A trip of two halves…. and the long suffering boyfriend joins us.
Maria’s view
Mauritius trip was the last beach holiday before the lockdown. Now, the good memories come to my mind and a big smile is already on my face remembering the amazing beaches with all different blue colour, the green mountains and vegetation, the fine sand and the tasty local food. Let’s go to paradise!!
This time, me and my boyfriend, James, would spend 15 days on the island, most of it on the west coast and for the last days we would travel to the East to meet up with Alex and have even more fun.
We traveled from London with Emirates Airlines, with a connecting flight in Dubai, which it was a good decision, stretching the legs after a few hours stuck on a plane was really appreciated.
It was our first time flying with Emirates and the experience was fantastic. This is the closest you can feel to a Business Class flight in Economy (the difference is still big though). The menu for all the meals was very tasty and large, the seats were spacious (something quite important for us as we are quite tall people) and the entertainment choice was superb, unless you sleep as much as I can, you won’t have time to get bored with the large selection of music, games, movies and series.
Once landed we hired a car which it gave us the freedom to explore the island which I highly recommend, because unless you hire a private driver, the public transport is not great.
First destination Flic en Flac, the coast is all beach and the whole stretch is amazing. We found Flic en Flac more authentic if you want to feel a bit more of the Mauritian culture. We have been eating street food , especially by the beach and it was super tasty and super cheap, in some cases under a pound. You need to try the local dumplings and confi pineapple (pickled). We had THE BEST piña colada ever here in Flic en Flac, in a pub called “Mafioso”, D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.
We stayed in a hotel “Pearle beach Resort & Spa”, we were surprised as it looked even better than on the web site when we booked it. It is convenient price/quality wise. It has all the facilities to enjoy swimming either in the pool or on the beach offering different complimentary activities (kayaking, snorkelling…).
The best spot that we found in Flic en Flac was a Hindi ceremony on the beach, there were many people dressing very colourful clothes, carrying different flowers, food and candles for the Gods. It was unique and unforgettable, it has to be unforgettable because we found the ceremony just the day when I decided to leave my camera in the hotel to have a “carrying camera break” (damn it!), no worries it is all in my head 😉
From Flic en Flac, we have been driving to visit : the Chamarel rum factory , Alex advised us to go there as she has been there on her first trip to the island few years before, and have lunch in its restaurant, it was very very nice. You can visit the factory and you need to book a table in the restaurant in advance, the food was very good and you can drink until you die, alcohol here is very cheap.
In the same day, we visited the Chamarel waterfall , 7 colour earth , the rum factory and we went to Grand Bassin, which is a sacred lake for Hindu people, we found it very interesting. On the way to Chamarel, we found a view point at Black River Gorge, which was great (mountain view).
Then we drove up North, Grand Baie is completely different to Flic en Flac, you can find expensive shops all over the place, it is very pretty. The beaches are very similar everywhere. It is a nice place to stay over.
We stayed in a hotel at Mont Choisy called “Coral Azur Beach Resort” and although it has a great potential in terms of location and how big it is, we were sadly disappointed as it was much worse than the previous one, although we payed similar mount of money. Even though me either James are not picky people, we felt obliged to ask for a different room as James got some information from internet mentioning that some rooms were refurbished and some were not.
They kindly tried to pleased us with our request and we were located in a better room, nothing in comparison to the first hotel still but at least this one was less depressing. The funniest thing happened when one night the headboard fell off from the wall making a tremendous noise, I am laughing now although I was super scared as it happened when we were sleeping deeply.
The best experience that we had in this holidays is called the “Moon walk”, you are taken by boat to an specific place, around 10 minutes from the coast, where there is a platform, then you have to wear a special helmet (you really look like an astronaut) which allows you to be immersed into the water while you continue breathing so you can appreciate the beautiful undersea world. We are not divers, so this is the closest experience the we could have to appreciate the beauty of the sea world.
We were in a not so super deep place although deep enough to need those helmets and walk around. Absolutely a great experience.
From here we drove one day to Port Louis where you can have an idea of the capital, it is very busy with lots of traffic and lots of people, the market reminded me of the souks in Marrakech. The port is very pretty and nice to relax and have a drink with shopping centres rather than markets which are across the road.
Another day we have been driving up the coast , we stopped to see the Red roof Church at Cap Malheureux and we drove down to a beach called Poste La Fayette where the water, we don’t know why, was warmer than in the other beaches. We spent a long time here in the water.
We visited as well the Botanical Garden Pamplemousses, nice to go for a walk and relax, it is quite big.
After having a wider idea of the beauty of the island we were ready and excited to meet up Alex in one more amazing hotel. New adventures would arrive for sure.
Alex’s view
In September 2019 I joined Maria and her other half in Mauritius for part of their trip. I was absolutely certain that, with the buffer of a third presence, surely fewer things could go wrong! SURELY! This, coupled with the fact that the interlock of co-adventuring would only occur for four days, hence reducing the residual risk. I was fascinated to see if these “controls” (i.e. James) would mitigate the inherent risk involved in travel with Maria….. well…. it was certainly an interesting exercise!
My trip had a stop off in Dubai, as I often stop in to visit friends, I will write a separate entry for it in due course, however, I arrived in Port Louis via the delights of Emirates Business Class travel, which is truly very comfortable and cannot compare to British Airways. I would equate Emirates Business to BA’s First Class. The comfort and the amount of space are such, that the stop off in Dubai was not yearned for.
I stayed at the Four Seasons at Anahita Beau Champs, this was my second stay at the resort. However, I was as highly disappointed this time round, as I was utterly delighted with my sojourn four year previously. The resort is well manicured, but the stark difference to my previous stay was quite shocking. The coral reef was gone, some of the amenities were curtailed, there was building work in one of the restaurants, and the food and entertainment were also not as well cared for as my memory led me to believe. I had such lovely recollections of snorkelling off the beach, and the hope of revisiting my fishy friends, was soon extinguished. The reefs, even the one off shore, were completely bleached and the fish reduced to a handful. When the statistics of global warming become a tangible reality, it is urgently sobering and heart-breaking. The other aspect of the hotel which was most displeasing was the relentless upselling which grates, not only with the natural friendliness of the locals, who seem uncomfortable perpetuating it, but also with the environment. When service becomes upselling it is very noticeable and most unpleasant. Unexpected too, in a five star hotel. I was constantly pressed to order cocktails, drinks, off menu dishes etc. This was so relentless, I would rush dinner to go back to the room. A real shame.
As to the Island. Mauritius is a gem. Stunning tropical rainforests, waterfalls, fantastic wildlife and utterly stunning geography. Seven Sands is probably one of the most spectacular corners of Mauritius, the multi coloured layers of centuries of geological sediment, seem unnatural. I would also strongly advocate a trip to Chamarel Rum factory… YUM. Obviously one must visit this location as an educational pursuit, in order to fully appreciate the production methodologies and the processing of sugar cane. This is most informative and required absolutely no supplemental inducements as were provided by the spectacular lunch. It is of course mandatory to sample the produce of this distillery. It is indeed an imposition to try 6 different types of delicious rum, but one must be polite and endure such a task with fortitude. This is further compounded by the challenge of resisting the temptation to hug the bottle of vanilla rum, purchasing every bottle the distillery can supply and concurrently attempting to remain structurally stable. Sobriety was long relinquished as a forlorn hope.
In short, I kept myself busy with the rum, the relaxation by the beach, while all the time planning the masterstroke of shock and awe to welcome Maria and James to the resort…….(drum roll please).
The Lockdown Travel Guide 