Well we are having a really great time here in Port Louis but it hasn't been without its problems.
The marina itself is completely different to how it suggests it should be in the pilot book, and it was pretty much completely rebuilt and resigned (for the better) a couple of years ago. Also its not costing us an arm and a leg to stay here, especially as its now out of high season, its only 21 Euros a night and this includes electricity and water so I can use my washing machine and tumble dryer to my hearts content !! There are a few small shops, bars & restaurants, a really great market on Saturday mornings, superb beaches and brilliant rock pools when the tide is out. We had a visit round the citadel and its museum, which included a history of the lifeboat (some very scary videotapes to watch!) and also the history of the East India Trading companies. The citadel itself is a huge imposing fortress on the river entrance surrounded by a tidal moat and the wall then runs all the way around the town completely protecting it and giving it great shelter from the elements.
Also there are regular buses and ferries to the main town so we can go to a larger supermarket in Lorient across the river. Unfortunately these services don't run later than about 7pm as we found out when Aids Kidney Stones returned crippling him with pain and seemingly not abating as the pains have been doing so in the last month. I will NEVER slag off the NHS again - it is a superb service that we know is just there when we need it. My first challenge was getting Adrian to Lorient hospital which by road is about 20-30km away. You'd think you just call emergency services and an ambulance would turn up, but no, this is France and if there's a complicated way to do it then that's how we'll proceed........ sorry on a rant now ..........I finally found a very helpful French man on his boat in the marina (marina office was closed and the cleaner didn't speak French and my schoolgirl French can only order a coffee and a baguette!) who spoke some English, he then went through the yellow pages (what the f**k) to find an ambulance, the local one was unable to come, so we then found the number of the local fire brigade who thankfully agreed to come. Have to say here girls, I was torn, my husband who I love dearly was in considerable pain but I was surrounded by four hunky fireman - it was a dilemma, what's a girl to do?
Anyway we arrived at Lorient hospital after about 30-40 minutes in the ambulance at about 8pm. Finn and I had to wait in a crappy filthy waiting room with uncomfortable wooden seats for the next two hours, luckily I'd had the sense to pack Finns DS and some snacks to keep us alive (well we hadn't had supper !), eventually we we're led to Aids bed in a miniscule room he was sharing with another patient, this room made the waiting room look positively sterile in comparison. The pain had stopped pretty much on the way to hospital but Aid was X-rayed and had some blood tests to check the kidney function. We were told the results should be back any minute, anyway we waited till nearly midnight (another two hours) and picked up our stuff to leave, it was pointless, we were being ignored and we were getting very tired and pissed off. Aid had been offered no pain medication and no water to drink. On leaving the room the doctor saw us and told the results had come in. X-ray spotted nothing and kidneys fine - maybe the stones were now broken down or had moved south towards the end of their journey....who knows
Finally we managed to find a taxi after walking to the train station and got home about 0130.
Aid had another 3 hours bout of pain last night. This time we didn't bother with the hospital, I just hope he manages to expel the buggers soon..........
To end on a lighter note, Adrian's dad, Phil, is flying out to act as crew for us for the next leg across Biscay. It will be a good milestone to tick off and although the weather has been fantastic here the water is still very cold so we've not been able to swim. Fingers crossed that the dramas are now well and truly behind us.....................................