Mauritius
Baie du Toulous
Saturday, March 17th
I arrived in Mauritius late last night after a slightly delayed flight from Madagascar. It was then about a one hour drive in the pouring rain to the hotel but at least Mauritius has an excellent highway north/south on the island. It was almost midnight when I checked into Les Cocotiers hotel and I definitely had mixed feelings about it. On the positive side, they spoke English. On the negative side, it seemed very small and primitive. However, on this trip I have definitely learned to not judge a place until at least the daylight hours of day two.
Well, it’s now the afternoon of day two and the place is indeed small and primitive. However, it is also clean and comfortable and the ocean and beach are right here so I think I’ll survive. I’m sitting on my second-floor balcony right now. The pool is to my left and there are several people in and around it. The beach and ocean are right in front of me through the palm trees and there is no one out there. It’s a very small beach so there couldn’t be more than 20 people out there or it would be very crowded. The hotel frontage appears to only be about 60-100’ and right now there is only about 10’ of white sand before the water. I don’t know if it’s high or low tide right now but I’m guessing it is high tide and there is normally more beach. The hotel faces the west so hopefully I’ll see some good sunsets.
The hotel has a pool in the centre – long and narrow but certainly adequate for the size of the place. The units are small with four per building along the one side of the pool and at the non-ocean end. The reception is an open but covered area, as is the dining area, which is right on the ocean. It is lunchtime now but I don’t see anyone eating. I’m on half board so will be trying to make a late breakfast last me until an early dinner. I just had some crackers and cheese and a banana as a snack to tide me over and yes, it was all stolen from the breakfast buffet.
There is a reef around most of Mauritius including this area. As a result the waves are breaking way off shore and the water is very calm and gentle on shore. It is cool by their standards and cloudy today as a result of the cyclone off Northern Madagascar. It will probably rain again tonight but rain at night is just fine by me.
On Monday and Wednesday they have a free shuttle to their sister resort which is a 4 or 5 star hotel on the main beach. I will probably go both days for a change of scenery. Their only shuttle to town is on Thursdays and since I arrived on Friday and leave on Thursday I guess I won’t be taking that one. We are in a rather isolated area so I’m not sure what it would cost for a taxi to and from town.
Town would be Port Louis, the capital. We drove through it last night in the dark and the rain but it still looked very nice. It has a large new harbour area, which seems to be the place to be these days. There is a lot of other stuff to see and do in town and on the island. However, with the location of the hotel and the situation with my feet, I’m just not sure what I’ll be able to see. I don’t want to overdo it but I’d sure like to see more of Mauritius than I saw of Madagascar.
Later the same day
I’m now back out on the patio to watch the sunset. We just had a quick down pour that seems to be over now and the air is very clean and cool and fresh. The birds are going nuts in the trees. Their chirps are all but drowning out the music and noise from the pool, which is a blessing in my opinion. There are more people around now, I assume having returned from a day of touring I have a small, young gecko on my deck. He’s obviously come in from the rain and seems quite comfortable to stay even though I’m only about 3’ away from him. He’s about a foot long and very slender. He is a beautiful bright almost fluorescent emerald green with red spots on his back. I’m assuming he is young because he doesn’t have the blue stripes yet to accompany the red dots. If I’m not mistaken he is an Ornated Day Gecko and he is famous on the island according to the tour books.
People are on the beach taking pictures of the sunset. From my vantage point through the trees there is nothing to take a picture of. I guess I’ll actually have to go down and check it out.
Sunday, March 25th
Although I’m now in Seychelles I’m going to finish Mauritius before I do anything else. Trust me, it won’t take long. And no, the sunset was not worth going down for but others throughout the week were quite wonderful so I have lots of pictures from a couple of those nights.
On Sunday I thought I might go into town but someone said not much was open so I stayed by the poolside instead. I did get in the pool a couple of times because I had to cool off but getting in is not an easy process. They have steps as well as ladders but there is no railing so you really have to be sure footed, which I’m not, to get in and out gracefully. I got in and out but I’m sure I never mastered the graceful part.
I have no books to read as the only books in their book exchange are in German. As a result I sat at poolside finishing my Egyptian saga by hand. They have no internet, supposedly because of the cyclone but I’m not sure they don’t use that as an excuse for everything.
I went for a walk on the beach at sunset. With my boots on I can navigate the slope and uneven sand and washed-up coral (also supposedly the result of the most recent cyclone and not normally on the beach) but I certainly couldn’t do it in sandals or barefoot. I was so looking forward to enjoying the beaches in these locations but I guess that wasn’t meant to be.
On Monday I took the shuttle over to their sister resort, which is on another beautiful beach. I didn’t even try getting across the beach to the water as it was a very deep beach with lots of loose sand. By not even trying to go down I missed the opportunity for a glass-bottom boat trip out over the reef. I would have enjoyed that. Snorkelling is another thing I’d really love to be doing but I can’t because of my feet. The glass bottom boat would have been a good substitute.
Oh well, back to my actual day. I spent it by the pool and was thrilled to see that the entire length of the pool had wide, shallow steps into the water so I thought I could manage that. And each step was even clearly delineated by a wide tile of a different colour. How hard could that be? Well, it was too hard for me. The wider steps were actually gentle slops and the darker tiles were level but very slippery. I made it to the first level only and couldn’t get any further. And of course I’ trying to be cool about it and pretending I’m really not trying to get in! I did eventually get in once by going around to the other side and using the steps there. As usual they didn’t have a railing but they were going along the one side of the pool so I could hang on to the pool edge as I went. The top steps were the only tricky ones but I made them.
If you think I’m getting paranoid about my feet, you’re right. This whole thing is ridiculous. If I step on anything that isn’t completely smooth and flat I just about fall over. A hard pea, a tiny pebble, probably a grain of rice – they would all be a problem. I’m starting to feel like a real princess, as in the Princess and the Pea story, and I’m not enjoying it. I’d gladly go back to commoner status at any time if my feet worked.
Okay, back to Mauritius. Monday night / Tuesday morning I spent most of the time in the bathroom and that continued until Wednesday, and I checked out on Thursday and flew to Seychelles. As a result there is really not much else to say. I saw my resort and its sister resort and the road to and from the airport. The island is beautiful and green and has some wonderful mountain peaks on it. Aside from that, I know nothing about the place.
On my, I just found some notes I made at some point. I guess I should include them.
Mauritius is a very small island so it only takes an hour to an hour and a half to drive across the island at any point. The main highway is great. The smaller highways are good but very narrow with no shoulder for extra room or for pedestrians.
You can almost always see one coast or another from wherever you are on the island so there are lots of ocean views. It’s a very green island with lots of agriculture and rolling hills. The cities and towns are new and modern looking but there are still places that look like slum areas with small tin and wood shacks crowded close together.
There is a good bus system and it seems well used. There is heavy traffic at business rush hours and they make 3 or 4 lanes in the direction needed (instead of 2 in each direction). However, there are no signs or signals for this. You just know when you reach the roadblock in one lane that you can’t go there any more. I don’t know how they tell people joining the highway after the initial roadblock but obviously they have some sign or signal.
There are flowers everywhere and they are very beautiful. One place I really wanted to get to was the Botanical Gardens to see the giant water lilies and other unique plants and flowers. It looked amazing in the pictures.
The birds around here are also amazing and their songs in the morning and evening are almost deafening they are so loud. However they are also beautiful to listen to. I didn’t even mind them waking me up at 5 a.m. since I knew I’d get back to sleep for a bit longer anyway.
The weather was hot – in the low 30s C but it didn’t seem too hot or humid. There was almost always a nice breeze from the ocean. And the ocean water was warm too – almost the same temperature as the air they tell me.
The food was mainly Indian with lots of spices and curries. Needless to say, that didn’t work too well for me but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
Mauritius is another country with a diverse background – Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, Indian, Chinese, Arabian all played a role in the country’s history. English is the official language but French and Creole are also spoken. Those in the hospitality area also speak German, Italian, Spanish, Hindi and other languages. Their literacy rate is around 90% and everybody speaks at least 2 languages – another country Canada could learn from.
Baie du Toulous
Saturday, March 17th
I arrived in Mauritius late last night after a slightly delayed flight from Madagascar. It was then about a one hour drive in the pouring rain to the hotel but at least Mauritius has an excellent highway north/south on the island. It was almost midnight when I checked into Les Cocotiers hotel and I definitely had mixed feelings about it. On the positive side, they spoke English. On the negative side, it seemed very small and primitive. However, on this trip I have definitely learned to not judge a place until at least the daylight hours of day two.
Well, it’s now the afternoon of day two and the place is indeed small and primitive. However, it is also clean and comfortable and the ocean and beach are right here so I think I’ll survive. I’m sitting on my second-floor balcony right now. The pool is to my left and there are several people in and around it. The beach and ocean are right in front of me through the palm trees and there is no one out there. It’s a very small beach so there couldn’t be more than 20 people out there or it would be very crowded. The hotel frontage appears to only be about 60-100’ and right now there is only about 10’ of white sand before the water. I don’t know if it’s high or low tide right now but I’m guessing it is high tide and there is normally more beach. The hotel faces the west so hopefully I’ll see some good sunsets.
The hotel has a pool in the centre – long and narrow but certainly adequate for the size of the place. The units are small with four per building along the one side of the pool and at the non-ocean end. The reception is an open but covered area, as is the dining area, which is right on the ocean. It is lunchtime now but I don’t see anyone eating. I’m on half board so will be trying to make a late breakfast last me until an early dinner. I just had some crackers and cheese and a banana as a snack to tide me over and yes, it was all stolen from the breakfast buffet.
There is a reef around most of Mauritius including this area. As a result the waves are breaking way off shore and the water is very calm and gentle on shore. It is cool by their standards and cloudy today as a result of the cyclone off Northern Madagascar. It will probably rain again tonight but rain at night is just fine by me.
On Monday and Wednesday they have a free shuttle to their sister resort which is a 4 or 5 star hotel on the main beach. I will probably go both days for a change of scenery. Their only shuttle to town is on Thursdays and since I arrived on Friday and leave on Thursday I guess I won’t be taking that one. We are in a rather isolated area so I’m not sure what it would cost for a taxi to and from town.
Town would be Port Louis, the capital. We drove through it last night in the dark and the rain but it still looked very nice. It has a large new harbour area, which seems to be the place to be these days. There is a lot of other stuff to see and do in town and on the island. However, with the location of the hotel and the situation with my feet, I’m just not sure what I’ll be able to see. I don’t want to overdo it but I’d sure like to see more of Mauritius than I saw of Madagascar.
Later the same day
I’m now back out on the patio to watch the sunset. We just had a quick down pour that seems to be over now and the air is very clean and cool and fresh. The birds are going nuts in the trees. Their chirps are all but drowning out the music and noise from the pool, which is a blessing in my opinion. There are more people around now, I assume having returned from a day of touring I have a small, young gecko on my deck. He’s obviously come in from the rain and seems quite comfortable to stay even though I’m only about 3’ away from him. He’s about a foot long and very slender. He is a beautiful bright almost fluorescent emerald green with red spots on his back. I’m assuming he is young because he doesn’t have the blue stripes yet to accompany the red dots. If I’m not mistaken he is an Ornated Day Gecko and he is famous on the island according to the tour books.
People are on the beach taking pictures of the sunset. From my vantage point through the trees there is nothing to take a picture of. I guess I’ll actually have to go down and check it out.
Sunday, March 25th
Although I’m now in Seychelles I’m going to finish Mauritius before I do anything else. Trust me, it won’t take long. And no, the sunset was not worth going down for but others throughout the week were quite wonderful so I have lots of pictures from a couple of those nights.
On Sunday I thought I might go into town but someone said not much was open so I stayed by the poolside instead. I did get in the pool a couple of times because I had to cool off but getting in is not an easy process. They have steps as well as ladders but there is no railing so you really have to be sure footed, which I’m not, to get in and out gracefully. I got in and out but I’m sure I never mastered the graceful part.
I have no books to read as the only books in their book exchange are in German. As a result I sat at poolside finishing my Egyptian saga by hand. They have no internet, supposedly because of the cyclone but I’m not sure they don’t use that as an excuse for everything.
I went for a walk on the beach at sunset. With my boots on I can navigate the slope and uneven sand and washed-up coral (also supposedly the result of the most recent cyclone and not normally on the beach) but I certainly couldn’t do it in sandals or barefoot. I was so looking forward to enjoying the beaches in these locations but I guess that wasn’t meant to be.
On Monday I took the shuttle over to their sister resort, which is on another beautiful beach. I didn’t even try getting across the beach to the water as it was a very deep beach with lots of loose sand. By not even trying to go down I missed the opportunity for a glass-bottom boat trip out over the reef. I would have enjoyed that. Snorkelling is another thing I’d really love to be doing but I can’t because of my feet. The glass bottom boat would have been a good substitute.
Oh well, back to my actual day. I spent it by the pool and was thrilled to see that the entire length of the pool had wide, shallow steps into the water so I thought I could manage that. And each step was even clearly delineated by a wide tile of a different colour. How hard could that be? Well, it was too hard for me. The wider steps were actually gentle slops and the darker tiles were level but very slippery. I made it to the first level only and couldn’t get any further. And of course I’ trying to be cool about it and pretending I’m really not trying to get in! I did eventually get in once by going around to the other side and using the steps there. As usual they didn’t have a railing but they were going along the one side of the pool so I could hang on to the pool edge as I went. The top steps were the only tricky ones but I made them.
If you think I’m getting paranoid about my feet, you’re right. This whole thing is ridiculous. If I step on anything that isn’t completely smooth and flat I just about fall over. A hard pea, a tiny pebble, probably a grain of rice – they would all be a problem. I’m starting to feel like a real princess, as in the Princess and the Pea story, and I’m not enjoying it. I’d gladly go back to commoner status at any time if my feet worked.
Okay, back to Mauritius. Monday night / Tuesday morning I spent most of the time in the bathroom and that continued until Wednesday, and I checked out on Thursday and flew to Seychelles. As a result there is really not much else to say. I saw my resort and its sister resort and the road to and from the airport. The island is beautiful and green and has some wonderful mountain peaks on it. Aside from that, I know nothing about the place.
On my, I just found some notes I made at some point. I guess I should include them.
Mauritius is a very small island so it only takes an hour to an hour and a half to drive across the island at any point. The main highway is great. The smaller highways are good but very narrow with no shoulder for extra room or for pedestrians.
You can almost always see one coast or another from wherever you are on the island so there are lots of ocean views. It’s a very green island with lots of agriculture and rolling hills. The cities and towns are new and modern looking but there are still places that look like slum areas with small tin and wood shacks crowded close together.
There is a good bus system and it seems well used. There is heavy traffic at business rush hours and they make 3 or 4 lanes in the direction needed (instead of 2 in each direction). However, there are no signs or signals for this. You just know when you reach the roadblock in one lane that you can’t go there any more. I don’t know how they tell people joining the highway after the initial roadblock but obviously they have some sign or signal.
There are flowers everywhere and they are very beautiful. One place I really wanted to get to was the Botanical Gardens to see the giant water lilies and other unique plants and flowers. It looked amazing in the pictures.
The birds around here are also amazing and their songs in the morning and evening are almost deafening they are so loud. However they are also beautiful to listen to. I didn’t even mind them waking me up at 5 a.m. since I knew I’d get back to sleep for a bit longer anyway.
The weather was hot – in the low 30s C but it didn’t seem too hot or humid. There was almost always a nice breeze from the ocean. And the ocean water was warm too – almost the same temperature as the air they tell me.
The food was mainly Indian with lots of spices and curries. Needless to say, that didn’t work too well for me but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
Mauritius is another country with a diverse background – Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, Indian, Chinese, Arabian all played a role in the country’s history. English is the official language but French and Creole are also spoken. Those in the hospitality area also speak German, Italian, Spanish, Hindi and other languages. Their literacy rate is around 90% and everybody speaks at least 2 languages – another country Canada could learn from.
posted by Jayne Brooks @ 12:47 PM
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