Mauritius Memories - Friday 11th August 2017

Today has been the trickiest day so far. Weatherwise it was miles better than yesterday with the rain staying away. 

We opted for breakfast at the Belle Vue rather than the beachfront La Maree in order to have a quicker breakfast to be ready for Archery at 10am. 

Spotted some cute lizards whilst waiting for our archery session. It turned out archery was at 10.30 and not 10 so the boys got restless and went off for a quick visit to see their favourite kitten at the animal sanctuary. 

Meanwhile Granny, Daddy and Miss T had their turn at archery. 

Then it was me, J and D in the next session. Turns out I like archery. Finally a sport I can enjoy where I'm not hindered by my arthritis. Note to self  - must book another session or two before we leave. 

So far so good. Next we went to see the ruins of Balaclava to show Granny and Daddy who hadn't been with us yesterday. After J' s climbing of rocks around the waterfall and the ancient ruins too, we had stern words with him today about how dangerous it was and to make sure he asked specific permission from us before he attempted any climbing so that we could check he was safe. 

Before we knew it both he and D were clambering over rocks. One of the things we learnt about ASD when J was first diagnosed was about the physical differences in the brain between an autistic child and a neurotypical one. The part of the brain that should be telling J when to stop and to think ahead to possible consequences just doesn't work so when D got to the point of knowing when to stop climbing the sharp dangerous slippery rocks around the waterfall, J did not. He carried on until the point where he got totally stuck on a rock in the middle of a fast flowing river just below the waterfall.

Thankfully after several moments of total panic he managed to find a way to get back.  

  

That was tricky situation number 1. 

After lunch we were booked in for the family treasure hunt. Granny's knee had become painful so she sat out after clue number 1. 

Then the boys decided to go on ahead. Upon finding the clue at the boathouse they had carried on not realising that we had no way of knowing where that clue would lead and hence where to find them. 

Thankfully the guys in the boat house pointed us towards mini-golf to find the next clue (and hopefully the boys too).

En route to the mini golf, we found D who told us that J had headed back to the boat house to look for us. 

Eventually we were all reunited and with the other team being such good sports they'd left the treasure for Miss T to find. 

On the way back to our rooms J went into full meltdown mode when we tried to unravel what had happened and how each person had gone missing. 

In his rage he threw around his water bottle and went into disruptive and destructive mode. During his meltdown he sustained a horrible blood blister injury to his finger. Painful. But I'm hoping a lesson may have been learnt. 

Daddy and D went off kayaking up the river whilst the rest of us headed to the pool. After a visit to the nurse to check that finger, it was swimming time. Followed by hot chocolate and pool snacks to warm up.  

Dinner was at La Maree and my eyes are closing as I write this. So night night. 

spotted this bat in a tree after dinner

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A few more notes written the next day about Friday...

A few more thoughts on last night's meal which I was too exhausted to write up. La Maree certainly is a beautiful intimate and relaxed setting for dinner. I think ours were the only kids there and Miss T fell asleep whilst eating her dinner as it ends up being a slower relaxed meal with table service rather than the Belle Vue which is buffet style. 

The  kids found it harder to find dishes they liked there too. We were surrounded by 3 dogs all evening along with one of the cats that the kids have taken a shine to. Although the animals here (the dogs, cats and birds that hang around the restaurants) are always hopeful for food, they never pester or become a nuisance. Feeding them is not permitted although they do seem to manage to find crumbs wherever there are children. 

A few more photos from Friday...