Finding the perfect spot.

For weeks I wanted to get to the beach of Pointe d’Esny. With only two public entries and being dependant on the bus for transport, I was a little concerned about walking distances between these entries and the bus stop as well as the condition of the beach. Would my mobility challenges allow such a solo exploration? The moment the weather allowed it and I was in between diving and making my next bookings, I set off on the adventure. 

The bus stopped at the invisible bus stop for Pointe d’Esny and I got up to start my exit. Battling with my walking stick, backpack and the stairs, I looked up at the driver, he pointed in the direction that we were going and said, “ là-bas “. So I disembarked and found myself standing on the side of the Coastal road in an area without sidewalks. In my knowledge, “là-bas” means “over there”, like in, “over there on the table”. There was no entry to the beach in sight, so I started walking.

I walked and walked. Then I walked some more. In South Africa we have a saying, “to moer and gone”, which is apparently translated into proper English as “far, far away – taken the road less travelled”. I was just starting to think that I was walking to “to moer and gone”, when there was another living soul in sight who pointed me to the entry to the beach. Much relieved I followed a narrow passageway between the high garden walls of two stylish beachfront properties and then I was there!

The part of Pointe d’Esny beach visible to me, was a small narrow beach. The tide was out so I had some solid sand making my walk an easy one, to the furthest side of the beach. I chose that end as it was away from the activity promised by a few Hobies pulled out on the beach and seemed to take me to a private spot with some rocks which could assist me later to get back up on my feet. I was soon followed by a dog who seemed convinced that I needed protection!

Then I found it. The perfect spot! I dropped my backpack and walking stick and spread my towel next to a few black rocks, ideal to sit up against, or talk to (if you are familiar with the film ‘Shirley Valentine’). I sat down, greeting the rock allowed, “Hello, Rock!” à la Shirley Valentine. The dog lay down close enough to keep an eye on me. I was hidden from the larger part of the beach by a small sailing system, which Dog used for shade now and again as the day progressed and on the other end the beach ended in a rocky point. Vegetation grew over the black rocks onto the white sandy beach and flowered pink in places. The waves were rhythmically swooshing onto the sand and the sun was already high and just warm enough to relax every muscle I have. It was indeed the perfect spot!

After a while I realised that the book I packed and wasn’t taking out, was all wrong. This beach and the rock and Dog would not allow me to study “Deep Diving”. So I got up, walked ankle deep into the water and watched a huge school of silver fish just 2m from me feeding in the small swells just before it crested and broke. They were just hanging there. Not going anywhere. I was the one who moved and started looking at what the tide washed up earlier. Amongst the bit of sea grass I started finding small pieces of plastic and decided to do a beach clean-up of my small beach. I was relieved to find much less rubbish than I have seen on beaches before. A single beer tin and two cigarette lighters being the largest in the find. It was on leaving the beach much later, walking back to the public entry, that I found parts of plastic bottles. It was a good feeling to know that I left the beach cleaner than I found it. We only left our footprints, which the tide would soon wash away.

When I settled back on my towel I noticed a pretty shell and picked it up. As a child, several decades ago, I collected shells. Times have changed. They have become scarce and are potential homes for hermit crabs and such. So I took a photograph of my shell and put it back on the beach, hoping the high tide would take it back to the sea, providing a good home for someone with a housing crisis.

It was such a perfect relaxing beach day! The afternoon brought some shade from the vegetation and protected me from too much sun. When I readied to leave, Dog got up, stretched, followed me to check that I found the entry back to the road and then went on his way. It was an unspoken greeting from his side, but we both knew, he chose to spend the day with me. Next time I will pack lunch!

Much later when I was reading up on hermit crabs in Austral’s edition of “Marine life of Mauritius”, I found this paragraph which I feel you need to read too. “During their growth, they change home several times, each time for a bigger one. Some, to avoid a housing crisis, have a strategy … They meet, in large numbers, in size order, facing a big empty shell. The largest crab settles there, leaving its free shell to the second, and so starts a movement of successive in and out moves. This strange behaviour is called ‘piggybacking’. “

Please remember to leave the shells on the beach and only leave your footprints as a sign of your visit. The high tide will move the shell where it is supposed to go and wipe out your footprints soon enough.

By Lynette Gerber-Lochenkov