Mauritius

Mauritius is a picturesque volcanic island in the Indian Ocean. It has strangely shaped volcanic peaks round the coast and houses climb the slopes and are dotted in the rich green of the forests. We arrived in the capital Port Louis just before sunrise and George to my amazement grabbed the camera and rushed up on deck to record the pink sky and our arrival. There are a few sky scrapers and infuriating traffic jams in the city and environs...that surprised me because the total population of the island is only 1.2 million but they are mostly in the urban area of the port. Mauritius has English as its official language but everyone speaks French, English and Creole and the French influence has remained very strong. Road signs are in both French and English.

We spent our day at the Isle de deux Cocos (the isle of two cocnuts!) which was an inspired choice. A bus drove us to the South East end of the island this morning, and once we left the town we drove through lush sugar cane and banana plantations with the strange dark peaks always in the back ground. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the sea when we approached the southern coast was various shades of turquoise. Oh I forgot to say that it was hot!! We were all armed with sun block, insect repellent (OFF with Deet) against mosquitoes and malaria (low risk), beach towels, sun hats and glasses, bottles of water and our bathing suits....or should I say bikinis which all the young women were wearing....pas moi! You see we were off to this private island in a glass bottomed boat.

We were greeted as we landed by a tall East Indian gentleman who pointed us to the chaises longues under the trees (Casuerina I think). There were huge tents with cushioned couches inside and long tables set with silver and wine glasses spread out in the shade. It all looked VERY welcoming. Especially as we had sailed through a storm last night and none of us had slept well.

The grown-ups (we really do feel like it!) parked our belongings on the chaises and explored the island. There were boats to take us snorkeling and a beach for swimming in the luke warm water. The coral was magnificent; Cauliflower and antler shaped, great flat mushroom topped and dark green algii competing for space and life. There seemed to be a dearth of brightly coloured tropical fish and we saw mainly what I call striped "zebra fish" and a few softly coloured other species no one could name. Not as exotic as the reef around St Martin in the Carribean. We were in a lagoon and in the distance were white foaming breakers which crashed against the surrounding coral rocks. There was a Moroccan styled villa on our island built round a courtyard which one could rent for $3000 a night and it had a smallish blue swimming pool. We were told that the whole island had been reserved for us and only us. There were about 50 of us altogether but only 6 'adults'!

Needless to say the whole day was a dream come true. We lazed, swam and snorkelled; we ate delicious barbecued fish, shrimps, cray fish and lamb with colourful salads followed by dishes of tropical fruits...pineapple, paw paw, hot bananas cooked with rum and brown sugar and passion fruit. None of us wanted to leave but all good things come to an end and we slowly boarded our boats and buses to return to the ship.

We came aboard to our air conditioned cabins with reluctance and then made our way to our own supper barbecue out on the 6th deck. We sat and relished the tropical air and watched the sunset. We were not supposed to sail until 10 pm but for once we left early and are well under way as I write.

Tomorrow is our Olympics....cheerleaders and all, US style! Some of us may lie low! I did enter my name for the mashed potato sculpture contest but they wouldn't have me. Disappointing as I couldn't wait to get my hands into the mixture and create some masterpiece...but it is their loss is it not and perhaps the world's, who knows?!

We are both tired and as the sea seems calm and the ship travelling at a 'sane' pace we should certainly attempt to get some shut eye.....but we could all have done with alot more Mauritius!