Jul 19, 2011 - Mauritius, the Seychelles and Johannesburg

Mauritius: Arriving in Mauritius after dark, we collected our hire car and drove the 20km to our guest house Le Dodo. Yes almost everything in Mauritius has some reference to that flightless, but unfortunately very tasty, extinct bird. We showered and wandered across the road to a lovely restaurant where we eagerly devoured a 3 course creole feast. Hello flavour, where have you been? We ate the light and spicy seafood meal we have been craving! We then spent a week driving around the 2000 square km island sampling its beaches, diving in...

Oct 20, 2010 - The Island of Mauritius

MAURITIUS I had never heard of the country of Mauritius before the Semester at Sea trip, but for those of you who don’t know, it is a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean (a couple hundred miles northwest of Madagascar). It is an island of 1.5 million people and where much of the world’s sugar cane is grown. Geographically, it is a tiny island though. It has a large Indian population and because of this the dominant religion is Hinduism. Being we were only staying for the night we didn’t pre-book any hotels or activities, but that doesn’t...

Apr 6, 2010 - Port Louis, Mauritius Island; April 6, 2010

A large island & so many things to do! The tours arranged today were all 8 hrs to 10 hrs & most involved a lot of driving or riding to points of interest to see or do. Because Ellie is still feeling less than up to par and the heat is still very high, we decided to stay in & not go out, even to town on the shuttle. Therefore, I do not have an entry to discuss or tell you about things to experience while on Mauritius island, nor do I have too many photos other than the skyline, approach & harbor pictures as we entered Port Louis. With a...

Mar 3, 2010 - Mauritius

Mauritius Monday, March 1, 2010 Immigration was handled a little differently today. Our passports have been held by the ship’s purser while we’re on board, but when we get into some ports we have to present our passports to officers. In Mauritius we had to wait until either our tour or alphabetical group was called. The sound system doesn’t carry well into our cabins, so whenever I heard the chime, I opened my door to hear the announcement; that meant while I as dressing and putting on my make-up. A number of tour groups got called and...

Mar 1, 2008 - Mauritius 1

We arrived into Port Louis, Mauritius on March 1 early in the morning. Mauritius is located off the east coast of Madagascar (which is located directly east of Mozambique). It was first settled by the French in 1722, who achieved great wealth by setting up sugar plantations. The exploitation of slave labor imported from the African mainland provided the resources which enabled such great success. Over time, the European and African communities merged into a common Creole culture, which currently accounts for one quarter of the Mauritian...

Apr 3, 2007 - Port Louis, MAURITIUS

"Growing old is no more than a habit which a busy man has no time to form. -Andre Maurois [1885-1967] French author and critic. The Art of Living, "The Art of Growing Old' [1940] At the end of the 16th century, Admiral van Warwyck, of the Dutch Navy, landed on the shores of what is now Baie de Grand Port and claimed the land for Prince Maurice of Nassau as "Mauritius." Dutch settlers returned and established a port. The new colonists [from Holland's Indonesian settlements] built up the harbour and began to cultivate the land. Within a...

Mar 17, 2007 - Mauritius

Wow, well hey guys, I'm slacking on my website with Mauritius and I figure I need to get a crack on it before we get to India. If you take a look at my Itinerary you'll notice that this next part of the trip will go by VERY quickly, as if it hasn't already, but ot the point where we only have 2-3 days at sea in between each country so I will do my best to keep up then...we'll see how it goes! Well I'm exhausted We left Mauritius three days ago already, had our Sea Olympics which I still need to write about too and now back at school until...

Jan 20, 2007 - Not So Far From Home

I had been thinking quite a bit about where I am on the globe here in Mauritius. They have a world map up in the hallway at Le Bamboo, and I had been looking at where Mauritius is relative to Jakcon Hole, WY. Basically, I think it's the furthest point from Jackson Hole serviced by commerical airlines (there is some French Island Way, Way South that is further, but I'm making a point.) So wasn't I surprised the morning I was leaving Rocksheen villa to find a copy of Aama translated in German on the shelf of the book exchange. This would not...

Jan 16, 2007 - Off to the North!

Mahebourg had been great, and Le Bamaboo had been so accommodating, but I still had yet to really see the beach beauty Mauritius is so famous for. After Privid confirmed my flight, I decided on the spur of the moment to catch a bus to Trou aux Biches. I called a hostel there and they had a single for two nights, and could offer me a third in their annex, so I headed off. I arrived at the Rocksheen Villa at about 7:00 that night and was met by Sheena, a scotswoman who'd married a Mauritian years before. The accommodation was lovely and just...

Jan 13, 2007 - Hu's on First...

We of course had the requisite cultural exchange of the famous Abott and Costello routine which seem to translate to the Cinese sense of humor quite well. Hu, Guy and I set off for the day to tour the sites of Southern Mautitius ... the Bois Cheri tea factory, Grand Bissan Hindu Shrine, the Black River Gorge Naional Park with its mountains and waterfalls, the southern coast and beaches of Bel Ombre and Souillac. It was all in all a nice change from Mahebourg and great to see some of the other parts of the island. My undying gratitude to Hu...

Jan 12, 2007 - "You Can Checkout Any Time You Like...But You can Never Leave..." The Eagles, Hotel California

What's to say. I missed my flight. I had the wrong time in my head and didn't realize it until I checked my ticket on the way to the airport at 11:34 and realized that it was 12:05 instead of 1:05! I quickly got off the bus and grabbed a cab for the 10 minute ride and belted into the terminal. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw a crowd in front of the check-in counters and the Flight info for Perth still above the Kisoks. It couldn't have been 30 seconds before I heard "Final boarding call for Air Mauritius Flight 940 to Perth." I ran...

Jan 11, 2007 - Stopover

Landed in Mauritius just ad night was falling and grabbed a taxi into Mahebourg to the Hotel. I must say, Le Bamboo was not what I had expected. From the pictures on the booking site, I had envisioned a small resort on the water with some bungalows, and the reality was quite different than that. The rooms were no more than 12' x 12' ...that INCLUDES the bathroom and the walls were paper thin. There was aircon however, and with the stickiness and poor airflow in the rooms, it was a must. While it wasn't necessarily what I had envisioned, it...