MAURITIUS (1): POSTCARDS (& BLURS) FROM THE EDGE

Some of you might have noticed I was offline recently. If you were asking, “Where the hell is Richard?”, this post will provide several answers.

Okay, so I was in Mauritius. Visiting and reconnecting with family, attending a wedding, escaping from incessant power failures and relentless pessimism about the state of South Africa, taking a break from IG and experiencing a world that couldn’t be more different from the city I live in, Johannesburg. Actually, it was my first proper and much-needed holiday in years.

I was away for three weeks and it’s taken me another three weeks to go through and edit all the hundreds of pics I took. So here’s some snaps from my time in Ile Maurice, the Indian Ocean island that’s a four-hour flight from JHB. Trying to keep this mostly visual. Impossible to show everything. Wouldn’t want to be a vacay bore.

Part 1: Island life in an impressionistic style and in no particular sequence or importance.

Part 2: What I wore fragrance-wise, fragrance shopping, plus some skincare products.

Part 3: Moody. I’ll leave it at that for now.

Firstly, let me start by saying I was overwhelmed by the generosity and hospitality of my family, many of whom I hadn’t seen for decades (I was last in Mauritius in the 1980s, oui, I’m that old). They were most tolerant of my mangled Fran-glais and often took me on sight-seeing excursions. Some pics in this post taken from a moving car, hence the blurry drive-by shooting effect, which I quite like.

Going back to the wedding (my second cousin Alexandre et Rachel), these Mauritians sure know how to party. Below, guests at the wedding celebrating the entrance of the bridal couple. Standing on chairs, waving their napkins and singing the anthemic Johnny Hallyday hit Allumer le Feu. Apparently, the last people left the next morning at 4am. I left at the very sensible hour of midnight. Mon dieu!

If you want to see the more traditional postcard vistas of sun, sea, beaches, colourful architecture, mountains, etc, here we go…

And then flowers and more flowers. I became increasingly obsessive, as is my wont, with photographing blooms and the lush vegetation (the island was verdant, thanks to good rains). So just two of my favourites here, which capture the tropical vibe of the island well.

Even when overcast and misty, Grand Bassin / Ganga Talao is spectacular. It was deserted on the day we visited, apart from noisy monkeys. Imagine being here during the Hindu festival, Maha Shivaratri, when thousands of devotees celebrate the god Shiva.

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT MAURITIUS

Hunting is popular. Here, deer in the blurry distance. It’s incredibly well controlled and regulated. And if you’re okay with eating industrial-scale meat, you can’t really complain about shooting these animals. For the record: I didn’t take out Bambi’s mother but I understand the process more than I used to.

Beaucoup développement. All the more noticeable when an island is so small (61km long, 45km wide). The proliferation of roadworks, luxury homes and shopping malls a sign the place is in demand and on the up. How much is too much? Well, that would require another post.

Once almost totally reliant on sugarcane and tourism (still the mainstay of the economy), Mauritius has been positioning itself as a high-tech hub. Cybercity is an expression of that ambition.

With development and increased prosperity, traffic congestion (“embouteillages” en français) is becoming a problem. But at least the scenery is a distraction while you’re waiting…

It’s going to the dogs. Non, pas de cette manière. The island is doing quite well in the scheme of things and is seen as an African success story. But there are lots of ownerless dogs loitering about. Like their human counterparts, they’re generally laid-back, not vicious at all. This cutie snapped outside the local shopping mall. No, you can’t come home with me.

It’s not all sun and beaches. There’s poverty too, especially among the Creole population. I took this pics on the bus (frequent and cheap) from Tamarin to Riviere Noire.

NON, MERCI (AKA WHAT I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT)

The bloody mosquitoes. Gosh, these things wouldn’t leave me alone, devouring me, I couldn’t stop scratching. Fresh South African blood, according to my cousin. Hmmm…

This rather threatening and ugly building is the Russian embassy. Opposite my aunt’s home in Floréal. I resisted all temptation to graffiti the walls with pro-Ukraine sentiments. Bon garçon!

As Mauritius imports most goods from countries such as South Africa, prices can be eye-watering if you’re not in the pound / euro / dollar seats. That sting was softened by the lure of fragrance shopping, which I will explore in the next post.