There's more to Mauritius than its incredible beaches and surrounding sea but once you've seen these, there's a good chance you won't care about anything else!
I certainly could have spent the entire time doing nothing but reading or snoozing by the sea!
People here speak English and French (among others) and communicating was not difficult at all. As a large part of the population is of Indian origin, hearing and seeing South Asians speak French was rather strange at first!
The people of Mauritius are some of the friendliest I've ever encountered. While curiously eyeing some street food, I was pleasantly surprised when a nearby stallholder offered me what she had just purchased for herself. There was another time when a street vendor, seeing that we were tourists, generously handed out samples of all his wares to help us select what to buy. He wasn't even trying to force a sale!
Seafood is abundant but the penchant for drowning everything in turmeric was difficult to handle. My favourite by far was not seafood at all but mazavaroo, which is something like a sauce or dip made of red or green chillies.
Any accommodation with beach access and a view of the ocean tends to be on the expensive side. As a beach is never too far away, you could opt to stay further inland and take a walk to get your daily vitamin sea.
Getting about on foot is easy in most parts of the island. You could also take public transport or taxis but I found it easier to do a bit of walking and to hire a car for a day at a time to visit several sites that were further afield in one go.
There's some interesting wildlife to be seen - including adorable tortoises - so a visit to a place like Ìle aux Aigrettes is worth your while.
A highlight for me was a glass-bottomed boat trip over a coral reef in Blue Bay. With the sea being crystal clear and a knowledgeable and responsible guide at the helm, the excursion was amazing! The group of Mauritian youngsters who shared the boat were friendly and pleasant company though they spoke little to no English!
The Rault biscuit factory is something I would have given a miss. At the risk of offending an entire nation I must confess that slightly sweetened sawdust is not my idea of a biscuit.
This is ironic really because Mauritius produces darn good sugar!
Eureka House and Seven-coloured Earth were both places I didn't expect to be particularly impressed by but I was and would recommend visiting if you tire of lounging by the sea.
I would happily go back to any island nation I've visited and this one is definitely one of those.
I certainly could have spent the entire time doing nothing but reading or snoozing by the sea!
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| Can you blame me? 😍 |
People here speak English and French (among others) and communicating was not difficult at all. As a large part of the population is of Indian origin, hearing and seeing South Asians speak French was rather strange at first!
The people of Mauritius are some of the friendliest I've ever encountered. While curiously eyeing some street food, I was pleasantly surprised when a nearby stallholder offered me what she had just purchased for herself. There was another time when a street vendor, seeing that we were tourists, generously handed out samples of all his wares to help us select what to buy. He wasn't even trying to force a sale!
Seafood is abundant but the penchant for drowning everything in turmeric was difficult to handle. My favourite by far was not seafood at all but mazavaroo, which is something like a sauce or dip made of red or green chillies.
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| Mazavaroo (the green stuff) is served with everything |
Getting about on foot is easy in most parts of the island. You could also take public transport or taxis but I found it easier to do a bit of walking and to hire a car for a day at a time to visit several sites that were further afield in one go.
There's some interesting wildlife to be seen - including adorable tortoises - so a visit to a place like Ìle aux Aigrettes is worth your while.
A highlight for me was a glass-bottomed boat trip over a coral reef in Blue Bay. With the sea being crystal clear and a knowledgeable and responsible guide at the helm, the excursion was amazing! The group of Mauritian youngsters who shared the boat were friendly and pleasant company though they spoke little to no English!
The Rault biscuit factory is something I would have given a miss. At the risk of offending an entire nation I must confess that slightly sweetened sawdust is not my idea of a biscuit.
This is ironic really because Mauritius produces darn good sugar!
Eureka House and Seven-coloured Earth were both places I didn't expect to be particularly impressed by but I was and would recommend visiting if you tire of lounging by the sea.
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| Maison Eureka |
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| Chamarel seven coloured earth |
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