Mauritius on roulette with Reliance

Period: 27 March / 4 April Airport and airline: Milan Malpensa, Air Europe Subjects: mother and daughter (yours truly)

This holiday was a lottery from the start... it was our first Roulette and we got it......even the weather was kind... according to the Mauritians this is the best period, there's no rain and it's not too hot....

So let's start by saying that two days before departure I had a fever and a cold and my mum wanted to stay at home if I didn't improve, but I fought hard and set off.... A wonderful choice..... The flight lasts 10 hours and is quite stressful.... But as soon as you see Mauritius from the plane you understand straight away that it's worth it.... What a sight from the window!!

As soon as we arrive they tell us our hotel will be Le Grand Bleu at Trou aux Biches. The hotel is quiet, simple but quite well kept: air conditioning, TV, telephone, a decent bathroom and a veranda overlooking the pool; I must say I was happy because there are only 50 rooms, it's family-run, and it's on the most beautiful beach on the island in my opinion (among all those I saw it remains the best)... the only flaw is that it doesn't have a beach with facilities and you have to get used to sitting on the ground under the palm trees, but it's still lovely.... Indeed it's a real paradise..... green palms, clear fresh water, a long white beach....I even saw a couple getting married on this beach..

A week is far too little; I'd gladly have stayed a few days longer... also because it's a very beautiful island and it's worth visiting the interior. The island is very peaceful; I saw lots of couples with children, there's no danger except stepping on a coral on the beach or being hit by a falling coconut...

EXCURSIONS: -The first day we did the sea and then in the afternoon took a taxi that took us to Port Louis and the Pamplemousses gardens. We took the taxi outside the hotel, we didn't haggle much, and settled for 1200 rupees because of my mother, but if we'd pushed harder we'd certainly have managed....a beautiful park to visit, the botanical garden, but arm yourself with anti-mosquito spray! Port Louis is characteristic for its market and for the newer part, which is full of shopping centres similar to ours... I also found the Hindu temple near the bus station enchanting....

-Chamarel, Casela, Grand Bassin lake and the extinct volcano (done with the tour operator Corallo, 50 euros per person). This excursion lasted all day, lunch included, provided by Mrs Paola (good, though I didn't like the pasta..). We visited the sacred lake and its Shiva temple and were blessed... what peace it gave us..... the day was mostly spent on the minibus moving around; along the way we saw pineapple and sugar cane plantations, then we got off to see an extinct volcano, we saw waterfalls 90 metres high and nearby macaques roaming free; afterwards we visited the seven-coloured earths formed by a volcanic eruption, then we had lunch and visited Casela park (animals of all kinds: giant tortoises, ostriches, parrots, tigers, but mostly they're all in cages...)

-A day at Flic en Flac, we had ourselves taken by taxi along with our friends from Riccione and mum's colleague and her husband (yes, you read that right, we found mum's colleague at the hotel!! ahaha what a surprise!!). We set off, the 6 of us, from the hotel and looked for a minibus-taxi, which charged us 60E for the whole day for all 6 people (10 E per head). The beach is made of pines and was fairly crowded with both tourists and locals.. you can see Le Morne in the distance. What excited me most was spotting numerous parrotfish, Picasso fish and angelfish along the coral reef, easily reachable from the shore even without swimming.

-Île aux Cerfs, done through Bradley's agency (a beach boy we met on the beach) who wants exactly half of what the tour operator asks for doing the same thing, that is 50 E. I must say the weather was a bit changeable and on the other side of the island, that is at Belle Mare where you board, it was quite windy.... The sea was a bit rough but the craziest thing was that mad boat skipper who must have been doing 80 km/h to reach the islet... along the way we stopped to see some waterfalls and then he took us to the Île aux Cerfs... so highly praised, but, shallow sea, lots of current, lots of people... ok it's all green but to me it didn't seem like such a big deal...later we moved by boat to go and have lunch on the other side of the island.... What a meal!! what hearty laughs! It started with a rum and coke on an empty stomach... rice, fish, lobster, chicken... we ate and drank a lot...

even too much, and in fact afterwards we started dancing the Sega (a typical local dance), half euphoric... (not me, I was too worried about the return trip with that mad skipper..) and in fact on the way back we were supposed to go onto the coral reef but the sea was starting to swell and despite that the skipper was racing like a madman out to sea... I was terrified; there were also two French children aged 3 and 1 in the hull... and indeed afterwards he calmed down, but he was too bold for my taste... apart from that, which is anyway subjective, I recommend doing the excursion with the beach boys..

-Port Louis by scheduled bus one afternoon: not content with the visit to the capital, we ventured into their life by taking the scheduled bus that for just 19 rupees takes you from Trou aux Biches to Port Louis (40 rupees = 1 euro). A great experience; imagine that even the conductor got on...

IMPRESSIONS: I set off with the idea of going to my beloved Africa, but in reality Mauritius is the Switzerland of Africa, it's very well served, poverty is much lower than in other African countries.... It's an earthly Paradise... And imagine that the majority of the population is Hindu and the island is full of Indian women who give this corner of paradise an even more exotic touch.. The people are charming, all very kind and helpful, the shops take euros. I think this island shows that peaceful coexistence between several religions can exist. Mauritius, I'll never forget your beaches, your crystal-clear sea, your palms, your mountains and your sugar cane plantations, your stars on night-time walks along the beach... Mauritius, I hope to come and visit you soon... go there, it's an enchanting place!!