Mauritius

Mauritius was interesting, it is most known for being the land of the dodo. Mauritians definitely haven’t forgotten this fact, practically every souvenir t-shirt and knickknack within sight serves as a reminder of this peculiar bird/icon. The main island is about the size of a Texas county and is technically part of the African continent, but is primarily influenced by French and Hindu culture. English is one of the national languages, but the newspapers are in French and English seemed to be everyone’s second or third language. Mauritius is a popular vacation spot for Europeans, there are direct flights from Paris and it seems to be similar to a Hawaii for them. While in Mauritius we hiked Tamarand (hope that’s how it’s spelled) falls which is a series of seven waterfalls. We jumped in two of the pools to cool off and had a picnic at the bottom. We also went deep sea fishing the second day, and Mauritius is known for marlins and we just happened to be there for marlin season. We decided on a half day (6hrs) fishing trip, but we didn’t catch anything. We did have about 10 seconds of action though when we finally got a bite, but it was short lived and the fish was gone before we knew it. The guide told us it was a wahoo, I guess he could tell by the type of bait that it went for, but who knows. After a frustrating day we spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach with the gentle Mauritian tide. The last day we went horseback riding on the southern part of the island at the bottom of some foothills. The horses we rode were well cared for retired race horses from South Africa, that now live at a destination horsey retirement home of sorts. Overall Mauritius was fun, and I think it will prepare us ever so slightly for the Indian culture shock, but word is that Semester At Sea will most likely be going to Mozambique next time they come around South Africa.