Mauritius, Africa

Hello, and thank you for joining us. 

While we were greatly looking forward to our visit to a Mahé, Seychelles, followed by an event-filled day and night on Madagascar, we (unfortunately) ran into bad weather. Due to super high winds and 12 foot waves, we were unable to launch tender boats at our next stop. Plan B was to spend an extra day in Madagascar, but a cyclone (which is what they call Hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere) chased us all the way there. (This was a real bummer. We were looking forward to meeting Marty and Melman…) So Plan C got us to the island of Mauritius (off of the southeastern coast of Africa) a day or so earlier than planned. 

The Republic of Mauritius (pronounced muh·ri·shuhs) is an island county in the Indian Ocean. It is made up of several islands. The first days of our visit took us to the country’s capital and largest city, Port Louis. The island is ~800 square miles, and the population is 1.3 million. Tourism and sugar cane are the two largest industries in the country. 

Though you probably did not know it, I almost guarantee that you know something about this country’s funnest fact. Can you guess?

Okay, time’s up! Mauritius was the home of the (sadly, now extinct) Dodo Bird. This 50 lbs. bird was endemic to the island, and could not fly or swim. While it did not have any native predators, in the early 1500s, Arabian (and later European) explorers hunted the birds, and later brought livestock (and rats) that ate the Dodo’s eggs. (They only layed one per year.) By the late 1600’s, the poor Dodo Bird faced extinction. 

While to Dodo Bird is now extinct, this has not stopped the critter from being the cultural symbol found everywhere in Mauritius. Its likeness can be found in the country’s Coat of Arms, and in just about everything else that one will find as they venture across the island.

So the first day of our visit was spent visiting the Port Louis beautiful waterfront. We enjoyed a nice lunch, and bit of shopping, and a trip to the salon for a bit of pampering. Salons and Saloons. A couples paradise!

Afterwards, we had a fabulous dinner and local wine at a traditional African Italian restaurant. (Okay, maybe not so traditional, but it was fabulous.) On our way out, the wait-staff was kind enough to hook us up with some of the island’s local “green chili”. While it was not what our fellow New Mexicans would call chili, it did have a pretty good kick to it. (What you would put this on in an Italian restaurant is beyond me, but we were grateful, and I’m sure we will put it to good use!)

After a good night’s rest, I headed out to the scenic East Turquoise Islands, while Ms. Karen indulged herself in a luxurious (Mike-free) day!
😉

Many of our friends opted to explore the islands stunning volcanic areas. My travels took me along the perimeter of the island, and through several charming villages and farming communities, before arriving at the destination, which consisted of a long dock on the outskirts of a heavily jungled area. From there, several flat-bottom boats picked up myself as well as my fellow travelers. 

While many of the boats docked a bit up the bay, and dropped off golfers (at one of the most fabulous courses I have ever seen) our boat took us to a catamaran patiently waiting in the bay. The large catamaran primarily relied on wind-power to take us on our East Turquoise sailing adventure. My fellow sailors were made up of RCCL passengers and included several (really great) friends. After removing our shoes, we headed up top, where we lounged under the shade of the tall sails as we made our way through the crystal clear blue-green waters. 

After a leisurely sail, our first stop was to change back to a smaller boat, allowing us venture up a nearby river. After about a mile, we came upon our destination, a beautiful waterfall carved out in the jungle terrain. 

After taking advantage of the photo opportunity, on the way back downstream, we admired what appeared to be some ruins along the top of the ridge, and saw some fruit bats sleeping (upside down) in the trees. (Sorry, no pictures. But they are cute, resembling little flying red foxes.) Although we were not successful, we also watched the jungle closely as we passed by, hoping to see some of the indigenous rare birds (as in hard to find fowl, not undercooked game…)

Returning to the catamaran, we headed to the reef for some snorkeling while the crew fired up their on-board BBQ, and prepared our lunch. After a nice swim, we enjoyed crispy chicken skewers with an African BBQ sauce, as well as fresh fish, and all the fixin’s. Yummo! And don’t get me started on the local wines and the craft beers they served up. These folks do it right! (Except for driving cars. Their steering wheel is on the wrong side. But I haven’t driven for 5 months, so I don’t feel like I deserve an opinion on the subject…)

Afterwards, we were looking forward to going to our next snorkeling destination, but as luck would have it, guess what? That’s right, no wind. We were stuck! We trolled a bit, but we were a long way off from where we were going.

Luckily, the crew was experienced, and plied us with cocktails, dancing and song. So, while we missed our second round of swimming, a great time was had by all! 

After an hour or so of fun, the wind found its way to our empty sails, and we were once again our way to our next adventure. But that, my friends, is another story.

Thank you for visiting.
– Mike
“Live your life by a compass not a clock.” – Stephen Covey, American educator, author, businessman, and motivational speaker.