Breakfast on a banana, couple of sunny side ups, chicken ham sausage and bread. Nothing stellar, but does the job.

Limo for our trip is a Toyota Rav 4 that gets dropped at the hotel by the car guy. We have 2 confirmed and a baby driver, @Pascal, in our group of … .. … 3 🤣 need to find an L plate to attach to the back of the ride 😜 until we do, he's our navigator 😁
Let's aim for the top. Mount Limon it is, peak of the island. Park by the roadside, and a well marked mini hike leads us to the summit. Somewhat obstructed views, but enjoyable nonetheless.
The area around Mont Limon has been largely replanted with endemic species and birds abound.
Pascal the bird shooter and Denis our conservationist, have a blast. Denis seems to be an expert at flora, his fauna knowledge though, needs some work! Hesitates on bird identification, and can't even tell an ostrich from a canary from their respective chants 😂
For info, apparently endemic plants are sold for a rupee or two per plant on the island! Mauritius??? Follow suit???
So today, coastal hike in the east side of the island. Plan is to start wherever we thought the road ends (close to anse ally), all the way to trou d’argent (ended up close to anse femi). A few octopus hunting fisherman at the end of their shift, at the beginning of our hike.
Unfortunately could not get a close up of their catch. Hardly a soul in sight and spotless beaches. From the latter, can definitely conclude that not many Mauritians have been around!
Usual note to self: sunglasses are very useful for coastal hikes!
The hike itself was a scorching hot affair. Relentless blazing sun with the occasional shelter in the trees. On the eastern side, large expanses of white sandy beaches with relatively calm waters. As we move southward the terrain gradually gets more rugged, with the landscape morphing to terrain similar to le souffleur in Mauritius, and the accompanying crashing waves. Only deviation is that every so often we get small sections of sandy beaches protected on each side by limestone structures. Trou D’argent happens to be one of those. Quite intrigued by how these mini coves came to be.
We try to boulder on the limestone walls, but the rock is far too abrasive and brittle for us to have a proper go. Quick dip in the clear waters at trou d’Argent before a small early afternoon snack on a (lone) cranberry biscuit and 3 small ‘bonne maman’ raspberry tartelettes each. We stupidly didn't pack anything else to eat for lunch 🤣. Now, a little word on these bonne maman tartelettes! They were delicious! However they were bought from a tiny la boutik, based on their rustic looking packaging, which (I thought) made them look like local treats! MADE IN FRANCE! even their biscuits are rubbing it in, with their latest world cup victory! Marketing people, you have owned me once more!
On the way back, we follow what we think are ‘trail de Rodrigues’ markings and the path offers much more cover from the sun. First snack we come across, no more food! Only cold bottle of Orangina to be had😯
Luckily 15 mins walk later, we stumble upon ‘Solange Robert’, a crumbling shack with roof made from loosely packed dried coconut leaves. Only food left: deliciously tender octopus marinated in lemon juice and finely sliced onion, with raw papaya salad on the side and crispy hot garlic bread! Bliss!
Main hike over. Shade over 5 hours, including lunch and around 10k on undulating terrain. Easy peasy 😀
On the way back, mini walk to Plage fumier which i was told was a must see. Looks just like Plage st francois if you ask me!
Next mission; order the Rodrigues famous fruit tourtes made by Marylou Augustin!
Road leading to her ‘tourterie’ is a steep 4x4 road track. In my 2x4 I would have tackled the track eyes closed. In a mommy geared suv with treadless (worn out) front tyres on front drive, flat spare tyre and chassis barely off the ground! Ahem! Heard the bottom of the car scrape the ground (luckily just grass! ) on a few occasions! Nearly turned back on a muddy spot before a local assured us it was ok! Tourtes ordered, the way back up was even more challenging! Try to go too fast and the wheels skid! Go too slowly and the engine stalls! So had to feather both the throttle and the clutch which gave rise to a worrying burnt clutch smell! The car survived!😊
Follow up with a coastal drive from port mathurin back to Mont Lubin via anse aux anglais. Back at the hotel around 6.30 where I'm hoping to catch the end of the tour de France. No luck, none of the 5 channels available are airing😭.
Yummy dinner as per attached pictures and collapse in bed at 10!

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