Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Postcard from Mauritius



3/1

We've barely caught our breath after Cape Town, and this morning we docked in Mauritius. Can you find it on the map? Look in the Indian Ocean, just to the right of Madagascar. This is the island discovered by the Portuguese, where the dodo bird used to live before the Dutch brought them to extinction in the 1600s (they really did taste like chicken!) Then came the French in the 1700s, who were there long enough to teach everyone their language and cut down the forests to plant sugar cane (still the main crop today). Then those darn British in the 1800s, who left their style of government and education, and brought over lots of folks from India to work the sugar cane.

Mauritius has about 1.2 million people on an island 20 x 40 miles long. Half the population is Hindu, followed by Muslim, Tamil (from Southern India), Catholic and Chinese. They speak a Creole sort of French, and are in the process of redefining their economy from agriculture to high tech and tourism.

The island has pure white beaches and clear blue water that looks like a swimming pool and is just as calm. They are trying to undo the environmental harm that was done by wiping out 98% of the forests and most of the native flora and fauna. This is a huge undertaking.

That said, the main city, Port Louis, is a city in transition, with some modern buildings, a lot of older, sadder buildings, a very industrial waterfront, and a busy dock area not really set up for tourists. We hopped on a bus and within 10 minutes, we were out of the city limits, and driving through mile after mile of sugar cane fields, on our way to our first adventure, climbing Le Pouce (the Thumb). Yes, there is a mountain that is shaped like a big ol' thumb's-up, and Jim and 27 students were determined to conquer it today. As there was not a cable car in sight, I had no choice but to go along…

The kids started off at a trot, and I couldn't keep up, and entertained thoughts of getting back on the bus, but one of the guides offered to stay back with me. Jim reminded me to set my own pace. I lagged behind, but after a while the kids got tired and slowed down too, and then I had plenty of company. The consensus of the girls was that I was doing much better than THEIR mothers would be able to do!

The trail up was graced with fields of white ginger and lantana, and although it was a warm, sunny day when we started, it got cool and breezy halfway up, and downright cold and windy when we reached the ridge. From that point we broke into small groups to scrabble up to the summit, which could only hold a few people at a time. One of the girls discovered she was afraid of heights, and sort of crawled up, but she made it. As always, the view from the top made the climb worthwhile.

As we started our descent, one of the boys turned his ankle and couldn't walk. Our guide wrapped the ankle in an ace bandage, but when it became obvious that the lad wasn't going to be able to walk down, the guide picked him up and carried him piggy-back down the mountain! How's that for customer service?

We had lunch at a lovely old colonial house named Eureka, which served us chicken curry and pickled olives. Then it was on to the Flic en Flac beach (named for the sound your flip flops make) for a swim in the absolutely clear blue water. A fine day.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Way to go, KaSue.

xox
Walter