Spontaneous meetings

The rain clouds had moved on from the previous day and the sun had come out to show off the beautiful island. I met a fellow expat Mike, who was also filling in time near the airport town waiting for his wife. Kindly he let me take advantage of his lonely planet guide. 
Whilst the weather was so fine I thought I should explore the town of Mahebourg. First on the list, Rault Biscuit Factory. About 1km out from town I wandered the neighbourhood streets, following the occasional factory sign which guided the way. There I was taken on a tour of the factory, being the only tourist in sight. Unfortunately the 99 year owner had died a day before so the atmosphere was a little somber. It was amazing to see how over 140 years they had stuck with the traditional methods. Their biscuits are hand made and distributed amongst the island, particularly to hotels. Between 12,000 - 15,000 are made daily, with only 15 staff members. The only international export is to the east coast of Australia. After the grand tour I enjoyed a cup of tea and a chance to taste test the 9 different flavours - cinnamon was on the top of my list :D 
Back into town to see the waterfront minus the rain, very beautiful. From there down a side street where I conveniently came to the local supermarket and Internet cafe. It was like stepping back into the 1990's using their facilities. At least it could get me onto facebook, lol! One hour later, due to the lag in downloading webpages I started walking. I did a Forrest Gump and just kept walking. Must of been due to the year of not being able to walk endlessly in Dubai which led me on the road to Blue Bay. One of the moat beautiful beaches in Mauritius. About 3 kms into the trip i stopped at a shady tree looking over a picturesque bay. There I met local tour guide Kinsley. Kindly he invited me on an evening disco on the yacht come Friday and an evening tour via motorcycle (watch this space to see what happens) There I continued on for what I expected was 4 more kms until I would hit Blue Bay. Murphy's law the No. 46 bus comes along and I jump onboard and we arrive in less than a minute.  A very pretty public beach, riddled with locals. Here I met Captain Lobster...And no monsieur I do not want to buy a necklace.  :) On the way to buy some food I meet Ali, another tour guide/taxi driver. He convinced me to go on a tour tomorrow, for free! I know there is a catch but I get to see a volcano. (another space to watch) For lunch I enjoyed 2 Roti's and a coconut whilst chatting to Ali. Later followed my  bus trip back to Mahebourg. I enjoyed the whole bus trip this time. :) Back to guesthouse where I discovered the free wifi, woohoo! Shortly after this wonderful connection to the technical world, Reshma the owner needed help food shopping and she wanted to hear about my day, so she said, 'I'd love to hear about your day but I'm in a hurry come food shopping and tell me in the car.' Sold! So off we went, a little out of town to do food shopping Mauritius style - almost identical to Aussie style. Just many more people confines to a small space. Lucky for Zoom-Zoom they were stocked on potatoes and carrots. From there my evening involved Kinsley picking me up on his scooter for a drive around an empty Mahebourg. Practically no one on the street come 8pm. I enjoyed some delicious Ginger fish and coconut ice-cream!

Welcome to Mauritius

I was welcomed to the island of Mauritius from the skies with huge grey and silver rain clouds leaving enough gaps to see the lush green foliage below. My hosts at Le Bamboo Guesthouse kindly picked me up from the airport. Ever so friendly and welcoming. When I arrived at the guest house even the pet rabbit, Zoom - Zoom made an appearance. The 3am flight had taken it out of me, even though half the time inflight was spent unconscious - A quick nanna nap was in order. Come 1:30pm I was ready to explore Mahebourg even with the risk of getting caught in a rain shower, umbrellaless. Oh and down the rain drops hit, conveniently whilst I was under a mass of boa trees overlooking the waterfront. Half an hour later it was safe to finally walk along the waterfront without being rain swept into the harbour. There I met David a local fisherman, tour guide and artist. After seeing his necklaces made from 'nature'. Nature meaning sea urchins, coral and shells, I made a purchase of his necklaces, thinking this could be my shopping for the holiday done... Obviously kidding myself. :D 
It was getting close to 3pm and my tastebuds told me it was time to try some local cuisine. David kindly took me to a local establishment called Salut Les Copains. Here I indulged in my first seafood dish... Octopus! Yummo :) Bargain dinner package - $4 
Back to the guesthouse for what I planned was a quick nap... But ended up being 14 hours later!