Mauritius

I went to Mauritius on a family vacation and though it was a year back, I still remember it like yesterday. This country is so breathtakingly beautiful and the sun-kissed beaches are amazingly clean. Though my flight was delayed by almost 10 hours which meant I had to spend a sleepless night on the airport was not at all a good start. But all my weariness was gone as I landed on the Mauritian soil with the breathtaking views all my way to the hotel (although after checking into my hotel I slept for the whole day).

The first day we went for some water sports. I did the under-sea walk and enjoyed my time with the little fishies. I also went for parasailing and the bumpy boat ride. Next we went to Ile Aux Cerf by a speedboat.The speedboat ride was fun as I sat at the edge of the boat and could feel the salty wind against my face. On our way there we went to a beautiful cascading water fall. Ile Aux Cerf is a real pearl in the Mauritian landscape. We spent time on the beach playing in the water and running around the shore.

The next day we planned to check out the weekend market at Quatrebourne where we picked up some good bargains on souvenirs and clothes. after some shopping , we went to the Flic en Flac beach by the local transport bus. The bus network and frequency is pretty good. It was the cleanest beach I have ever seen and the water was so clear that I could see my toes clearly even in knee-deep water. Later I had ice-cream from one of the musical ice-cream vans and felt like a kid again.

The next day we headed towards the Mauritian Capital Port Louis. We first went to the SSR Botanical Garden earlier known as Pampelmousses Botanical Garden. Next we went to the Citadel Fort from where one can have a panoramic view of the entire city. Next we went to the Caudian Waterfront which is a huge mall surrounded by water. Opposite it is a local market with streets lined with vendors selling local and Chinese goods.

The next day we went to the gem factory, model ship factory, and t-shirt factory. From there, we toured Curepipe, the scenic residential town of the affluent and Trou Aux Cerfs, the volcanic crater. Then we went to Ganga Talao (Grand Bassin), the sacred lake and lord Shiva temple followed by the Charamel water falls and the seven coloured earth which is a result of various stages of decomposition of molten lava. Later we went to Black River peak which is the highest point of the Black River George National Park.

The following day we went to casela Bird park where one can see various exotic species of birds from various parts of the world. We toured the other parts of the park by a safari bus seeing various animals, mainly ostriches. From the park we proceeded towards Grand Baie for the Blue Safari submarine ride. The ride was for around 40 minutes and 35 meters deep. I got a magnificant close-up of marine life and also the discovery site of the wrecked Japanese vessel Star Hope. On our return from the ride we recieved certificates for diving on board.

Our last day in Mauritius was spent in Casela Park again as we missed giant turtles the other day in order to make it on time for the submarine ride. The turtles are really huge and toddlers can ride them. They are left in the open for visitor interaction. This was or last day and we returned home with happy memories of Mauritius.