Mauritius Model Ships

Some of the most beautiful and unique products made in Mauritius are beautiful, hand-made, classic model ships. These models are historically accurate depictions of real ships from the world over:  the U.S.S. Constitution, the Cutty Sark, the H.M.S. Bounty to mention a few.  There are several workshops throughout the country, employing hundreds in this very unique industry---with sales mostly outside the country.  This is not an assembly line business . . . the body of each ship is built by one person, sometimes over the course of months.  Then, craftspersons skilled in doing the riggings and sails do their finishing work.  These pictures give some idea of the beauty of these ships, but to really appreciate them, you need to see them in person. Like us, you'll be amazed and impressed!

Missing Bob and Cissie

Bob's 80th Birthday

Santa Fe National Cemetery:
October is the toughest month

Cissie's 75th birthday party

In Kermanshah, Iran, 1955

Learning to Play Wii with Grandsons

Father's Day, 2010

Chateau Labourdonnais

The stately front entrance

A very ornate chandelier in the living room

Back in Mauritius after a week in Seychelles, there is a favorite Sunday Open House we like to visit . . . it is the stately Chateau Labourdonnais just a few kilometers from our house.  Development on the grounds began 200 years ago, and the mansion has existed in some form or another for over 150 years. This was the home of  Mauritius sugar barons who built and furnished an elegant estate. The chateau and grounds have been restored to their original elegance, and visitors are allowed to visit on accompanied tours.  The chateau is named after the famed sea captain Bertrand Francois Mahe de Labourdonnais who was 38 and full of ambition when he sailed into Port Louis harbor in 1735 as the new Governor of Mauritius, appointed by the French East India Company.  He never saw the chateau, as it was built nearly 100 years after he died.  Between 1735 and 1753, Labourdonnais spent his term as Governor working to build the sugar cane industry, and improving the lot of the "colony of malcontents" he found there.  The thatched hovels of the slaves and Indians were demolished and in their place rose forts, barracks, warehouses, hospitals and houses, many of which survive in the capital, Port Louis. He was an enlightened leader of the Mauritius colony.  

The study and library

Dining room

Master bedroom

  

Self Help Seychelles

Meeting with contractor to expand an orphanage

One of the most gratifying parts of my job as a diplomat  is to administer the Ambassador's Special Self Help Fund in Mauritius and Seychelles.  This is a relatively small amount of foreign aid money that we award to community groups, schools, and non-governmental organizations.  While in Seychelles last week, I made several inspection visits to some of our grantees:  an orphanage for which we are expanding a dormitory, a deaf student association to whom we have given computers and cooking equipment, a glass-blowing workshop which trains students to use recycled bottles to create new glass products as a small business, and a Red Cross project on a small inhabited island to teach swimming and life-saving techniques to young people.  Our small grants make a difference to each of these operations, and give us a chance to reach out to our host countries on a people-to-people basis.  The work being done by these groups is not much different from the work of similar non-profit and volunteer organizations in the United States---and I get the same inspiration from watching special people who are passionate about boosting up their less fortunate neighbors.  

Deaf Seychelles Students work on sign language dictionary

Recycling wine bottles into useful glassware

Learning glass blowing skills and creating art

Discussing the dormitory expansion

Glass melting at over 1000 degrees

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise,  sunset

Sunrise,  sunset

Swiftly flow the days

Seedlings turn overnight into sunflowers

Blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise,  sunset

Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly fly the years

One season following another

Laden with happiness and tears

---Fiddler on the Roof "Sunrise, Sunset"

The lyrics to Sunrise, Sunset mean so much to Shelly and me that

Ron and Maryann sang these gorgeous lyrics at our wedding.

The focus then was on Tevye and Golde's duet:

"Is this the little girl I carried?  Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older, when did they?"

"When did she get to be a beauty?

When did he grow to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?"

The lyrics are timeless, and they resonate differently for each of the seasons of our lives.

The seasons in the islands have given us many beautiful sunrises and sunsets, 

and many, many happy moments.

In mid-October, though, begins for me a bittersweet season.

It was three years ago this month we lost my mom, Cissie, 

and two years ago this month my dad, Bob.

Despite the years and the distance, they are never far from my thoughts,

and sunrises and sunsets are colored with their memory. 

"One season following another, laden with happiness and tears . . ." 

Islet St. Pierre: Snorkeling Seychelles

Shelly and Friends

While in Praslin, Seychelles, we hired a boat to drop us off at Islet St. Pierre, a half mile or so off shore.  We spent a couple hours snorkeling in a great setting, circumnavigating the island.  Saw some great marine life, including sting rays and barracuda.  There were several fish that took an interest in us and accompanied us all around the island.  We were sorry to have to leave them behind . . .

 

Our Protector---he swam with us the whole time

Vieille Rouge Hiding Under a Rock

 

Snorkel mask faces!

Faint Ghostly Barracuda

Our own island: Islet St. Pierre

SCUBA at Praslin, Seychelles

Shelly loves the view

Not much to say, but the photos show what a nice day diving we had . . . a great hawksbill turtle, manta rays, and schools of beautiful fish! Conditions were great for our first SCUBA in the Seychelles! 

Togetherness

A beautiful hawksbill turtle hung out with us!

Going to school

A ray, not too far away

Happy girl after great dive

Rock Star

Dive site: Booby Island near Praslin

Praslin Island, Seychelles

Ginger Flower

Beached . . .

Night Flight to a Tiny Island on a Tiny Plane!

Sand Fine as Talcum Powder

Ready to study the coco de mer palms!

We took the night flight to tiny Praslin Island in Seychelles for a weekend get-away just ahead of a TDY work week on Mahe, the main Seychelles island.  In just 24 hours, we've strolled beaches, went scuba diving (saw manta rays, hawksbill turtles, and thousands of exotic fish), and toured the Valley de Mai, home of the famous "coco de mer" coconuts.  Here are a few shots of the time on the island so far . . . more to come.

Morning walk on the Anse Volbert Beach