Mauritius: Stacey's List

Port Louis, Mauritius

 

(Pronounced ma-rish-ous)

 

A tiny, densely populated island in the Indian Ocean, to the east of Africa and Madagascar.  720 square miles, dormant volcanic mountains and craters, beautiful beaches and ocean colors similar to the Caribbean's many shades of turquoise. 

 

No thanks to the Dutch who were the first to colonize Mauritius, the Ebony forests were exploited and the dodo bird, eliminated.  Now extinct are 50 native and endemic plants, with 155 more species critically endangered. 

 

The majority population today consists of Hindu Indian, followed by Creole, French and English.  Mauritians take pride in the fact that theirs is one of the most successful multi racial countries, co-existing in harmony.  Sugar is the main crop, followed by tea.  Tourism, textiles and financial services are thriving as well.

 

As we walked into town and through the streets surrounding the Central Market, the streets were packed with people, vendors, scooters and many things for sale.  It was crowded, and dirty, and loud, and very colorful.  The air was filled with various scents ranging from body oder to fresh cilantro.  This seemed to be sort of a preparation for our next port, India.  The food market was mainly vegetables, herbs and fruit.  Locally grown mini pineapples and bananas were deliciously sweet.  You could eat the pealed pineapple like fruit on a stick, holding the green top and munching the fruit, dripping with juice.  yum!  The fish and meat markets next door were quite an experience, and I must say, were not as foul smelling as I expected.  The textile and craft market was on the other side of the vegetable stalls.  The market stalls ran the length of the entire block.   

 

Maha Shivratree, a religious festival celebrated in honor of Lord Shiva, was taking place during our time in Mauritius.  Thousands of Hindu pilgrims, walk long distances, carrying the "Kanwar", wooden arches and platforms, covered with flowers, and religious statues.  Hindu devotees converge at the sacred lake, the Grand Bassin.  It is believed that this lake is connected to the Holy Ganges in India.  The pilgrims take holy water from the lake and partake in ceremonies of prayer.  There are stations along the path offering food and water to the pilgrims.  We got as far as the huge Shiva statue and temple at the top of the mountain.  The chant, "Um Shiva" was piped through huge tents via loud speaker.  Many pilgrims were resting, praying or eating in these tents.  Unfortunately, the weather was really nasty with strong winds and horizontal rain.  We were not prepared with jackets and such, so we did not go further to the lake in the crater of a volcano.  Instead we ate with the pilgrims and took in the many sights, sounds and experiences.

 

For such a small island, it is interesting how the weather can be so dramatically different.   At sea level the beaches were sunny and hot.

 

We took a catamaran trip to snorkel at a reef that was somewhat disappointing to those of us who have experienced better.   The next day the kids and I went to a school for troubled teens.  Project Teen Hope offers teens another chance at learning English, French, basic interview skills and craft making.  As these kids failed in public school, the hope is to show them alternatives to prostitution and drugs.   

 

If you ever come to Mauritius, I would recommend the Central Market experience in Port Louis, the mountains on a clear day, the beaches (when no threat of a cyclone) and of course, the Shiva festival.  Our next stop is Chennai, India.