Rodrigues Day 3:

After yesterday's ‘semi active day’ today we go the more traditional touristic route, sightseeing.
First order of business however is to sort out the car shoes, else, friendly as Murphy is, it's either a breakdown in waiting or a fine for running on worn out tyres! Show up at the car owner’s literally la boutik sintok and we're told we need to have the offending consumables swapped, since there was no spare car. Lose a good hour in the process. Nothing can do😒
Head to Francois legat tortoise and cave reserve. We really were only interested in the caves there, but the whole thing comes as a package. The park is owned by the same people running la vanille crocodile park back home and is a conservation area for endemic plants. In a nutshell, aforementioned endemic plants, tortoise galore (aldabra, radiata and the now extinct in the wild, 'a soc') and cave discovery, all wrapped up by a very imaginative and entertaining guide. Quite pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.
We had the option of staying on site for lunch or try to find another less touristy place. Decided on the latter! So headed to the south coast via port sud est, but nothing in sight till we got to mourouk, by which time it was already 2.30. The driver in training had at that point taken the reigns of the horses and on the sight of a food caravan, nearly veered off road, onto ground a good meter (if not more) below. 😂🤣 THAT"S A FAMISHED PASCAL FOR YOU! 🤣
A few resto options and we ultimately end up at snack lagon bleu. I'll say it outright, if you are in the area, it's the place to avoid! It took over an hour just to get a simple plate of chicken croquettes. And the place wasn't all that busy to start with! Add another 30 odd minutes to get the main course, which was just not worth the wait! After yummy salad and civet for lunch and dinner on the eve, I complete the octopus hat trick with Chewy vindaye ourite.
End of the meal, my job literally as the service Bob starts. The guys have been having some beer for the last 2 days during lunch, and me being the Bob… … … it was my turn taking the wheels anyway, so no biggie 😀
Stop on the way back via the 'scenic' (aren't they all scenic around here? ) route to what's claimed to be the largest cathedral in the Indian ocean. Stone walls, profilage type roof, altar and the usual churchy furnishings, minus stained glass!
Just enough time to check out a hike trail from mont tonnerre, which supposedly goes all the way down to baie aux huitres. Trying to convince the guys that we should tackle this one. Not much success so far 😜
On gourmet Pascal's special request, final stop of the day on the way down to port mathurin to buy some sintok sausages. Normally steamed in Mauritius, BBQed they are here! No revelation here, the Rodrigues version is a bit less juicy with a hint of smoke from the charcoal. Almost the same if you ask me 😛
Dinner as per attached pictures.
Special mention from the non 'sweet toother' for the dessert, the best banana tart I have ever eaten in my life!
Just the right amount of crunch and crumble from the base, the pureed cooked banana imparts the sweetness and bulk of the flavour, thin layer of creme patissiere giving some relief from the normally very sweet treat and coconut flavour and texture to finish with a bang!

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