The Morning Mists of Mauritius

 As we gliderd into Port Louis at dawn I was reminded of my fabourite film, South Pacific, and the scene where the mountain on the island of Bali Hai is shrouded in mist.  Thankfully for my fellow cruisers I did not burst into song!

At 6.45am a face to face Immigration inspection was called for onboard.  The official looked at my passport, looked at me, looked at my passport again, looked at me again - I could not help but tell him that as it was 6.45 I would NOT look like my passport photo!  Thankfully he saw the funny side of this, stamped my passport and waved me on.

Today I had chosen the "Southern Delights" excursion and at 8am we were speeding off to our first stop of the day at Troy au Cerfs crater - a dorman volcano with spectacular views of the island's craggy peaks.

The snack stalls were packed with vibrantly coloured fruit cups:

Second stop of the day was a "comfort stop" at a handicraft complex.  Three toilets were available and as they were all unisex it made a change for the gentlemen to have to queue as well - needless to say there was much grumbling going on as there was a 20 minute wait in the queue.  There was just time for me to have a quick look around the shop and it appears that hand crafted boats are the item to buy in Mauritius - if you have enough room in your suitcase to transport them back home. 

Net stop was at The Grand Basin - a sacred lake for Hindus because it is said that the water here communicates with The Ganges in India.  The air was heavy with the heady smell of incense and local families were busy making offerings to Shiva and the other Gods.

The monkeys also sat quietly in contemplation

But perhaps they were just awaiting their chance to pilfer the offerings

                                                       Oh what an innocent look!

I could quite happily have spent hours here but after 30 minutes it was all back on the coach to be whisked off to the Black River Gorge for more breathtaking views.

A buffet lunch was provided at a glorious Creole restaurant - the Chou Chou au Gratin being absolutely delicious (as was the coconut sago pudding!).  But wait a minute - who cares about food or the beautiful setting - Free WiFi is available.  Honestly, sometimes I despair of my fellow cruisers!!!!!

Before heading back to the ship we had one more stop on our itinerary - Chamarel with its spectacular mounds of seven coloured earths.  Apparently these never erode even after torrential tropical downpours.

Four giant tortoises could also be found in this garden.  This is Hubert - but I refuse to show you what Trevor and Trudy were getting up to.

Au Revoir Mauritius - a truly magical island with beautiful people and spectacular scenery.