Positives and negatives and tours in between

Yesterday we arrived in la Possesion, one of the bigger towns on Reunion Island off the east coast of Madagascar.

It is under French rule and government with a very strong Indian as well as Creole population.  

We hadn't booked any tours and rather explore by ourselves so caught the shuttle bus into town and had a look around.  

There was a meet and greet organised by the local council at the town hall which we had a look at but they took forever so we left early.

Visited the grand market which was mainly souvenirs; visited the Hindu temple; the local fruit and veg market, with prices that were fairly high in comparison.

I continued down to the foreshore area for a look and then made my way back to the ship. 

It was ok, but not a place I would visit again.

At night we had dinner with all of us at the Asian restaurant on board to celebrate my *1 birthday. 

As a surprise, and in my honour ( because I am awesome and admired) the whole group had organised the same tattoo as me.

Never thought my wife or mother in law would do that.

Luckily they are temporary but still hard to get off, so they have some explaining to do for the next few days 😜

Finished the dinner with a birthday cake compliments of the ship. 

The following day, yesterday we arrived in Mauritius, in Port Louis.

Took a while, but after some haggling got a local taxi driver to take us on a tour for the day/7 hours, to multiple places around the island.  We started at a local business that makes miniature replicas of old sailing ships. Beautiful craft work, to the finest detail, and an average size ship takes approx 1 month to build. 

From there we moved on to an extinct volcano location and viewing over the island. 

Then on to another Hindu temple and sacred lake, which was very interesting. 

Made our way through the local tea farms and fields to the nature park which holds the largest and biggest creep (correct collective noun) of tortoises.

Wow, They were huge...

After a quick lunch it was time to head back to the ship.  We had a very informative driver, happy to explain the landmarks and chat about the local life in general.

Back on board it was time for a swim and cool off after the hot day.

As my father in law was experiencing a runny nose we got him tested and yes, he was covid positive, so into isolation on deck 8.

Back in the room Wendy and I also tested and Wendy also positive 😓

So she ended up also in isolation next to her father. 

No covid on the ship for the last 5 months while the ship was in African waters, until the Aussies came on, and most likely picked up from the bus trips all together.  So far only 10 cases, very well managed and they are locked after, luckily in a balcony room.

Wendy tested negative the last two tests so may be allowed out today, fingers crossed. 

We have been at sea the last couple of days on our way to the Seychelles, arriving tomorrow morning and staying in Port overnight.  

Until after then, that's all folks.