Dina Robin Resort, LeMorne, Mauritius

Sep 12, 2003 21:20

This is a remarkable time to be here. It is one week past the day when Mars was at its closest approach in several hundred years, and it was widely reported to be even brighter in the Southern Hemisphere. Well, it is still extremely bright, more like a bright Venus with a red tinge. Each night, it rises early. Remember, in the tropics, the days and nights are about the same length year round. So around 5:45, the sun is setting, and it sets quickly over the Ocean. We are on the Southern tip of the Southeast corner of this island, next to a huge volcanic rock that forms an impressive backdrop to the golf course and resort.

Looking directly out from the beach, there is no land in that direction until one hits Antarctica. The tidepools teem with life. I am endlessly fascinated with all of it -- I've always been an amateur naturalist or biologist of sorts. I watched a 6-inch baby eel eat a crab alive. Many times I have seen eels that I thought might be sea snakes, and this one was no exception. But I watched it closely enough to be pretty certain.

The pools are littered with slender spiny starfish and sea cucumbers. Crabs of several kinds run and hide and burrow. It is fascinating. I have walked for shells at least once per day in Mauritius, and there is usually a lot of variety.

And tonight is the full moon. It is huge and bright on a clear cloudless night. But it doesn't obscure Mars. The sky is amazing -- the stars and constellations are completely different than those visible in the Northern Hemisphere. The only constellation visible in both is Orion the Hunter. After a lot of research, I figured out what the Southern Cross is -- not that impressive, really. Four stars in a semi-diamond point pattern, 2 brighter than the others. I like Scorpio the best.

Today, it took the entire day to have lunch in Port Louis, the capital. Partly due to strangling traffic. In a nation of 1.2 million people, two-thirds of them work, transit or visit the capital each day. We had a spectacular lunch -- there simply is no food like this in the work. Palm-heart salad, curry seafood. Last night was sweet and sour swordfish.

The return trip had a brief stop at Flic en Flac beach. Then to check out some fruit trees. The highlight was these huge African spiders that made webs between the bush-tops and the telephone wires. They are huge, bigger than my hand-span, big enough to eat birds. Hundreds of them, it's quite unsettling, really.

Each night, I am exhausted and ready to sleep by ten.

mauritius, food, fauna, space, beaches, science

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