football club! Four or five other yachts were with us for most of the time, including "Calico Jack" and "Dragon's Bane". Two that we hadn't seen before were the British boat "Seventh Heaven" with Paul and Anne, and "Jerrican", a steel boat from South Africa with Jeremy and Anita, their son and girlfriend on board. We concluded that Rodrigues was one of the friendliest and most enchanting places we've visited, and we would love to have stayed longer. But we still hoped to visit another two islands before the start of the cyclone season, which was approaching all too rapidly.
The 380 mile passage to Mauritius should only have taken three days, but it ended up stretching to nearly four. We were frustrated by calm spells, periods of intermittent squalls when we had insufficient sail in between, and times when the current or tide was against us. At least we managed to catch a mahi-mahi by way of compensation. We first sighted Mauritius during the third morning when the nearest land was still 35 miles away, and by sunset, the jagged peaks were looking particularly impressive silhouetted against a pale orange sky. We passed the top of the island around midnight, and, with 20 miles to go to Port Louis, we ghosted down the west coast in a gentle breeze under minimal sail, timing our arrival in harbour for daybreak.