Fly ‘n’ Flop in Mauritius

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Sunday 9th Feb/Monday 10th Feb

We were unsure what to expect today in view of Storm Ciara that was heading our way.

Our taxi was nice and early for our journey to Gatwick airport. The traffic was light; so I’m guessing people heeded the warnings not to travel unless necessary. The traffic at the Dartford crossing was better than we thought despite the bridge being closed due to the high winds.

Check in was swift and efficient and we were able to enjoy the facilities in one of the lounges, still not knowing the status of our flight.

Chatting to several people in the lounge many flights were delayed and even more cancelled so we were delighted to see that our flight at 17.30 was still in schedule.

We took off, all be it rather bumpy, more or less on time. We have flown on the Dreamliner aircraft a few times now and it didn’t disappoint this time. Our seats in row 1 were very spacious and we soon settled down for the 11hr flight.

Attentive crew throughout and we saw a beautiful sunrise, unfortunately my camera was in the bag up in the overhead bin, a missed opportunity!! So I’ll just have to hope for some beautiful sunsets in the coming days.

Immigration was swift as we were guided into the fast track area. Baggage was a little longer coming off the conveyor belt - why is it when you check 2 bags in together they come off at the destination 30 minutes apart ! hey ho, we are in no rush it’s a holiday!

Our journey to the Belle Mare area of Mauritius took around 1 hour but it was a pleasant journey as we passed sugar cane fields at every turn, the palm trees, banana plants, colourful tropical foliage all looking quite splendid with the mountains as a backdrop.

We passed through villages with an assortment of house structures; concrete, stone blocks, corrugated iron all looking like ‘Home Sweet Home’ for the occupants although to us they looked as if they were falling down.

Mauritius has a diverse culture and we passed several small Hindu temples, Churches & Buddhist temples on our journey today.

Upon arrival at the hotel we were given a warm welcome by the staff, as expected there was a little wait for our rooms to be ready as it was still only 11.30am.

So we made our way to the pool area and enjoyed a nice cold drink and a wonderful view across the turquoise sea.

The time soon passed and we were shown our room, a bit of a walk in the heat but a buggy driver stopped and so David was able to take a ride with a cheery porter.

The room is very light & spacious on the 2nd floor, (Not allowed to build higher) we overlook the beautiful sandy beach and I’m sure after a good nights rest we will be tipping our toes tomorrow into that inviting Indian Ocean.

This is a fly ‘n’ flop holiday but I’m sure I’ll find something to photograph and write about.

Goodnight folks zzzzzz

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