Month: July 2019

Today we went snorkeling and swimming at two fantastic places. Early in the morning In Balaclava, at the beach next to the Maritim Hotel. We were in the water for over an hour and it was one of the best snorkeling spots ever.

Right from the beach you are in the middle of the coral reef and can see the most beautiful fish.

After that we went back to the apartment and had breakfast and checked out. Then we drove to the northern tip and swam at Seaview Calodyne on a great beach with small offshore islands. Snorkeling was not so good here, because the water was quite churned up by the sand and the reef edge was too far away. Guests told us that they go out by boat for diving and snorkeling. There was a restaurant on a small island off the beach. Guests are taken across on a raft. But you can also wade through the waist-high water. The water hammocks and separate pavilions were very nice.

After we were dry again, we ate our lunch (yogurt with fruits ) on the beach of Saint Francois and then with a short stop at the Phoenix Shopping Mall, we drove to the south of the island. We sleep tonight in Souillac in Andrea Lodge. For dinner we had a three course meal in the hotel’s own restaurant and a delicious cocktail.

Silke

Today we took it easy. Beautiful on our balcony breakfast and are then set out to look at the beaches in the north-west of the island. All beaches are easily accessible by car or bus and offer free parking and various activities such as : Boat tours, surfing, paragliding, etc.

• Mont Choisy Beach (house beach)
• Grand Baie Public Beach
• La Cuvette Public Beach

All beaches are cleaned continuously. No pushy vendors.

In the end, the beach in Flic-en-Flac does not need to hide 😉

Afterwards we looked around in the shopping malls around Grand Baie.

Reiner

Reiner has reached his “Padi Advance Open Water Diver” level with today’s dive. He is now a registered advanced open water diver and can go diving with a buddy without an instructor. After he happily arrived back at the apartment, we packed our 7 things and moved on north to Mont Choisy.

Mauritius successfully hosted and won the Indian Ocean Island Games until Yesterday. Today was an official holiday. Fans and athletes met us on the way to the capital honking and celebrating, (some standing on the loading area and hanging out the window) to celebrate their victory there.

We got a nice apartment here again and went out for a nice dinner in the evening. I had Pizza and Reiner Local Food “Vindaye de Poulpe” (Squid With Vegetables and Rice).

Silke

For today we had booked a full day snorkeling tour with the “Victory”. At 8:15 am we met in the harbor of Flic en Flac. We had a nice group of fellow travelers. Two couples and a family from North Rhine-Westphalia, three Slovakian women, and a Swiss family. In total we were 12 guests and 2 skippers on the sport boat. In a fast ride and with music we went a bit up the coast to a bay where dolphins like to swim in the morning.

Several pleasure boats circle around trying to get the best view of the 30 or so marine mammals. Reiner, myself and two German women also jumped into the water three times to swim with them. As soon as I was done with my snorkel the flippers mostly swam quite a bit further again. Once I saw some dolphins diving below me. Reiner swam a little closer to them and was able to film them briefly and see them quite well. Overall, however, it was quite restless and also not quite harmless between all the boats, which is why some guests have not gone into the water. At the next snorkeling site , a coral reef, it was calmer and you could look at many fish and corals.

Most curious, and because I had some white bread, were the Indo-Pacific Sergeant fish. After that we went around the Diamond Rock, a rock that has a bit of the shape of a cut diamond, to the coast of the island “Ile aux Benitiers” where we had a barbecue and drinks on a beautiful sandy beach. There was also Mauritian beer Phoenix and “island coffee”/Cola Rum. Well fortified we started our journey home. From the sea we could admire Flic-en-Flac in the rainbow.

Around 3:00 pm we were back on land. The sun laughed a lot today and we had a fun day.

Silke

Reiner’s dive today was about fish recognition. For this there is an extra waterproof booklet. By now he knows most of the fish by name! (And they know him too!) In the afternoon we drove with our car to the capital of the island “Port Louis”. There we visited the Blue Penny Museum to see the famous stamps, the red and blue Mauritius from 1847. Due to a misprint “Post Office” instead of “Post Paid” a series of the stamps has become very valuable.

With audio guide you could get a pretty good insight. The real stamps are only lit once an hour.

Afterwards we checked out Central Market and bought broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes for dinner.

Silke

In the morning Reiner did two dives -Navigation and Balance/Tarring In the afternoon we started a trip to Chamarel. You could already see from the coast that it would be a bit more rainy in the mountains, but we got wet despite raincoats, so it poured. From the park entrance to the attraction it is about 3 km, which you can hike but also reach via a road by car. We had chosen the car because of the weather. The Seven Colored Earth has, because it was very wet, not quite as colorful with purple and yellow glow. However, the place took on a mystical aura because of the fog.

At a cafe with a covered terrace, we sampled Mauritian coffee and enjoyed the view. At the viewpoint of the Chamarel waterfalls we jumped out of the car only for a short time for a photo. We did some shopping in a supermarket and cooked penne with vegetable sauce for dinner.

Silke

Reiner did his first of five Advance Diver dives this morning. I slept in the time long. He dived from the boat to about 25 m depth. It went past a big turtle and through 2 caves. An octopus changed color and floated away. A shark was resting in one of the caves.

At lunch we had another plate of vegetable curry with rice and then a long walk on the beach.

As announced by the weather app, there were also a few rain showers today, but also long periods of sunshine. While I was swimming a wonderful rainbow appeared.

We spend the evening reading on our terrace.

Silke

Since the weather forecast announced strong winds for today, we rented a car and drove inland for hiking. At the entrance of the national park, the Petrin Visitors Centre, it started to rain like from buckets. Rainforest in the truest sense of the word!

Fortunately, you could buy raincoats there. We had left ours nicely in the apartment. The Macchabee Forest Loop Trail went through the forest as the name suggests.

The main attraction is the upper end of a waterfall, which you have to cross. We hiked about 11 km and got to see a whole new, green side of Mauritius. Unfortunately, the people here have wiped out many species of creatures and plants. Now they are trying to protect and reforest a part of it.

We saw monkeys and a small hawk. Beautiful viewpoints with waterfalls and even a rainbow. Back in Flic en Flac we had vegetable curry with rice. Reiner was still studying for his dive.

Silke