I feel like I have started all of my latest blog posts with
“I am so sorry I am horrible at updating…” Well, I’ll save my apologies this
time because I have 8 hours to kill in the Johannesburg airport before I catch
my 16-hour flight to the big apple so naturally; I am killing that time by
showing off how great my last week has been.
So, for those of you that do not know, I have been in
paradise Mauritius for the past week utilizing my new SCUBA license to explore
the third largest reef in the world. Needless to say it has been pretty
amazing. Things got a bit lonely because I was by myself, but it was a great
place to go after such a life changing experience in Madagascar, where I could
just relax and reflect upon my past four months abroad.
Before I go into greater detail about my Mauritian
adventures let me give you a short synopsis about Mauritius first. Mauritius is
an independent island nation that lies east of Madagascar and its neighboring
island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean (just to give you a reference it was
about a two hour flight to get there from Tana). The island has been under the influence of
both the British and the French so you will see evidence of both influences.
For example, like the Brits, Mauritians drive on the left side of the road-
which obviously makes things a little bit difficult for an American crossing
the street… I had one close call but otherwise ended up unscathed. The official
language of Mauritius is English but you will find that most people are
actually more comfortable speaking French for their local Creole is
French-based.
In regards to the language I got lots praise for my ability
to speak French as an American. People were generally impressed and I am so
happy that my French improved over these past months. In fact, as I am sitting
in the Johannesburg airport right now, I have to bite my tongue when I speak
for my first instinct is to speak French to people. This is going to be a tough
habit to break when I get back to the states.
I was very much surprised by all the development in
Mauritius. It is a major tourist destination for Europeans and Australians and
shows it through all of the luxury hotels and tour operators on the island. For
my first five nights I lived in a cheap rental apartment in the tourist center of
Grand Baie that is home to many shops and hotels in addition to a giant
supermarket (picture Wal-Mart supercenter on steroids except with the
organization and cleanliness of a target) attached to a mall with a casino and
bumper cars. Needless to say, when I discovered this first night I pretty much
had an anxiety attack walking around the place not having been in a building so
big, new and clean for a very long time.
Unfortunately not all of Mauritius is like this. Like many
tourist destinations there are the tourist spots and the local spots. It was
striking to drive around the island and see some of the economic differences.
Many of the houses were reminiscent of some homes I had seen throughout my
travels in Madagascar- small and dirty with scrap metal roofs. It makes it a
bit harder to really enjoy yourself in a place like this when you see the
standard in which some of the locals live.
I am not normally one to stick to the tourist traps (this
blog is called the road less traveled duh!). So after a horrible experience
with lamb my first night at a restaurant near my hotel I decided to bag the
tourist restaurants altogether and stick with the more delicious and less
expensive street food. And let me tell you…. The roti and samosas were some of
the best I ever had. I got quite a few weird looks from the local men when I
was standing in line with them getting my curry at 8:30 am but hey, it makes
for a unique experience!
Speaking of unique experiences… I had an incredible time
diving! I dove with a dive operator which is basically a shop where you can
rent things and sign up for organized dives with other people and instructors.
Everyone there was super nice and I ended up being able to do six dives in all.
I improved a lot, met a lot of cool people and most importantly saw so many
cool SEA CREATURES! I unfortunately do not have access to an underwater camera
so I do not have pics but I did see a ton of huge moray eels, three giant rays
and octopus in addition to a ton of cool fish. It was the coolest thing- I
literally felt like I was in a fish tank at times, the visibility was so good. The
dive sites were all really great- right on the reef and I even got to go down
to 80 feet (which I am not even certified to do- but the instructor said they
would make an exception for me)
I spent the remainder of my time when I was not diving,
going on runs, walks, exploring, going to the many beaches surrounding me or
resting for my next dive! Here are some of the picture highlights of the trip!
The next two photos were taken right across the street from the dive shop-
The waterfront of Port Louis (the capital city)- I managed to figure out the public transport and spent an afternoon exploring the city :-)
I came across some strange but beautiful gardens in the financial district of Port Louis...
This is about a two minute walk from my residence in Grand Baie
Anxiety provoking super-market slash mall slash casino slash food court...
DIVE SHOP!
En route to Maheboug (where the airport is located) it is on the opposite end of the island so the very nice owner of my hotel picked me up at the airport and then brought me back to Mahebourg to stay for my last night. Beautiful views-
Views from my Mahebourg hotel... Need I say more?
I am so thankful to have been able to have this experience.
Not many people are able to say they have been to Mauritius not to mention
Madagascar. Another update will be coming soon about some more thoughts on my
leaving Madagascar. There really is not a second that goes by since I have left
where I do not think about my experiences there and how wonderful and unique
they were. But for now, I am going to concentrate on staying sane for the
remainder of my layover here in JNB and avoiding any more marriage proposals
from security guys (I thought that was going to end in Madagascar and Mauritius
but I guess I was wrong….) Also- wish me luck in my miserable 16 hour flight to
the States. I cannot wait to be back in the land of the free and the home of
the brave!!!!
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