Land ahoy!

We have survived 6 sea days!

Update… we have been occupied with chair aerobics, I have been to water colour painting, Mike has been attending lectures and filling me in on the most interesting bits and we have attempted to learn to dance. Mike managed 20 minutes of line dancing, 3 minutes of samba, 10 minutes of the cha cha and today 30 minutes of the Viennese waltz. The wifi is still spasmodic ☹️.How have you occupied yourself?

Look it is Port Louis,Mauritius. Mauritius is an island that has been settled by the French and then the British who brought in Indian workers for the sugar cane farms. Now the island is a mix of all of these and the original inhabitants. People here speak English, French and Creole.Makes you a bit envious doesn’t it.

So we have organised a taxi to take us around the island. He is supposed to be here at 8.30 so get ready. Mmmm no taxi with the number given and no driver with a sign ….mmm 9.30am let’s try another driver. Red car , red tshirt , Yassim let’s go.

The main religion on the island is Hindu so expect to see lots of Hindu temples. Of course all the other religions are also represented but no time to visit any of these.

People here work in modern buildings and live in apartments in the city. Some of the buildings are quite architectural… do these remind you of ships?

Finally we are in the suburbs. What do you think this one is called?

Did you guess phoenix? You are right. Here is the original Military base.

It has beautiful grounds, I think.

People in the suburbs also live in low rise apartments but if you are wealthy, this is for you.…walled or fenced houses with yards.

There are public buses and a limited tram service. Look you can even bang on the bus door and he will let you on even if you are not at the stop.

So the plan is to visit areas in the south of the island, then back through the city before returning to the ship. No we can’t go right round the island…. there isn’t enough time. Check out the map.

Are we in Paris….no it’s just a French families compound called, you guessed it, Paris.

First stop the reservoir. They definitely need rain. Water is available for 3 hours morning and night.

Next stop the giant statues of Shiva

They are huge!

Just down the road is a Hindu temple complex.

Sorry no time to explore it. We are heading for the viewpoint to see the 3 mountain peaks (Trou Au Cerfs),and the crater.

Rodney should have checked out the sign.

Chameral Falls next.The rocks near the waterfall are shaped like stacked polygons

Not far from the falls is a giant tortoise reserve and the 7 coloured rocks. The rocks are basalt that had different amounts of iron oxide in them. As they weather , these different amounts cause the rocks to be many shades of colour. I am impressed, aren’t you.

Look at the giant tortoise. They hatch babies here too.

Time to head back along the coast.The road is winding and used for racing cars at certain times.

Time to set sail. It has definitely been a whistle stop visit but we have seen some of the different parts of the island. I feel like I saw heaps but could see more. What do you think? A few more sea days now until we reach Durban.