Week 31 - Mauritius and Reunion
Honestly, this is the first time I'm really going to say I'm tired of traveling. I know that's totally not fair, because J suffered through cool weather up until we finally got to Kenya, but I don't like the tropics and I'm tired of being hot and itchy with mosquito bites. At least Kenya has dry heat, but Mauritius and Reunion are steamy saunas, even in the shade. The only comfortable place to be is in the water, but that's beginning to feel like so much work, constantly applying sunscreen, bug spray (which doesn't work), then hanging out wet suits and towels which won't dry because it's so humid. It's just like summer in Ohio, which is my least favorite season, but without the breaks of cooler weather we sometimes get. The heat zaps my energy and makes everything seem like a huge effort. Ok, that's my vent, now back to a positive attitude.
The Mauritius-Reunion transition was a little more hectic than some, though it's only a 45 minute flight. Preparation started Saturday morning when I arranged the ground transfer from Reunion airport to our Airbnb. Then I opened my junk folder and found an email from the airline that our flight had changed. So I had to reschedule the ground transfer and because Reunion requires a PCR test done less than 24 hours before departure that had to be rescheduled, and that transportation had to be rearranged. All that took a lot of time on Saturday morning which meant I didn't get to take much of a walk because doing anything at all active once the sun is up is pretty miserable. Later we went to the beach, the kids didn't want to swim so I got to swim alone which was nice. They played in the sand.
Sunday, I made up for it by getting up early and taking a long walk and J came with me. We left the kids sleeping which makes me a little nervous, but it's good to get out together once in a while. That afternoon we tried a different beach which I didn't enjoy for swimming, but was great for observing sea creatures. I know it's strange, because I enjoy snorkeling, but for me joining the fish from a boat and swimming above them while looking down with a mask is very different from wading through sea grass until it's deep enough to swim. The issue is feeling all the creatures around my feet without being able to see them clearly or avoid stepping on them. The kids had the same feeling I did about swimming, but S had a lot of fun tree climbing and they did eventually get interested in the tide pools.
It was a beautiful location for a marine biology lesson. It rained a little just as we were getting ready to leave and Mauritius left us with a parting gift.
Monday we packed and went for our PCR tests. Because we now had a late afternoon flight, we had to go somewhere with evening hours which meant a 45 minute taxi ride. We got back late, so instead of cooking we went out to an Indian restaurant which was really yummy.
The nice thing about an afternoon flight is a relaxed morning before leaving, but generally speaking, I'd prefer to leave early so we get to the new place before dark. Unfortunately, our flight Tuesday was changed to 6:00 pm. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time and were waiting at the gate wondering when boarding was going to start when J realized the gate had changed. So we had to rush after all. The flight itself was uneventful, but we were missing a suitcase. Everyone else had cleared out and we were in the process of filing a lost luggage claim when it finally appeared. We then had to locate our driver who was looking elsewhere for us by then, at least that's what we think. He only spoke French, so there was some guessing involved. After all that, it was after 8:00 and quite dark before we reached the bungalow. The driver piled everything in the driveway and the kids and I took the first load up the stairs while J paid. J had dropped his phone at some point and I had picked it up and still had it, forgetting he might need to use translate to communicate with the driver. It's just as well though, because the kids and I soon realized the bungalow was inhabited. We hastily retreated while telling J, "This is the wrong house! Don't let the driver leave!" The driver was totally confused because J was trying to tip him without having a way to communicate that intention, so he wasn't going anywhere, thank goodness. He called the dispatcher, I called the Airbnb host, no one answered. He finally walked to the occupied bungalow and asked directions. We walked a few houses down, found the right one and left the kids there with instructions not to turn on any lights because of mosquitoes, then went back to reload the car. The woman at the first bungalow was quite nice, and when we got back to our actual bungalow another nice woman was with the kids. She introduced herself as the stepdaughter of our host, she lives in the main house on the property while the host lives in Mauritius, and explained that one of the air-conditioning units had just quit working. That turned out to be not so bad, because we were able to use a fan to direct the cool air from our room into the kids' room which was the one with a problem. It made it kind of hard to get up and down the stairs because the landing is tiny, but everyone was reasonably comfortable. We found a restaurant that was still open, but they were only able to serve take out that late and there wasn't anything vegetarian. I was too hot and tired to eat anyway so I didn't care, but J and C got fed and S and I had snacks from the snack bag. Then finally we were all able to shower and get to bed. I later figured out from the host that the lady in the first bungalow we barged in on is also her stepdaughter and a third bungalow belongs to her sister. So we're the only renters in a family compound of four houses. The bungalow is tiny, but very efficient and comfortable. The porch has mosquito curtains which helps some, and we're getting fewer bites than in Mauritius.
Wednesday we did our usual settling in chores, unpacking and figuring out resources. The grocery is about a mile, which is less than I usually walk just for fun, but carrying everything back in the heat isn't that enjoyable. The tap water is drinkable, though, so I don't have to carry that at least. Reunion is an overseas French territory so we're back to using Euros and everything is expensive. Realizing we're going to spend a ton on food and taxis motivated us to figure out the bus, which is complicated and has taken a lot of J's time. Reunion is a lot different from Mauritius in that there are more local European people, while in Mauritius they were mainly all tourists and retirees. Here there are fewer Indians but a fairly even mix of Europeans and Africans with a few east Asians. It's a much more homogeneous society with European people in service positions and multiethnic groups of people hanging out together, whereas in Mauritius it was pretty much all Indian and African workers and a European leisure class. Very few people here speak English, whereas in Mauritius the British colonized after the French, so English is the official language even though most people speak Creole and Hindi or other Indian languages. We don't really speak French, although I'm kind of surprised at how much I can understand reading. Most words relate to something similar in English, so I can figure out most signs and directions. I have no idea how to pronounce what I read, but I know some words because they're used in Lebanese and Syrian Arabic. Or maybe my absorbent mind actually did get something out of the after school French program my mom made me take in first and second grade, though all I consciously remember about it is being bullied (it was supposed to be a collaboration between IU's language program and the public schools, with IU students getting an opportunity to practice teaching and the elementary kids getting a chance at early language acquisition, but most college kids can't manage a group of mixed age elementary kids who don't want to be there, so it was just chaos, and we all know what that means for the smallest kid in a group). People are really nice about our inadequate French and we haven't really had too much trouble communicating. I totally shocked myself by placing a bakery order in French with no difficulty and not really even thinking about it much. I know numbers and pastries, please and thank you, so everything important is covered, I guess. I still believe it's good for English speakers to be forced out of our comfort zones, which really should happen more often. The compound has a pool we share with the other families so I'm hoping the kids will get past being shy and make friends. We checked it out Wednesday, and there is a girl about Collin's age, but he's pretty adamant he's not going to attempt to speak to her. He thinks she's a lot older than I think she is and that she wouldn't want to play with him. There's another little toddler girl, but she's kind of young. Even if they don't play, it's nice not to be the only people around that have kids for a change.
Thursday we waited for the air conditioning repairman, who quickly resolved the issue, and then went to the beach which is just across the street.
It's a nice long beach with lots of restaurants, and protected by a reef like the beaches in Kenya and Mauritius, though not all of Reunion is lagoon.
Friday we were ready to undertake a bus journey. Not for anything fun, but we had some errands to do to prepare for Madagascar. We never were able to get the malaria prophylaxis for the kids in Mauritius and my further research had made me doubt that what I had for J and myself was the right one, so we went to a doctor. She was really nice and we got prescriptions for everyone for a malaria prophylaxis that the parasites in Madagascar are not resistant to. Jay and I will need to renew our passports in Madagascar, so we got the pictures done and got the documents we need to enter the country printed, since they don't want digital copies. We also finally got the kids vaccinated for COVID. We weren't planning on it that day, though we've wanted to for a long time, but we realized we were near a vaccine center and decided to just see if they'd do it since we're officially back in the EU and it's approved for kids here. We won't be here long enough for them to get the second dose, but one is definitely better than none from what I've read. S had his usual histrionics about getting a shot, but neither have had any side effects. They're not even tired, which I admit I was kind of hoping for.
Today is Saturday. I spent about an hour at the pharmacy filling our malaria prescriptions, still have to go back and get more for the kids because they had to order it, but at least it's all paid for. I have enough groceries for today and tomorrow, and if the laundry ever dries I'll do another load. The kids want to play in the pool later, and since yesterday was no fun I'm letting them do what they want for the weekend. I've got two excursions scheduled for next week, a transparent kayak trip for science (marine life) and PE, and a cooking class to learn about Creole food. Both were pretty affordable, especially considering that the cooking class is going to be dinner that night. There are several other places we can go as we get more confident with the bus routes. So I'm getting back in the spirit. I'm still hot, slightly less itchy, and stressed about the Euros flowing out of my wallet, but Madagascar is already half paid for and lodging and activities are one inclusive package there, so things should even out next month. This might not have been the most exciting blog post, but I'm trying to reflect the realities of long term travel as well as the magical aspects. Looking forward to fall weather in Australia….