Weekend in Mauritius

This weekend was so busy that there just wasn't enough time to blog so here is the weekend report. On Friday night I went, along with some of the other ladies on course with me, to Mira's house for dinner. It reminded me of how much I love Indian hospitality! Mira is fifth generation Mauritian and very nationalistic but within that has maintained her Indian culture too. We were fed and fed and fed some more. It was all really delicious and a wonderful evening spent chatting about anything and everything. It was also my first encounter with the Mauritian generosity of pouring alcohol. I was given a gin and tonic that was four fingers gin and one finger tonic! This is apparently how they mix there drinks and this was to be reaffirmed on Saturday evening but I will get to that later. It was a very late evening and those of us on the course needed to get some rest as we had class the next morning.

Saturday's lessons were about using the data stored in Nansis to investigate the biodiversity of areas and also to track various changes in fish availability and climate. We also went through how to setup Nansis on a research vessel other than the Dr Fridtjof Nansen and then we had to work through some exersises to make sure everyone was still following and understanding the program. After lunch we were released to do our own thing for a couple of hours.

I went for a walk up to Fort Adelaide which is on the top of a hill and provides really great views of Port Louis. I did get a little lost on the way and ended up at the horse racecourse, a place that Mira had told me to avoid because it is a place of high crime (not sure how that relates to South African crime) but nothing happened to me while I was there and I quickly found my way to the Fort. Unfortunately the fort was not open but I think the main reason everyone goes there is for the view anyway. From there I walked down to the waterfront through the Chinese section of Port Louis as well as through the Central Market. The Central Market is probably an organised affair but it does feel like a whole lot of informal traders who have just setup their stalls on the pavements. You can buy practically anything at the markets and they cost less than at the formal stores. It is, however, all a little too crowded for my liking and I didn't stay there too long. I spent about an hour wondering around the waterfront looking at all the stores available before heading back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the cocktail function.

Fort Adelaide as seen from my hotel room window.

The cocktail function was held at one of the resort hotels outside of Port Louis. I was very impressed because event the Acting Permanent Secretary was in attendance along with most of the Fisheries Ministry and Albion Fisheries Research Centre staff. It began with drinks and snacks on the terrace overlooking the beach and here is were the trouble began! I decided that the closest thing to an actual cocktail that was on offer was rum and orange juice and it was poured 2 thirds rum, i third ice and just a thought of orange juice. It tasted much better than I thought it would and had way too many LOL. Anyway from the terrace we moved to the dance area where we were given a performance by some dancers of the séga - a traditional dance that is performed on most of these Indian Ocean Islands. Unfortunately the performance area is in the open and the rain came down so everyone (dancers and audience) had to move inside but the festivities continued. The dancers ended their performance by dragging some of the audience onto the dance floor and from there some of us never got off the dance floor until we were shepherded back onto the bus to return to our hotel. It was a really fun evening and thank you to the Fisheries Ministry for organising it!

The dancers doing their thing!

The audience get involved.

Back at the hotel I ended up socialising further with one of the Norwegian trainers and only got three hours snooze before having to be up and about to go sight-seeing. I really considered withdrawing from this excursion as I felt like death warmed up and my bed seemed like a much better place to be but in the end I knew that if I didn't go I would regret it. The trip started off with a shopping excursion to a type of flea market that operates on Sunday mornings at Quatre Bornes outside of Port Louis. This was added on because the two ladies from Mozambique really wanted to go shopping. The rest of us could not have cared less about it but it was ok because it meant we had a slow start. I walked through the market with Jens-Otto and Magne and then we spent the rest of the allocated time trying to find some cold coke to quench our thirsts.

From the market we were taken to Trou aux Cerfs which is the crater of an extinct volcano in Central Mauritius. The crater is packed with forest and has a pool of water at the bottom but there is a road around the rim and a nice lookout point too.

Trou aux Cerfs volcano crater.

The view from Trou aux Cerfs looking towards the coast.

The bus then went to Ganga Taloa which is a special place for Hindu people where according to legend, Shiva and his wife landed while undertaking a trip around the world. A couple of drops of water from the Ganges that he was carrying landed in a volcano crater (not the same one as above). These water not forms the Grand Bassin where devoted pilgrims visit every year. The entrance to Ganga Taloa has a 30m high bronze statue of Shiva. It is apparently the second tallest Shiva statue in the world beaten only by one in India. It really is spectacular and the detail is incredible. The lake in the crater is really beautiful too but we just had a look in passing and then went to a local food vendor for a quick snack.

Lord Shiva

With everyone's bellies filled with roti and curry, we went to the Alexandra waterfall in the Black River Gorges National Park and then on to a view point looking over the Black River Gorges. It is really beautiful with lush vegetation and waterfalls, big and small, all over. We also got a glimpse of the South Coast through the mist and it looked very inviting. The difference in the temperature between Port Louis and the mountainous area in the centre of Mauritius was amazing and we were also looking at the world through thick mist but every now and again the mist would clear to show yet another lovely area.

Alexandra Waterfall.

The Black River Gorge.

South Mauritius was our next destination but to get there was a treacherous journey down a steep and winding and NARROW road. Luckily I was too tired to worry about it but I did hear some of the others' sharp intakes of breath every now and again. The trip to the coast was well worth it though and we came out at Mahébourg and went to the beach. The bus stopped for about 2 hours and everyone could do there own thing there.

Magne, Jens-Otto and I went snorkelling. It was an interesting experience ... the side-wash was extremely strong so we had to just drift along and see what there was to see before swimming diagonally towards to shore to get out. We then walked up the beach again and got in to do it all again. There was no way that we could swim to the fringing reef because we all thought the current was too strong for us so we were swimming over scattered sea grass patches and small bits of reef. We did get to see some nice fish though and it was an enjoyable experience.

The South Coast.

After the beach experience it was time for dinner and we were taken to a restaurant where we had a feast of Chinese food. My problem was that I was sitting in my damp swimming costume - really should have taken a change of clothes along!

The tour eventually ended at 8pm and I was so overjoyed to be able to have a shower and fall into bed.