Black River Gorge Mauritius
A Big Thank You to my Friend in Pune
My friend and her family took utmost care of us during our ten days stay in India. I spent many hours with my brother and then it was again time to leave Pune, hoping to return again soon. After visiting family and friends in India we boarded a flight early morning from Mumbai to Mauritius. Since it was a very early morning flight from Mumbai, we stayed at the Airport hotel in Mumbai called
Niranta Hotel
and were pleasantly surprised at the facilities they offered. We avoid early morning flights, however, there was no choice as there was only one direct flight to Mauritius from Mumbai. A week is what we had decided to spend in Mauritius.
Newly Weds
Besides being an island paradise, Mauritius is a honeymoon destination for newly wed from from India. We had at least 5-6 newly wed couples on our flight. The distinct henna on the hands and feet and large number of red and white bangles sported on jeans or western wear can be a horror story for designers. Some of the grooms also had henna designs on their feet. Maybe this was a new trend in a wedding in India now! Brides giving secret looks to their new husbands, thinking it was not obvious to the people around them. I was laughing. I recalled something that Mrs. Mani my school teacher used to tell us in class , “Life begins after that Mills & Boon ends”. ( Mills and Boon – Romance fiction). I laughed again.
We checked in and got our boarding passes. I usually book seats in advance and did not pay much attention to the seat numbers as I expected I would get the seats that were selected by me when I had booked the flight. Once on board, we found out that our seats were changed and we were given seats in the middle row instead of the aisle and window. The ground staff had changed our seats without informing us and given them to a newly wed couple, who might have requested this while checking in.
Since not much could be done we settled in for the 6-hour flight. Before the flight took off we looked at this couple and they had opened up the blankets. The temperature in the plane what quite warm at that time. Then the young man was explaining to his bride how the plane would take off. Soon it became apparent to us that this was going to be an amusing flight. Once the flight took off the blankets went over their heads, the bride trying to lean against her groom, trying to get comfortable. Once the food arrived, the “feeding each other” ceremony started. They were oblivious to the fact that others were looking at their activity. My husband and I were chuckling and thinking how things will pan out in a year for this young couple! Regardless, it ended up being a very amusing flight to Mauritius. We were chuckling all the way unbeknownst to this couple that was sitting across the aisle from us. Wishing them a Sugar Sweet Mauritius in our
minds
.
Sugar Cane
Talking about
Sugar
, if ever you want to see sugarcane fields, go to Mauritius. We drove with a friend up and down hills with sugarcane growing on either side of the road. I felt it was like being in a sugarcane maze. I asked my friend how do you know which road you are on? They all look the same to me. She laughed. ” One gets used to it” is what she said. Sugarcane was one of the biggest industries in Mauritius and the sugar manufactured here was mostly exported to Europe. We visiting a Sugar museum where they had the history dating back to when the Dutch started growing sugarcane. The most interesting part of the museum for me was that the different colors of sugar that are manufactured. The color is determined by the different levels of molasses in the sugar. The taste also varies. Yes, we got to taste all the different samples and got completely
sugared
out for the day!
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Conservation in Mauritius
My friend’s husband is a conservationist in Mauritius. He has conserved a complete island with native birds and turtles. He told us one day that he will take us to the island. Once by the water when I saw the boat that we were to go in, I was in a bit of a panic. It was a windy day and all other boat trips were suspended. My friend was calm and said she had done this many times. So I braved my nerves and stepped into the boat with a single outboard engine. The rest of them climbed in as well. Once the boat started moving I saw that the water was shallow and crystal clear. I could see the sand floor of the ocean below. It was an experience I will never forget. Once on the island, we started walking up a path in a shade was information of the bird species that lived on the island. While I was reading this, my friend’s husband pointed out to the turtle. It was a GIANT turtle that I had never seen before. The turtles were introduced on the island as they were also indigenous to Mauritius. This one must have weight 290 kgs. He went close to the turtle and patted his neck and woke him up. The turtle stretched out this neck to the fullest like a dog would when petted by an owner, and stood up on all four feet. Wow! That was an amazing thing to see! So the boat ride was so worth it as I got to see a giant turtle, this one I was told is a bigger species than the ones in Galapagos Islands.
We also visited a place that has 7 colored earth. A strange place with shades various shades of the soil. You cannot really tell the 7 colors as they blend into each other. I was told nothing can grow in that soil.
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Lots of choice in Resorts
We stayed at the Intercontinental Resort for two nights, to relax by the ocean, looking out on this beautiful blue water. There are many resorts in Mauritius and difficult to choose which one to go to. The locals told us that when they need a break they also go to one of the resorts as a vacation for the weekend! The resorts always have specials. Welcoming visitors from all over the world as this is the main tourist industry in Mauritius. We did not leave the resort once we checked in. Taxi is expensive in Mauritius. But my recommendation is to Google a taxi company and get them to come out instead of using the expensive resort taxi’s if you want to explore the island. Our short stay in Mauritius was interesting as we saw how the locals live as well as experienced a resort where all we did was eat, relax in the cabana and sleep.
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No trip is complete without visiting Port Louis and its main street decorated with colored umbrellas.