It’s been a whirlwind of a season for the Willmore’s. We
packed up our life in South Africa at the end of June, spent a wonderful 5 weeks
in the UK with family and friends (despite the weather), and then embarked on
our new adventure to the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius in August. Now, at 2
months in, we’ve caught our breath, started to find our feet, and relax into
our new life on this remote tropical island.
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A view from the top of La Tourelle,
the mountain that we live on. |
I have to admit that it has been a bit more stressful than I
had anticipated it would be. Despite the allure of paradise beaches,
picturesque mountains, and a warm climate; without family or a network of
friends, this adventure has presented us with an unexpected challenge, that of
overcoming loneliness. Who knew that in our early 40’s and after almost 14
years of marriage, Laurence and I would have to re-friend each other to survive?
I thought that was a task reserved only for retirement, but apparently it
applies to those who embark on a new life in a foreign land as well. Thankfully
we’re on the right track along with our 3 exceptionally resilient children Amelie,
Elowen, and Joel, who are plunging themselves into choir, drama and coding
clubs to settle in.
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| Our house in Tamarin, in the West of Mauritius. |
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Day 1 at Westcoast International Primary School,
taken from our house overlooking Tamarin Bay. |
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Day 1 at Westcoast International Secondary
School. |
Familiarising ourselves with our new surroundings has, as
always, come with some surprises. To date the most memorable panic has come
from Amelie at the sight of ‘the volcano erupting’ when an innocent cloud passed
by a mountain. Had this been true it would have been exceptionally unlucky given
that the last eruption in Mauritius was 20,000 years ago. A wonderful moment of
naivety and a great laugh was had.
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| The eruption! |
Our second moment of naïve Willmore panic
came when, on Elowen’s instructions, we went to see the Barbie movie. On
entering the cinema and paying to watch, we started passing all the Barbie advertising
in French. We had forgotten that living in a predominantly French speaking
country the cinema might be out of bounds to us Brits. To our relief, it was in
English with French subtitles, reflecting that the country has both English and
French (as well as French creole) as their national languages. If you are not
familiar with Barbie or the Barbie movie, Ken’s job is just ‘beach’. We have
found this pursuit to be one of interest to ourselves too. Weekends have largely
been dominated by relaxing on a beach or swimming and snorkelling in the picture-perfect
turquoise waters; and weeknights have shown themselves to be a good time for
picnics and beach games at sunset.
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| Laurence and Joel walking along the beach at Le Morne. |
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| Playing and snorkelling in the waters at Le Morne. |
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| A game of Petanque at La Preneuse. |
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| Tamarin Beach for surfing at sunset. |
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| La Preneuse for sunset. |
There is definitely an enviable pace of life
which we are adapting to with great relief and pleasure. Unlike Ken though,
there is work to be done in between. Laurence is working remotely from home, I
am studying to become a teacher, and the kids are at school (which sometimes
requires doing some beach too!). We are certainly looking forward to more
adventuring as we establish ourselves on the island.
Whilst we have been navigating our new life, we have still
had our hands at work in South Africa. Our much-loved gardener, Shepherd, who over
the years has set up a chicken farm in his homeland of Limpopo Province, needed
one last piece in the chicken farm puzzle to truly make his business sustainable,
and we were keen to help. It became apparent that without a consistent water
supply from the government, and with the additional cost of buying water from
the shops, profits were marginal and not able to support his family without Shepherd
still working away from home in Johannesburg. With his dream to move home, he needed
a water supply. In South Africa, it is common for people who can afford it to
have a borehole drilled and fitted (which is like a well with a pump). At a
cost of 2000 pounds, it was no small amount of money. We decided that if the
cost could be shared amongst as many people as possible, Shepherd could achieve
the impossible, and be the proud owner of a borehole. Amazing people stepped up
to the challenge and I have my dear Army friends, school friends, Southampton
buddies, family, and Laurence, to thank for raising the funds. With much
trepidation, as the drilling doesn’t always find water, Shepherd’s borehole was
recently constructed and is a success. With huge relief it is now providing a powerful
supply of water at his property in Limpopo. It’s just so exciting. I’m looking
forward to hearing about Shepherd’s move home this Christmas and how life goes for
him and his family on the chicken farm thereafter. Thank you everyone who supported
this venture.
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| Shepherd and the drill! |
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| A successfully fitted borehole. |
So, it’s been a bumpy start here in Mauritius on this new
Willmore Adventure. The power of nature and our care for one another has thankfully
kept us on track. And Shepherd’s success with his new borehole, made possible
with all the support from the UK, has been an awesome progression in Shepherd’s
own adventure too. No doubt, there will be more to experience and share again
soon.
Lots of love and massive thanks,
Jess x
Some extra photos...
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| Amelie celebrating becoming a teenager. |
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Smashing a coconut open.
Was the half hour worth it? |
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| Cross country success! |
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