We got off to another slow start, making a late breakfast aboard and using the dishwasher to clean up rather than hand-wash the dishes. As I’m still breaking in the new outboard engine we idled across the main anchorage to Le Bourg in the dinghy and made fast at the full dinghy dock. Our garbage bags in hand (separated into glass, plastic and other) we started trekking toward Fort Napoléon in search of the public trash bins marked on the chart we’d received when we’d paid for the mooring ball days before. The bins were further away than expected and once there it turns out that the heat was a bit much for Sandra and that the walk up the hill to the fort would be too taxing so we turned around and started looking for one of the many scooter and electric vehicle rental places. We found the rental agencies, but they were all sold out of vehicles. Finally, when I was certain that we’d have no luck, we found a place which still had a single scooter available and Sascha and Sandra rented that while I started trekking up the hill to the Fort. They soon caught up with me and passed me, then Sascha returned to give me a ride up the rest of the hill to the Fort.
We started our tour with a walk around the outside circumference and then when we attempted to enter the Fort we were repulsed at the gate – it was 12:23 and the fort shut at 12:30! Undeterred, we changed plans and headed to the “Plage du Pompiers” for some time in the sun. This beach is horseshoe-shaped and very protected; the water is very calm and warm and there are palapas and palm trees offering shade to the bathers. We found a nice shaded spot under one such tree and proceeded to enjoy the water. I got restless and decided to swim across to one of the islands protecting the beach and found out that swimming with hiking sandals isn’t very easy; I transferred them to my hands but that, too, wasn’t very successful so I was pretty tired from thrashing about in the water when I got there. The view from atop that hill was spectacular and worth the effort; and returning to the beach was downwind and I’d stuffed the sandals in my swimming trunks and that made the trip a lot easier.
We returned the moped after the beach and returned to the boat after that, relaxing in the afternoon sun and heat. Before we knew it, sundown arrived and we thawed out some burgers and threw them on the BBQ, with edamame as an appetizer. It was a simple meal with just mustard, ketchup, onions and tomato slices but hit the spot after our day’s exertions in the heat and the combination of the heavy food with wine and a touch of sunburn put us all to bed early.
