Blue Water Dreams in Mauritius
There’s blue water, and there’s ridiculously blue water, and then there’s Mauritius water. When I was growing up in South Africa, this tropical island off the East Coast of Madagascar was a mythical land seemingly reserved for honeymooners. It is, after all, only a four-hour flight from Johannesburg, but Europeans don’t mind flying a bit longer: British, German, Dutch and French come in mass, flying directly from London or Paris. The island floated in my imagination along with the Seychelles, the Comoros, Reunion – names you see on paradise calendars and never expect to visit, but dream about anyway. Heck, honeymoons floated in my imagination too, as they do for young adolescent boys. Mauritius is blessed with almost Goldilocks qualities: perfect weather, politically stable, English and French, oceans stocked with bounty, plus who can argue with a name that rhymes with delicious?
Not I, even if it took us over 24 hours in transit to get there, routing through New York and Dubai. Our bags had barely hit the floor before we were whisked off to a big Creole festival in the capital of Port Louis. While the official language is English, and locals write in French, they speak primarily Creole, in a rapid-style fashion I didn’t even attempt to understand. The festival was running all night long, featuring reggae and Creole acts from as far as Jamaica, but we didn’t stick around long enough to watch the sun rise over the mountains, which the British once proclaimed would fall should the island ever get independence. Since 1968, the mountains are still there, with no danger of falling into the sea.
There are over 100 resorts around the island, ranging from 5-star over the tops to budget-minded all inclusives. We headed to the south coast, a region that has seen the least development, but is now reinventing itself somewhat in the face of declining sugar prices, traditionally the island’s primarily revenue source. Everyone tells us that the government is hoping to attract 2 million tourists by 2015, a 100% increase over current numbers. With only one highway on the entire island, which can be driven end to end in about 3 hours, I wonder if they could handle the traffic, although I’m told there are more hotel rooms then flights to bring in the tourists to fill them. Not that I worry too much about this sipping on a cold Stag beer on the white sandy beaches of the Hotel Le Telfair, a gorgeous 5-star hotel and resort with postcard perfect sunsets and epic buffet spreads. The swimming pool glimmers just a few feet from the warm turquoise Indian Ocean, while a golf cart can drop you off at a manicured 27-hole golf course nearby. It’s not cheap, but then neither is Mauritius. When you’re a small island off the east coast of Madagascar, population 1.2 million, pretty much everything is imported.
We spend the day on a boat cruise, watching Spinner dolphins perform acrobats under an overcast sky, before the sun breaks free and lights up the water in all shades of dreamy blue. Our captain and his boisterous shipmate dive into the sea and bring out urchins, which are cut open, cleaned out, and prepared with lemon and white wine. Loud Creole music is playing as the boat gently rolls along shallow waters, depositing us for lunch on an island. Here I learn about the history of Mauritius, discovered and abandoned by Arab traders and later Dutch seafarers. The French realized its potential for sugarcane, clearing much of the island only for the English to snatch away from them (even if Napoleon did win a famous battle in the harbour outside Port Louis). With no indigenous people to enslave for their plantations, the British brought in African and later Indian workers. Their descendants make up the population. 52% is Hindu, although large Muslim and Christian communities are all proud of the way everyone lives in peace. That being said, a small White minority still own much of the island, living the good life of the economic elite. None of this matters to most visitors, who are too busy being wined and dined at the outstanding resorts, enjoying their tropical island getaway, and in turn, supporting a local economy. Interestingly, Mauritius has no armed forces, preferring to use the money it would spend protecting itself from imaginary enemies to offer free education and healthcare to its citizens.
A 33m tall statue if Shiva stands impressively at a temple complex in Grand Bissan, where one would be forgiven for thinking they’d landed on the Ganges. Water from the holy river was once poured into this crater lake, making it the holiest site for Hindus, and a great bit of colour for visitors. On Ile aux Aigrette, we learn about the unlucky dodo, a large flightless bird hunted to extinction, although their failure to adapt shoulders some of the blame too. Dumb as a…
In Blue BayMarine Park, we took an expensive glass bottomed boat ride to check out some coral. But the high life truly found us at Villa Valriche. It is a recent development that foreigners can buy property on the island, primarily in the form of expensive villas that come with golf courses and the added bonus of Mauritian citizenship. If you sell your villa, you lose your passport. Villa Valriche was all class. 4 bedrooms, gorgeous interior design, a pool overlooking the golf course, and a zippy electric golf cart waiting in the garage. We took it out for our dinner reservations at Awali, another high-end resort where dinner tables were set on beach sand. All class, all the way.
We stop into the sights, enjoy the best meal of the trip in a small local restaurant with our Maurtico driver one day, another week working in paradise. “If I was on honeymoon, I’d stay at the pool all day until I got bored out of my mind,” I tell Ana. “No, you wouldn’t, you’d want to explore,” she replies, correctly. We’ll figure this out at our honeymoon later this year, wherever that might be. Meanwhile, at a roadside attraction called Casela, we rock a quad bike and Segway safari, scooting amongst zebra and eland, imported from South Africa. A Lion Park gives us the opportunity to meet a cheetah, and play with baby lion cubs, including rare white lions who’s growl is just about the cutest thing you’ve ever heard. It’s a sweet thrill and nice warm up for South Africa, next on our agenda.
But we finish up at Legends, voted by Tripadvisor as one of the world’s most romantic hotels. In the dining room, couples face each other over candlelight while a hotel band plays soft ballads. The moon is full, the air is warm, and wind is rattling the coconuts in their trees. It’s exactly as you’d imagine paradise to be, and good to know that if you need it, and fate gives you the opportunity, it will always be there. Waiting for your visit, for your toes to sink into the fine, soft sand.
Photographs and Words Copyright © Esrocking the World Media Inc, 2005-2012
Modern Gonzo - Robin Esrock - Travel Writer is proudly powered by WordPressEntries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).