Memoirs of Mauritius

Sometimes you just need to get away from the whirl of the wheel of daily life to whose spoke one seems to be tied with the rope of responsibility. The thoughts raced as I traced the route of my Air Mauritius flight,in the LCD in front, nearing its destination. Many co passengers had regarded me as a sample of nature’s creation gone wrong to be traveling alone in jeans and tee clutching a multicolored sling bag picked up from Colaba. As the flight prepared to land I craned my neck for a better look, and the businessman occupying the window seat stayed back. The most spectacular sight revealed itself, the tiny island of Mauritius, with a rugged range dissecting it from the middle. There was an array of “earth colours”. The mountains were a warm shade of brown in the brilliant sunlight, and the rest of the island was emerald green with patches of tilled land like embedded topaz. The flight swirled around and made a satisfactory landing in a small runway. Exchanging the formal good byes I de-boarded and soon found myself in a cute immigration lounge decorated with mattresses. There were 13 counters manned by 7 people, and the queue kept on increasing as the temperature rose. I felt good. Yes some things were just like “home”. After a grueling 40 mins wait the officer beckoned me and reflected that I had a lovely name [:-)]. He was really meaning it, but in spite of the plastic smile on my lips I badly wanted him to plant the “dodo bird” stamp, which he eventually did after 2/3 more compliments. “Thud”. And I had officially been permitted to tread the soil of Mauritius.

Picking up my luggage I took the hotel transfer to “Le Tropical” where I was to stay. The road was straight as the horse hair in a prismatic compass, and stretched ahead grey, bordered on both sides by endless sugarcane fields. Suddenly the small bus took a left turn and there was an instantaneous “Ooh” from all the passengers. The sight in front was magnificent. The azure sky met the cobalt sea, which had peculiar bands of green, turquoise and white. The sea lulled against the picturesque white beach. The sight was right away etched in my mind for eternity as I told myself “Welcome to Ile d’ Maurice”

Le Tropical had allotted me a cozy little cottage overlooking the lawn and consequently the sea itself. The first day I spent at leisure, exploring the compound, taking a walk along the jetty and throwing away money by making expensive calls to home and drinking extremely expensive water. I contacted my local agent, Fardeen, and figured that four days would be enough to visit the Island well. I recalled my boss mockingly making a comment that if I started to walk along the beach, I shall cover the entire circumference of the island in eight days. But what can a lone novice do but succumb to the game of life. C’est la Vie!!

As per plan, the next day I desired to visit the capital- Port Louis. It is a lovely city with a waterfront built in the lines of one that exists at Cape Town. I was basically walking on a floating city and looking at the casino and the designer wear displayed in the shop windows. Ignoring them, I took the subway and went to the main city. Exchanging my dollars at a shabby outlet I got a satisfactory rate by clubbing my money with another man on lookout for the same purpose, I set ahead exploring the streets and market of Port Louis. One thing I may ratify here is that the place is extremely expensive with a simple keychain costing you a 100 MRU. I picked up a tee shirt, a few souvenirs for home, 12 litres of cheap mineral water and a local sim card. Sorry everyone, I am not the usual traveler hunting for goodies at shopping malls. But I must admit that the 2 storey market has fascinating handcrafted souvenirs which one can pick up at rather decent prices.

En route I had met a friendly jockey who had told me that the flavored sugarcane juice is a must try at the waterfront. I feasted on pizza (for I could afford nothing else) and tried the mint flavoured juice, which I must opine as something far from a “must try”, if you do not possess a vindictive attitude towards the one you are suggesting it to. Merci! It was already evening when I returned to my hotel. I took a short stroll along the beach in front of the hotel. It was desolate and beautiful, providing me umpteen opportunities to photograph the subtle beauties that nature offered. After a tiresome day and a sumptuous meal I settled down early with the French droning from the TV lulling me to sleep.

North Island covered; the next day was reserved for the south. The south of this Island offers a milieu of natural and man made beauties to be appreciated. One can visit the Pamplemousse garden to admire the lotus, “Le Port” to see ship models being built and sold at sky high price, or there is “Gangatalla” for the religious minded. I had been to the last two and was caught in a rain (which was an everyday occurrence, providing me in turn with a bright rainbow later) for more than an hour. The chill that followed reminded me that I was in the Southern Hemisphere and it was now winter. One may also visit the dead crater, and the deep ravine. But the pick of the lot for me were the Charamel waterfall and the Seven colored Earth. The Charamel was sheer beauty, descending into the large plunge pool below, where there was a perpetual rainbow formed. And beyond it stretching for miles were “Kaash Bons”. The symbol that every Bengali associates with Durga Pujo. I loved the place.

However the most intriguing was the 7 earths. It was basically a site for a volcano, which fortunately or unfortunately did not materialize. The agents of weathering and erosion acting upon the residue had created a marvellous array of coloured soils viz. brown, orange, red, violet, green, yellow and grey. The sight is unforgettable and awe inspiring. I spent a good part of the day there, admiring the marvel of nature. One thing worth mentioning here (for people traveling with kids) is that for some unexplained reason this particular spot also houses three giant turtles, that seemed to huddle in a corner conspiring against the bunch of faces that peered at them. Fully satiated, I returned to the hotel for an evening of reggae concert that the authorities had arranged for us. The evening was well spent with music and wine, and I was already looking forward to day III when I would be visiting Ile aux Cerfs and indulging in some water sport.

Exciting isn’t it, when the criteria to visit a place entails possession of beach towels and “appropriate clothing”? Well, that my friends is Ile’ aux Cerfs (the Island of Waves)-a pristine beach where the primary activity is sunbathing, though I busied myself with sun shading, and lazed around listening to my favourite songs on the ipod. There were also options of taking a ride in the “glass bottom boat” to experience the undersea life. But I did not need that for amongst the activities I had chosen were the speedboat ride and the under sea trek. It was a memorable experience as I glided into the deep blue sea with nothing but an oxygen mask. I confess that I was rather scared, as I do not know swimming. However the moment my eyes got accustomed the world that flowered before me made me forget all my worries. There were corals and sea anemone, all waltzing gracefully to the beat of the underwater currents. The multicoloured fishes darted in and out of them making momentary splashes of colour here and there. The diver who was hovering about wanted to know if I desired to feed them, and I nodded in the affirmative. As I fed the shoals of fish that thronged around me, he took several snaps of mine which I really treasure.

So that my friends were the postcards that I could bring for all of you from Mauritius, a wonderful place with people as sunny as the weather there. I departed for Kolkata the day after. Even through it was a short stint, I shall always cherish my rendezvous with La Petite ile de Maurice.