September 4th

Saturday, the 2nd, we just had a laid back, island living day. The highlight was making our own dinner. We found a flank steak at our local mom and pop grocery store. So we made a marinade of red wine, mustard, honey, garlic, and S&P. The red wine is a mauritian one (we tried it and decided it was our cooking wine- the only thing local to be drinking will be their rum, just sayin'.)  After the steak chilled a couple of hours in that goodness, we put it in a foil lined skillet with a small bit of oil and marinade, covered it with more foil. Another 45 minutes and we eating it with some basmati brown rice and drizzle of a package cream pepper sauce. It turned out very good. the steak was so tender and juicy from the marinade and the packaged sauce, with sauteed/caramelized red onions was surprisingly very flavorful, adding creaminess and depth to the dish. We also had cucumber and avocado slices. A South African Cab Sav. rounded out the great meal.

Sunday, the 3rd, what a beautiful day, yesterday was. Jeff was finally up for a big walkabout! We went to the local beach, Trou aux Birches, about 4-5 blocks; took off our shoes and just walked the water shoreline down the length of the beach. There are quite a bit of broken coral bits washing up in the surf. The day is calm, about mid 70's, sunshine, and the water is ribboned with so many greens and blues. We realized we have not been walking in water since we were in Essaouira!! It was such a good day we decided to go on to the next beach. We had to traverse rocks and miniature pine cones- we were silly and didn't put our shoes back on first. So, yes, pine cones. The beaches here are different. There is sand, and it is white, cool to touch and fine texture, but the sand part of the beach is only 6-10 feet wide. The beach is then grass-covered and lined with rows of pine trees, hence pine cones. The bonus is shade and reprieve from the sun; downside, yooou need to put shoes back on! Arrived at the next beach, Mont Choisy Beach. This beach is much bigger and many locals are here today. They are big family reunions as such: some have umbrellas; some awnings; and some tents! But it is a whole family outing- from babies waddling in diapers, to grandparents showing them how to use a duck float. Each group seems to have some music playing at various sound levels and different beats, but all island rhythm. And of course, there's the food! Oh man!!!  The aromas and smoke wafting through the air- if you weren't hungry, you are now! Yuuummm! We were hungry and thankfully there are also food trucks. We picked Sundeck Beach Food since 1989. (Hey, I remember that year! For a food truck I imagine that is along time ago.)  Anyway, we had a chicken kebab with slaw as a sandwich, and Mauritian masala platter: chicken curry with masala- a crepe/tortilla type bread, french fries, a samosa and slaw salad. Both were great! The kebabs had a touch of sweet, tangy sauce- like BBQ sauce. The platter: well, the curry was outstanding just right amount of heat- at the end you had a slow, mild burn in your mouth. By itself the curry was atouch salty, but when you ate it with the fries or the masala, as Indians do- voila, balanced nicely.

Anyway, great day! Unfortunately, as we were heading back the two mile trek home, I had to find a restroom urgently. Not the way I wanted the day to end. I was punked out after this. We did watch our back home church service on ZOOM and we linked up with our families. Our oldest nephew had his birthday today- Happy Birthday T.J.!!!

Today we won't do much, I'm still “tender”. Hopefully my issue has passed, but I don't want to be far from a facility. God bless you all.