THE SEYCHELLES ARE JUST ABOUT opposite Dar es Salaam in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius is three and a half hours away, a speck in the Indian Ocean somewhere east of Madagascar. No puddle-jumper this time but a full-size A320. It wasn’t a full flight so we had plenty of room and customs wasn’t as slow as Daniel remembered.
Mauritius Fody Mauritius White-eye
We are just stopping over until our morning flight to Rodrigues, an even smaller speck. In the meantime we visited Isle d’Aigrettes for some endemics like the Mauritius fody, pink pigeon and the Mauritius white-eye, along with the re-introduced Aldabra tortoises.
Rodrigues Fody
Our flight this morning left on time and we were at the Cocotiers Hotel in time for lunch. Can’t complain about our lodging but the creole/Indian fare leaves something to be desired. After lunch Alfred followed us on his motorbike to Solitude Forest for a look at Rodrigues’s endemics. The fodies were displaying almost before Dan could call them. Both males and females strut their stuff but it is the colorful male that gets the attention.
Guides should not take photos. Period!
While Birdman sat smoking and Daniel and Ladybird continued clicking away, Connie and I went off with Alfred. He calls birds the old-fashioned way and the Rodrigues warblers responded with gusto. The birds were so photogenic that we all took too many photos, much to the annoyance of Birdman. Daniel was shooting like a speed-freak and Birdman complained that he wasn’t paying for Dan’s photography. I haven’t agreed with Birdman often, but on this I applaud him. Guides should not carry cameras except to record the trip. Period!
