First thing today we went up to the top deck and found we were already docked in Port Louis, Mauritius (or Ile Maurice as most locals call it). The country has a population of more than 1.3 million people of various origins: Indian, African, French and British. From the pier we had a dramatic view of the high-rise city centre backed by steep mountains.
We had an early breakfast at the buffet and joined a long queue of people taking tours. Our tour was called "Northern Discovery" and was run by Thomas Cook. The logistics of disembarking 2000+ people into their correct buses or taxis was quite amazing and worked well. It took an hour for us to go through the process, which involved leaving our passports and arrival cards with local immigration officers. We were not told until later that we would not see our passports again for two days. We climbed onto a 20 seat Toyota Coaster, which was quite comfortable and our guide introduced herself as Elodie, a French name. She was of Indian appearance, but was Mauritian (she pronounced it as "motion"), through and through and could answer any question we gave her. Our driver was Krish and he took us through the very narrow streets of the city up to the Citadel, named Fort Adelaide.
The fort was made of black basalt measured stones three course wide. It looked as if it would stand for millennia. The view of the city was marvellous,
and as usual the QM2 dominated the wharf area.
The interior of the fort looked quite liveable and the cannons made it look impregnable in its day.
Krish then drove us north to the French Colonial mansion called Eureka where an early sugar plantation owner
built his family home for 12 children. His descendants still own the property, which has extensive garden, and visit it from France sometimes. It is entirely made of wood and is still furnished as it was originally.
Lyn was interested in the local flowers.
Elodie saw a local bird and called it a martin. We looked at it and identified it as an indian mynah. Those rascals are taking over the world. After a small morning tea of interesting local food and drink we drove out to the "Aventure de Sucre" which was a former sugar mill turned into a museum. Huge, dark, hot but no longer smelly.
We did not realise that they can produce 14 different types of sugar from the one factory. In the gift shop there were many boxes of sugar types, body creams and bottles of rum (50% proof) for sale. They export all their sugar because of its high quality and because it is by far the biggest industry in this republic. The locals use cheaper imported sugar.
Then we drove to furthest point north called "cap malheureux", which, in spite of its name, was a gloriously beautiful spot where children on school holidays frolicked in the emerald water.
and a bride posed on the jetty.
There was a small church of Notre Dame near the water and it was simple and lovely inside and out.
We headed south to the Botanic gardens.
We saw giant lily pads from Brazil.
We saw giant lily pads from Brazil.
and giant local tortoises.
This one was doing an ostrich act, burying his head.
In addition we saw a plant that had to be germinated by the gardeners because it depended on the extinct dodo bird to reproduce. Many plants had plinths showing the names of famous people who had planted them; one by Princess Anne in 1998. Most animals and plants are imported, as it was "just a rock" until the Portugese and the Dutch came in the 16th century. The French took over in 1721, then the English in 1810. African slaves and Chinese traders filled out the population. Mauritius became an independent republic on March 12, 1992 and the parliament consists of parties that are based on ethnic backgrounds, but they are very patriotic and work together well. They believe their island is Paradise. Australia could benefit from looking at their system.
We climbed out of the bus next to the ship at 3pm and thanks our guide and driver for a wonderful day. Our first day in a foreign land for this trip and one that will be fondly remembered.
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