Sailing boat at sunset off Grand Baie, Mauritius
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Mauritius is beautiful. The centre of the island boasts
mountains of curious and intriguing shape. The coast is
covered in tropical gardens. The bougainvillea, of pinks, reds and purples, are
quite magnificent.
Surrounding the coast are calm waters, enclosed by a reef.
At Grand Baie (in the north of the island) the water is
beautifully blue. In the morning, the lagoons inside the reef are green,
truly the colour of emeralds. In the afternoon they change to hundreds of
shades of blue.
My photography doesn't extend to capturing such radiance.
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Pereybere was my favourite place. It was smaller,
less hectic, less urgent than
other towns like Grand Baie. Pereybere is about a
30 minute walk from Grand Baie - or 10 minutes on the
rickety bus.
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Pereybere Beach
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Coin de Mire, a distinctively-shaped island
off the north-east coast of Mauritius.
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Submarine
While on Mauritius, I went in a five-seater mini-submarine, diving
to 30m.
The most interesting sensation was the change in colours. I learned that red light
doesn't travel beyond 10m in water. So beyond that, no reds are visible and
skin tones look grey. By 30m, almost everything looked bluish-purple.
The photos below show the effect.
The dial above our heads showed our depth.
The photograph on the left is taken at the surface and shows 0m. The ceiling
is white and skin tones look natural.
The photograph on the right is taken at 30m when everything looked blue.
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I was a bit worried about claustrophobia in such
a small space. But the sub was remarkably spacious, even though
the light levels were very low beyond about 10m.
We saw large numbers of tropical fish, a Japanese fishing boat
sunk in 1998 to create an artificial reef, and a 17th century
storm anchor cut loose by a sailing ship.
This is the fishing trawler.
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Port Louis
Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, is on the west coast of the island.
The population is 150,000. It is a pretty white city nestling between mountains
and the port. And it's a city of contrasts: a modern waterfront of cafes, restaurants
and tourist shops. Three blocks away the traditional markets sell fruit, vegetables
meat and other foods.
The history of Mauritius has led to a cultural mix seen in its people and its terrific food.
The Portugese popped in during the 16th century. killed off the dodo in less than 90 years, and left.
The Dutch colonized in the 17th century, the French
in the 18th century, and the British took Mauritius in the early 19th century--and kept it until
independence in 1968.
The result is a mix of architecture that creates a splendid centre to the City, and
sprawling suburbs of apartments and houses.
This is the Catholic cathedral in Port Louis.
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The main street of Port Louis runs straight up from the waterfront. It
includes significant public buildings including parliament house.
This is the Port Louis Town Hall.
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This complex of shady trees and gardens houses the Supreme Court of Mauritius.
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A large waterfront complex in Port Louis attracts both tourists and locals.
It includes restaurants, cafes, shops selling souvenirs of various kinds,
and a cinema.
This photo looks from the Sunset Café across the waterfront towards
another row of restaurants. I was pleased that I visited Mauritius at the beginning of
my holiday because it gave me a relaxing break from work.
The Sunset Cafes at the waterfront in Port Louis and in Grand Baie
therefore featured heavily in my itinerary.
The local Phoenix beer is recommended.
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Dodo
Port Louis includes the Natural History Museum, home
to the dodo.
The museum contains several skeletons and a replica of
a dodo. Regrettably, photos aren't allowed inside, but
you can see some illustrations of a dodo at this
dodo picture site.
This is the view from the National History Museum in Port Louis.
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Grand Baie
I stayed at Grand Baie, the main town of Mauritius outside Port Louis.
It is in the far north west of the island, with the town centred around,
rather obviously, a big bay.
I had to walk along this section of the beach to get
from my hotel to the town of Grand Baie.
Grand Baie itself is a busy mixture of tourists, locals,
buses, taxis, hotels and shops.
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This is the fish market at Grand Baie.
It operates one day a week
in the park at the edge of the beach.
There were several people selling, and several dozen buyers
for freshly-caught fish.
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Someone once advised me to photograph the view from every
hotel room in which one stays. It's an interesting experience.
Sometimes the view is spectacular. Sometimes one sees only a brick
wall a metre away.
In Grand Baie, I looked across a park,
through trees to a glimpse of the water of the bay.
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Sunset over Grand Baie on my last evening in Mauritius
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