Blogs from Port Louis, Mauritius, Africa - page 3

Mauritius is the biggest of the Mascarene Isles, Reunion and Rodrigues being the other ones. Although first discovered by the Portuguese, the Dutch were first to settle there. It became however French territory before becoming a British possession. As a consequence we have today a very unique and rather complex linguistic situation. I think Belgium could take some lessons here. The official language is English, it is mainly used for administrative purposes. French is mainly used for business while creole is really the 'local' language. As 70% of the population is from Indian origin, Indian languages are also spoken and so is Chinese by the 3% Chinese minority. We could speak English or French with any person we met, whatever his/her ethnic background, what a dream... Most of the places have French names such as 'Grande ... read more

After two days at sea, having left the Seychelles with a whole new direction and itinerary, we spent time working out the details of a possible safari with Norm Pieters and the other six. It was a bit challenging for Norm as he was coordinating and putting everything together with his son in their Florida office via his phone, texting and email. Things were coming together but he needed to be sure we were all committed. The ship was still working on several things, so they did keep us in the loop, but in the final analysis, the eight of us all felt that Norm’s deal was definitely the best, most reasonable and easiest, as we had a charter flight from Richard’s Bay directly to the Mala Mala Camp airstrip. He felt this was one of ... read more

We circled above the gorgeous island of Mauritius before landing occasionally spotting beautiful stretches of white sand belonging to innumerable 5 star resorts. Most people associate the island with honeymoons and expensive family holidays but we were there for much more important and special occasions. Lucie’s brother Jonathan lives on the island with his wife and newly born baby girl, Jordan. Luc hadn’t seen him or Nat for 2 years, I had obviously never met either of them, and Luc was about to meet her first niece for the first time! I have to admit that I was quite nervous meeting Jonathan for the first time, which is unusual for me, but all my anxiety disappeared as soon as we stepped off the plane and were greeted as we left the airport. We drove for a ... read more

Its being please to visit IIe Aux Cerf it is relayy a true paradise on earth. The variety in water sports thrill you to be a part of it . Its a small island you can visit it with the help of speed boart and enjoy a lots from para sailing to surfing and last but not the least u can enjoy scuba driving also. with banana boat sailing .... read more

Arrival in Mauritius Oct. 14, 2008 Port Luis, Mauritius Norfy woke me at 12 a.m. Well, almost 12. a.m.. "Alex. You're up. 10 minutes to 12. Tea will be ready in a few minutes," Norfy said. I was awake, but barely. We were 8 miles east of Mauritius. Skipper James had asked that I wake him with 5 miles to go to our last waypoint, which was effectively the final approach to Mauritius. Norfy was off to bed and another 30 minutes or so and James was awake. I spent the next 2 hours at the chart table plotting our positions, while James was at the helm. It was dark and we sailed through a few squalls and storm cells so visibility was minimal at times. "I left rainy and cold England, and THIS is what ... read more