The view from the terrace is simply beautiful. Every house has four trees in minimum. As I see the view from here I can see lush green trees all around and bungalows in between them. Traveling here does not take much time as one can reach the north in an hour, south east in an hour and a half and the island is small with one city and 5 districts in all. 

We had gone all over the country, but the north side was left. We were heading north this time, as we left for the beach, we went for some sightseeing and throughout my mind scuba diving was going on! I was confident but at the same time nervous. Despite of knowing swimming, I was really confused on how does it work and what is the exact process. Some people who had been for this water sport told me different experiences. Some said it takes time to adapt to the water and once it’s done, it is time for you to come back. And some come back to the water surface in just 5 minutes. And the others said that the divers leave you for a while once you are adjusted in the water and you can swim by yourself, and they are right there behind us. It is an extended version of snorkelling – just that you cannot come to the surface by yourself. I was thinking about it so much that I dreamt about scuba the previous night 🙂

Finally, the day was there and I was striking off one “TO DO” from my bucket list. I wad super excited. This was one of the things I wanted to do since forever and was sure as I heard about the Mauritius trip. We reached the beach which was the most beautiful one that I had seen so far. The water was shining bright and the blue, clear water felt so good. After snorkeling for a while we were called for the training. We were given instructions about the oxygen cylinder that we had to carry, and what should be done if your ear gets blocked or water comes in the swimming mask. While he was giving so much of training we were wondering what all would we remember?? Would it be the breathing trick, handling the oxygen cylinder, ears being heavy or what if the nose is blocked with water when you are in between? I was just perplexed as the others were.

 We were given training for half an hour and in the shallow water we were trained for the next half and then we were taken on a jet ride I was feeling uneasy for a while and the trainer told me to RELAX and he said that he is going to be around from the start and till the end. And once I heard this I was less worried. Not apprehensive at all. As we were set with our belts and cylinders, we were given a particular position and just did as we were instructed. And I should tell you it was an unforgettable experience – observing colorful tropical fish, searching for rare fish species, exploring spectacular caves and underwater world. It was the most awesome feeling being under the water for 30 minutes straight. There were times when the water went in the mask and doing as the trainer had taught was the best way. The next part is not to panic and trust the divers. That’s the magic and what you do is just believe and do what you are supposed to. Once I was back in land after a wonderful experience – I was standing happily with a new pet of mine and guess what – it’s a starfish.

A vacation is no fun without shopping. So it was a shopping day for us. It’s mostly the same thing that you get everywhere. And usually the clothes and most of the fabrics comes from India and Thailand. If you are good at bargaining,it’s a bonus. So I was remembering some friends of mine who are really awesome at it. You can actually bargain till  less than half the price, it’s just how much you can talk and charm them. It reminded me of the street markets in Mumbai and Thamel in K-town:) Everything gets over really early, the days just starts and it ends here. The residents are an early risers and work starts from 9 but guess what it gets over in 7 hours. The shopping area gets shut  at 3.30 and people just chill at home !!

 

Then it was a safari ride for an hour. Zebras, ostriches and deer all around. And we made them eat bread. The ostrich  has no teeth and the bite felt like a clothespin clamp. And the driver showed them bread and the ostriches started running and came ahead of the bus and as it is the bird with the fastest land speed. The park also had a very beautiful Petting farm. The Petting Farm is a great joyful experience for people where they can meet and pet “Bambi” the deer,cockatoo and the wild boar among other animals.We missed the experience on that.

Mauritius is just beautiful. With each passing day it looks more amazing. And each beach has its own charm. And each coastline is different. Some have lots of people around, and some had the least crowd with kids to teens enjoying at their best in the waters. This cousin of mine was wondering what we would do for ten days at the island but he is in love with the place now. I feel I can surely stay here endlessly (At least that is the thought that came to my mind while writing).

So today we had a late start to our day and we went to Trou Aux Cerfs. Also known as Murr’s Volcano, it is a dormant one with a well-defined cone and crater and gives a great view around the island. We just could not stop taking pictures on the tarred road and then headed to a ship factory. The workshop was closed because of May Day, but we could see varieties of models and each one was made with so much of precision with the finest of materials and I thought it would take a day time to make one model. We got to know there is no time constraint in the creation of any ship model, the art of accuracy is liberated from time. Different designs, different models all at one place.

 Blue Bay was our next destination, as the name sounds; you see the turquoise blue colour of the lagoon and could just chill and have a great time. There you are at one of the best marine parks in Mauritius. We drove towards the south and enjoyed half an hour Glass Bottom Boat trip at the Blue Bay Marine Park. Once you reach the Blue Bay you will feast your eyes on some of the bluest waters. The colors of the sea are incredible and are of variety of many different blues.  You will have a great view of the reef, fish and of large selection of corals (there are more than 50 different species of corals at the park!). All these make the glass bottom boat trip at the Marine Park a wondrous experience. I had just heard about coral life from a friend who is studying marine life and I could relate to it so well when I saw it today. We could see the corals visibly from the glass bottom. There were Sea Plumes, Brain Corals, Ginger and Rose, Plate, Potato and Mushroom and diverse type of fishes.

Then it was time for Snorkeling  for the crazy part of the day and my first time too. We could see the colorful fauna and flora found at the park and the feel is absolutely stunning. We just did not want to come back. Even the non-swimmers can try it as you have life jackets and you just need to breathe in and out with your mouth. That is the only trick. It was just the feeling of swimming around the fishes and felt like a mermaid for some time. And there my wish came true. YAY!! The most spectacular white sandy beaches you will ever see at Blue Bay. Its me on the right 🙂

We ended our day by going to two more islands which were equally pretty. I am in love with the island all the more as each day is passing by and it is already the fifth day as I am writing my travelogue. And I just forgot to mention about the sugarcane farms that we came across and most of them were privately owned. We finally managed to get hands over some. And with the tired and lovely day, I got to end my writing here. MO TRUVE TOI TALERA (I just learnt that today and it means See you later ) .