Mauritius

 “Mauritius was made first, and then Heaven, and that Heaven was copied after Mauritius.” –Mark Twain

Mauritius truly is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.  Even though it was raining when we pulled into the port, we could still tell it was beautiful by the bright blue water and the green mountains in the background.  When we got off the ship we took a 5 minute water taxi to where many of the markets and restaurants are in Port Louis.  We saw a very diverse mix of people.  It was the first place we actually didn’t stand out.  (Well I’m sure we stood out for being a group of obnoxious college students, but for once, we didn’t stand out for how we looked or how we dressed.)  There was a beautiful mix of Indian, African, Asian, and European people.  Many of the people spoke English and/or Creole.  We walked around and saw some of the local fish and produce markets and then took a cab to Grand Bay, a popular beach area.  We ate lunch at a restaurant on the water and then headed to our villa, which was about 3 miles from Grand Bay.

One of our friends rented out 3 villas on the beach so a small handful of us (about 30) decided to stay there.  Our villa was literally on the beach.  We stepped out of the door and onto the sand.  We spent the entire first day swimming, listening to music, and barbequing.  I also met the people who owned the villa next door.  They were two men from France who happened to be quite good looking.  I played a few games of ping pong with them on the beach and then went back to hanging out with my other friends.  Right before it started to get dark I borrowed someone’s snorkel and went out into the water to look for fish.  It occurred to me that there could be sharks in the water so I didn’t stay out too long.

Later that night a bunch of us went out to a bar and met up with other SASers.  Even though we stayed out really late, I woke up really early the next morning.  It could have been because I was sleeping upright in a chair with the sun shining bright in my eyes.  It was hilarious to wake up and see everyone sleeping in the weirdest positions, on top of whatever they could find, surrounded by leftover food and lots of sand.  (Luckily, I snuck out just in time to miss the cleanup.)

A few of us went out to breakfast in Grand Bay and met up with other people who were going on a catamaran ride for the day.  We decided to join them and a group of about 25 of us spent the day out on the boat.  We took the boat to an island that looked like a combination of Pride Rock from the Lion King and the island in the TV show Lost.  We were able to jump off the boat and swim and snorkel in the water.  The guys leading the catamaran ride barbequed us a delicious lunch and played their guitars and sang for us.  The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time.  Later we drove back to the ship in a cab that played the loudest techno music I’ve ever heard outside of a dance club so we had our own little dance party all the way back to the ship.  Although our time in Mauritius was short, it was more than enough time to enjoy this beautiful place that is truly heaven on earth.