Mauritius Memories: Sunday 13th August and Monday 14th August 2017

Notes about Sunday...

We're still hitting the pillows and falling asleep so quickly that I'm struggling to keep up the holiday diary. Will try to do brief notes about yesterday and today as a memory jogger...

Sunday - kids played a spot of tennis. If was great to see Miss T enjoying it so much after her #tennis4kids LTA sessions earlier in the year. 

Then off to see the animals whilst dodging the downpours. 

Before we knew it it was time for lunch.

We joined in the coconut bowling which was crazy but fun. Then it was pool time and then the beach for a short while before sunset. 

Dinner was booked at Les Filaos beach bbq. We'd imagined this one may have been more child oriented compared to Le Banyan for example but the kids again struggled to find options they liked. 

We decided to cancel all the remaining restaurant bookings and stick to tried and tested Belle Vue for all our evening meals from now on. We seem to have done the same for breakfast. Plenty of choice at Belle Vue - the kids can eat straight away - perfect for us all. 

Whilst having breakfast on the beach is an amazing experience, and with the prestige rooms, breakfast can be taken at La Maree, the vast array of buffet options at Belle Vue seems to be winning at the moment. 

Monday 14th August 2017.

Today was a somewhat traumatic kind of day. We didn't actually have any activities booked so we thought it would be a great opportunity to have a beach and watersports kind of day. 

Daddy tried the diving in the pool.  The kids and daddy went out on pedalos.  

We spent lots of time playing in the sand on the beach. Then after lunch it was back to the pool and beach again. 

Daddy, granny, J and Miss T headed up the river on double kayaks.  

That's when me and D decided to have a go at paddleboarding.  I think I can safely say it was my first and last time paddleboarding. We were told the wind was such to stay close otherwise we'd drift but before I'd even got on my paddleboard, D seemed to be too far out to be comfortable. He was looking worried as I called and signalled for him to come back closer. He wasn't able to so I thought I'd get to him and then we'd both head back. By that point we both found ourselves getting further and further from shore and any attempts to paddle back in were fruitless as we were being pushed further and further out. 

We began to call for help. 

We couldn't tell if anyone could see or hear our cries. We were drifting apart from each other with no control over direction. 

We saw the rescue boat head out, collect someone then head back in. We continued to cry out for help.  

Then what seemed like ages later as we continued to drift away, the boat came out again to D. I was so relieved to see him on that boat. I had no idea whether I could be taken in at the same time or whether I'd have to wait until he was dropped back. Thankfully the boat started heading towards me. I was even further out by now. 

Once on the boat, just seeing the amount of time it took for us to get back to the shore made me realise just how far we'd been out at sea. It was a truly terrifying experience. 

To the inexperienced eye (us) the sea looked calm and flat.  It didn't feel like a windy day like some of the days here have been. 

I took myself off to the spa to try to calm my nerves after that. 

Dinner at the Belle Vue was lovely. Miss T was too tired to eat much so back for a relatively early night (which is still way past her 'normal' bedtime).

Very much hoping for a less eventful day tomorrow.