“Mauritius was made first, and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius”
Mark Twain, American writer

The island of Mauritius has always been a very distant, interesting and mysterious place for me. Finally, I’ve visited it.

Sometimes sunbeds are placed on artificial islands far away from the shore. You swim there and sunbathe under the sun, surrounded by the water surface and silence.

Supermarkets on the island offer New Zealand dairy products, and billboards on the streets actively advertise them, although New Zealand is pretty distant.

You can find the sugar cane plantations throughout the island.

There is a tradition to open champagne with a saber. Usually this is done during some festivities. In English, this process is called "sabrage". I was also allowed to participate in this ceremony. You need to smite off the "upper rim" of the bottle’s neck with a blunt end of the saber.

After the bottle is opened, a solemn ceremony of "knighting" takes place.

Here’s how the bottle of champagne opened with the help of "sabrage" looks like.


In the morning in

Mauritius

you can always see fishermen, slowly doing their business.


The island itself was discovered by the Portuguese Diogo Dias, brother of Bartolomeu Dias, the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope, when his ship got off course because of a storm in 1500. Almost 100 years later, the Dutch landed here and gave the island its modern name in honor of the Dutch prince Maurits van Oranje.

After the Dutch, there were the Frenchmen who called Mauritius "Ile de France", which in French means "Island of France".

After the Frenchmen, there were British people who unexpectedly agreed to preserve the French language, French laws and culture here and allowed the French to keep their lands on the island. They still own them.
The British abolished slavery and brought many workers from India to work on the sugar cane plantations. Now a large number of Hindus live in Mauritius and Hindu temples are not uncommon here.



There's a large number of lianas growing on the island. I've never thought that they are so strong. You can even climb up the liana.

You can often see how they sell huge ocean shells.


You will find many places where you can try various "rum liqueurs".


Mauritius has an English left-hand traffic and a very developed car rental services. You can often meet such "Suzuki Jimmy" for rent from major international companies on the island.


There are many yachts of various sizes on the island. Some of them have the fluttering state's national four-color flag. The colors of the flag mean the following: red - independence, blue - the color of the Indian Ocean, yellow - a bright future, and green - the lush vegetation of the island.

There are many small artificial islands in Mauritius, probably, for romantic dinners of the honeymooners.


Many hotels are a work of art. Talking about Mauritius, first of all I would express luxury hotels. Excellent food, huge areas with swimming pools - all this characterizes the luxury of the "island of France".


The capital of the island, the city of

Port Louis

, is located on the north coast and is surrounded by an amphitheater of the mountains. The French governor de La Bourdonnais founded this city. A powerful basalt fortress, Citadel Fort Adelaide, overlooks the capital on a 86-meter high hill. The French began to build it, and the British finished.
Port Louis is clearly visible from the height of the hill.


The city has the

Champ de Mars hippodrome

. It was built in 1812 as a parade ground for the French army, and is now the second oldest riding club in the world.


You can see a large territory with a church and a statue of Mary in the distance. This place is called Marie Reine de la Paix (the French Marie means Queen of the World). This church was visited by John Paul 2 and is considered a holy Catholic place.


Caudan Waterfront Center is the main tourist location in the capital. You'll find here the island's best stores of famous brands and the market of folk crafts. This is the most famous hotel of the island, Le Labourdonnais, where all official delegations arriving to the island stop.


Military ships of the Coast Guard of Mauritius are moored nearby.


Sugar terminal. Sugar cane is the most important export articles of Mauritius. 


Here I've tried "freshly squeezed juice" from sugar cane for the first time. I liked it very much and it's a pity that it is not sold in packages or plastic bottles. I remember that it had an unusual taste.
Sugar cane is "milled" and juice is "squeeze" from it using a special device.


This is a "source material" for the juice production.

The taste of cocktail is really great. Unfortunately, I have never met the opportunity to try this juice in other places.

Let's continue our tour of Mauritius (The Island of Mauritius. P.2)!