Days 95-98: Mauritius

Our descent into Mauritius was quite beautiful and we got a good sense for the size of the small island nation as we got views across the entire island and its sharp, almost brittle looking peaks. Although it was dark by the time we reached our hotel we could still appreciate the view from our seaside balcony and knew that in the morning there would likely be mountain silhouettes added to the horizon.

Craig even found an appropriately
named beer

We awoke to a stunning sunrise over the ocean and small offshore islands. As it was already quite hot by 6:30 am we donned our swimming trunks and went to lounge by the pool overlooking the ocean on a comfy day bed. After enjoying the sun and a dip we had breakfast and went off to find the Blue Bay beach. Following a short public bus ride, a lunch of venison and chicken skewers we splurged and shelled out the few bucks for two lounge chairs and an umbrella for the rest of the day. The views were superb with huge waves crashing at the barrier reef hundreds of meters out on the otherside of a small idyllic island.

The next day we hired a taxi driver to take us to see all the sites in the south of the island. We visited the waters of the Ganges river; when Shiva was carrying the river around the world a drop of it fell in Mauritius to make the sacred lake Grand Bassin. Craig got blessed there and we saw a gigantic statue of Shiva. From there it was off to do a short hike/walk in Black River Gorge National Park, followed by a few view points of the gorge.

Another 10 km brought us to the surprising cool seven coloured earth and nearby Chamarel waterfall. The seven coloured earths featured six colours of earth (by Craig's count) surrounded by lush, jagged ridges. Erin enjoyed the giant tortoises and it was interesting to see them stagger about.

The last stop of the day we had chosen to visit La Morne, a stunning peninsula dominated by a large cliff and rimmed by white sand beaches. Having seen it from the sky we decided that we needed to visit. Lunch as a meal was very disappointing but the couple hours spent lying out on the sand and swimming in the clear waters looking back at the imposing cliff was possibly the highlight of the day.

The last two days were spent relaxing either on our balcony or back at Blue Bay (if you ever visit this stunning public beach and find a patch of sand that is perfect, devoid of any coral, stones, or shells, you can thank Craig). For our last night, we made the most of our lavish suite (complete with mini-fridge and tabletop stove) by cooking our own dinner. We even found gluten-free pasta at the grocery store, and mixed up a sundried tomato sauce, once paired with some cold white wine it was perfection!

We'd also like to note that we asked about Mauritian wine but were told they don't make any, making it the first country of the trip that we did not drink locally made wine.