On the loose in Port Louis

This morning, at breakfast, I met a lovely older couple from the UK, Ted and Lyn. Lyn was born and raised in South Africa and we recognised each others' accents and got to chatting. They asked what I was going to be doing with my day and when I said I was going in to Port Louis on the bus they said that that was their plan too. So we discussed all the various attractions to see and what would be good or not so good. I left them thinking that I might see them on the bus or at the very least in town somewhere.

I walked to the second bus stop because it had some shade and a bench to sit on. I also checked with the other people waiting there if I was in the right place and they confirmed it. I didn't have to wait too long, the bus arrived after only 10 minutes. The journey was about 45 minutes into town and along a route I had previously not been on so that was good too.

My first destination in town was the Citadelle or Fort Adelaide. There are differences in opinion in why the fort was originally built. Some camps favour the idea that the fort was built by the French to defend Port Louis against a British Invasion, while others feel that the fort was built by the British to protect its settlers when the French got a little feisty about the abolition of slavery in Mauritius. Either way though it seems that both opinions don't seem to be grounded in much truth. Apparently during the period of construction of the fort, there was no war between the French and British and the abolition of slavery occurred peacefully with the slaves being replaced by indentured workers from India. Anyway for whatever reason, there is a fort up on one of the hills above the Port Louis' CBD. It is a fairly ugly squat building with not too much going for it except the fabulous view of the city. I have been up to the fort previously but it was closed at the time and I could not see inside or admire the view from the battlements. This morning it was, however, open so I got to look around a bit. There is not much inside, just some shops selling diamonds, spices and souvenirs.

 The stairs up to the fort

 The canon protecting the fort's flank

 The view of the city

 Looking down to the harbour

 The inside of the fort

 One of the staircases up to the battlements

 The shops

 Canons protecting the fort from an inland attack

 More view

The entrance / exit

From the fort I walked down into the city to firstly find some water that wasn't being sold at a ridiculous amount of money. It is amazing how the price of things go up where tourists gather! Anyway along the way I stopped at the cathedral.

 A crusader in the cathedral grounds

The cathedral

I found a supermarket - a Shoprite but this one didn't have any NikNaks - and bought some water which I drank in the shade of the Banyan trees in the Company Gardens.

 The Banyan trees in the Company Gardens

One of the statues of the Company Gardens

Across the road from the Company Gardens was the Natural History Museum and I figured if I was going to see a dodo, this would be the place. There is a dodo there but I don't think it is a real one. The literature provided said that the dodos were very poorly preserved and that they ended up so moth-eaten that they all had to be destroyed - I'm not sure how true this is but that is their story. For the rest of the museum, there is not much to say about it.

The Natural History Museum

The dodo

From the Natural History Museum I wandered down to the waterfront just taking photos along the way. I enjoyed the walk a lot. There were not many people about so it was pleasant.

 Queen Victoria - she really does get around

The waterfront 

 Lovely lamps at the waterfront

 More waterfront

 Protection for the city

 Even more waterfront

 The entrance to the craft market - an overpriced place in my opinion

 The alleyway between the malls

 Some fishing vessels

 Looking into the CBD from the waterfront

I had a bit of lunch at the Keg and Marlin which has a lovely view over the water. It was nice to relax and have a beer while doing some people watching. After that though it was after 2pm and I was done with being a tourist. As I was making my way back towards the bus station I came across Ted and Lyn. We swapped stories about where we had been and then went our separate ways. I carried on to the bus station to find a bus back to Albion. 

Despite having been told to only ask a policeman where to find the bus, I asked a guy who was trying to get me to get on a bus to Flic and Flac. He was very helpful and told me exactly where to go. When I got to where he had indicated, there was a bus there already, about to leave for Albion. I hopped on and off we went. The buses are old but really cheap. The trip cost me 28 rupees each way (R8 or $1) so very reasonable.

I had a good day out and now I need to pack my suitcase again. I leave at 7:30 in the morning to go to the airport for my flight to the Seychelles. Tomorrow will be another day of hanging about but at least I know there is only one more week left and the Seychelles is one of my favourite places.

Take care everyone!