No privacy in Mauritius

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I woke up in the morning as if I were in Mauritius. And it is not related to the weather. Or with the time zone difference. It’s from the noise of construction works next door. The neighbors are changing their roof 🙂

Seriously, at 7 a.m., you get up so fast to the sound of hammer in the walls like the coffee will never do.

And most seriously, 2 days after New Year’s Day, about the same thing woke us up in Mauritius in the morning. For about a week. I do not know exactly how the construction was completed on our part of the resort, but I’m sure that whomever is visiting the Northern area of Mauritius will be delighted by now.

Trou aux Biches, the resort I stayed in, has the largest public beach area, wide. And a great deal in real estate development. In short, there is not much to see in Trou aux Biches and privacy is zero. So the story of Honey Moon in Trou aux Biches remains valid only within the chosen resort.

Then, the easiest thing to do was to rent a car and go around the island looking for and discovering sensational places to see.

There are two things that made for me an impediment in returning to Mauritius:

Party Pooper number 1:

Congestion.

Yeah, and it’s not the kind of party like crowd, but the kind of dense population you can not walk down the street of. It’s kind of mini Mumbai. Plus a China Town, any of them. That is, a sum of smells of different cuisines, mix of people, noise, traffic and traffic jams. All of it!

Party Pooper number 2:

You have no place to swim. Mic drop!

The waters are within limited enclosure by the shore where you are allowed to swim on the public beach. There are patrols on the water that do not let you pass the buoys. But you do not have more than 30-40 meters to shore. And the density of people in the water is like an aquarium with tropical, dining, block. On all the beaches. I have no idea where the pictures of the endless and almost virgin beaches come from. These are not virgin at all! : P

Otherwise only good things:

The sacred lake

Ganga Talao is a volcanic lake in the heart of the island at an altitude of over 550 m in Grand Bassin, where the world’s second largest Shivrati festival takes place outside India. And at one point, through the 70’s, the lake was sanctified with Ganges water, thus claiming the name “Lake of Gange”. The most sacred Hindu place in Mauritius is guarded by the Shiva statue (33m) along with the temples dedicated to God Lord Hanuman, the Goddess Ganga and God Lord Ganesh.

The lake is surrounded by temples and places destined to burning offerings. Be careful not to confuse the places of offer with sitting spots because they look like small benches.

People who give offerings to the gods, leave food for the monkeys awaiting the festival and monkey oround in the meantime with the tourists eager for the pictures. And what the picky fluffy things don’t eat, throws into the lake, for the fish. Nothing is lost, everything turns.

 

Le Morne

It’s a way of being. Le Morne is part of the UNESCO Cultural Heritage, also known as the Republic of Maroon, where many slaves have escaped over time. Because, yes, Mauritius, and Le Morne’s head, was an important port on the eastern route of slave trade from Africa, India, Madagascar or Southeast India.

And the liberation sentiment and freedom grounded in Le Morne over the years has attracted a large community of kite surfers in the area. Besides the cultural heritage, Le Morne is also the area of the confluence of the Indian Ocean waters and the winds that move it. So here, the strongest waves and the heaviest of the winds, offer the breath of freedom so sought-after, to the kite-surf lovers.

Chamarel – the 7 colors earth

It’s good to get at Chamarel one a day with a little cloud if you can. With plenty of sunscreen with big SPF and if possibly, early in the morning. We obviously got there by lunch time aka 13:00 :). It was a dazzling sun that we were able to see the colors best with the camera lens.

It’s amazing how it can look this soil from which all the soluble elements have drained. The shades of blue, red, cyan, green, brown and even yellow are like brush traces on a canvas. The earth is arid, there is absolutely nothing to grow on these areas of which it seems like a lunar breath has dissolved and only imagination is left. It takes your breath way, that’s how beautiful and warm … it is.

 

Botanic Garden Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, in District of Pamplemousses

The garden is clearly stunning, not just in terms of flora but also historical. Inside, among the tall trees like a skyscraper, various lakes, the world’s largest water lilies, and fruit trees of all kinds, there was also a funeral edifice of the political leader that liberated the island from the rule of the empire.

Along the paths leading to Chateau Mon Plaisir, palm trees and other types of trees are planted by leading political leaders of the world, older and newer, such as Nelson Mandela or Indira Ghandi.

 

Jummah Mosque

Port Louis is a mix. A mix of colors, people, nations, styles, dishes, flavors and religions. And the Jummah Mosque is no exception to this rule. It is an Indian, Muslim and Creole architectural amalgam that one may be able to say that it would be home anywhere in this great world.

It dates back to 1850 and is visited every day except on Fridays and on Muslim holidays.

 

 

The Market in Port Louis

Pfui, there is not much walk from port to market just that:

1. The market is an entire neighborhood
2. You can lose yourself in the crowd at the market hours
3. It is good to know that on one side of the street are the buildings for vegetables, aromatic plants, clothes and fruits. And on the other side are the meat, fish and seafood halls. Smelly 🙂
4. It’s big!

 

The waterfalls

 

Well there are many cascades to see and to swim and cool. You need a car, I think I have already said it. the rental is not to expensive but if you do not have a car, it’s very hard to see all the beauties of the island. And you have to visit this way:

1. Near the “7 Colored Earth” park are the Chamarel Waterfalls (83m), in the Black River Gorge Nature Reserve and the nearby Waterfall Alexandra.
2. Tamarind Waterfalls or “The 7 Cascades”, the waterfalls supplying water for two island water reservoirs. You need a guide or you can join some already formed groups. Prepare for 3 hours of walking, that is, to have appropriate shoes, water, SPF protection and anti-mosquitoes;
3. Rochester Falls is recognized as the widest and most beautiful but not the most spectacular. The fall of the water is only 10 meters. But it’s in the southern area, Savanne, close to Port Louis.

 

The Beaches

As I said, beaches are not the most attractive places. It’s maximum mess on beaches, food scraps, plastic bags and plastic bottles.

The ocean waters are superb but you need a boat to go out and there, you do not have a beach.

Seriously, I was from Trou aux Biches, Flic en Flac to Soillac, on the coast and back on the other side and the only clean spot on the beach was at Le Morne. But there you can not swim because there is a forest of kitesurfers on the water.

Ile Plate was the most opened and cleanest, maybe because it was not fit for swimming: D

In conclusion, go to Mauritius after mid-January, rent a car and visit everything. It’s a lot to see, it’s beautiful and maybe you’re lucky they also cleaned up.