Trou aux Cerf Crater

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Geo: -20.2554, 57.5517

Wednesday 04/02/09 Mauritius - Indian Ocean Temps air 27°C Sea 29°C

Arrived 08:00 to a clear bright day, we've booked an all day island excursion taking in the Black Gorge, Chamarel waterfall and the coloured earths, no sooner had we started off then the weather closed in, with the tops of the peaks alternating between being visible and enveloped in cloud. Fortunately by the time we had reached the top the clouds had lifted sufficiently to view the dormant volcanic crater below us making for a good photographic opportunity, however looking back seawards the view overlooking the bay and the beautiful coral sea in the distance was rapidly being obliterated by the descending clouds which then unleashed its payload in a deluge, swamping everything and everybody not covered up, we were luck to only get caught in the first few spots before the heavens opened.

After that the other stops followed the same pattern, sometimes we could see the views we had travelled so far to see and other times there was only dense cloud, so with nothing further to be achieved we'd set off to the next venue. After lunch things improved and we had good views of the Chamarel waterfall and the coloured earths, these are volcanic sands which cooled at different rates leaving them in different coloured layers, red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow. Unlike the coloured sands at the Isle of Weight (I think if my memory serves me right they're at Alum Bay) these sands always separate back into their appropriate layers if they're mixed up, as you might expect you can buy very small bottles of the sands from a few shops.

16:00 back to the ship for an early departure for Phuket. Immediately after casting off the captain announced that the forewarned cyclone was now travelling directly towards us and although we would alter course after clearing the island in order to avoid the worse effects of the storm the current forecast for at least the next 48 hrs was for winds force 9+ and seas of 5.5m+, oh bugger, as if we haven't had enough stormy seas to cope with already. It was then I noticed we were the only vessel departing port, everyone else was inbound making for shelter, I know we're a dam sight bigger that all the other vessels but. Oh well time to go to the cabin put the booze in the drawers ( precautionary measure) shower and change in time for dinner and make sure I've something inside me just in case.

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Comments

[Island Eye]

Great pictures.... I am always looking for something special and I've found , thanks.