Happy Easter (had to have)

09.-11.04.

It is (or since we are always lagging behind) was Easter. Strange feeling not to be with the family in Rumeln, but on the other side of the world. Here too, people are preparing for the holiday: in tents, on the beach, in churches, music is celebrated here too. In fact, Mauritius is one of the few places in the world where all religions are represented and, one has to say, perform the miracle of peacefully coexisting together. We like the colorful and loud. People gather in crowds, have picnics, listen to loud music and dance. Considering how civilized we in Germany 'celebrate' church services and festivals, it seems that we have forgotten how to enjoy ourselves exuberantly.

Since we are not sure how much the Easter festival affects the activity in the cities, we avoid the densely populated areas and decide to spend a day at the beach in the south. We choose Le Morne. One of the most famous parts of the island with a rich history.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, Morne Brabant served as a refuge for escaped slaves who formed groups in the caves of the summit. Protected by the wooded cliffs of the mountain, the slaves lived on the mountain for many years.

It is said that when slavery was abolished in Mauritius in 1835, the lookouts on the mountains discovered the approaching British, which prompted some of the escapees to jump from the mountains and prefer the death of slavery. Tragically, they knew nothing about the impending news of their freedom. This is at least the legend.

Unfortunately, we cannot explore the mountain. It has been closed for several years due to lack of safety.

So we settle for the beach and are thrilled. The drive to the southwest was already worth it. In fact, the vegetation here seems even more lush and green. It is not as chaotic, and everything seems more well-maintained. Whether that is the case for the tourists or the tourists are here for that reason... one does not know.

In any case, the hotels have chosen their location excellently, that's for sure. One joins the other. In contrast to the Ballermann, the bungalows blend nicely into the landscape. Multi-story construction is not allowed on Mauritius. The island should retain its charm. Thank goodness. A concrete jungle at this beautiful spot would be a shame.

However, the beaches are state property and therefore public, so we settle down under the palm trees right in front of the LUX Le Morne.

Just like in Flic en Flac, it is not crowded at all. It is unbelievable that we almost have the white sandy beach to ourselves. We had already planned towel territory strategies from our Mallorca repertoire during the drive, and now there is no need to fight for the best spot. It is also covered. Perfect weather for our cellar tan. After just a few meters, the corals begin, and we are grateful that we practiced snorkeling at the Kelsterbach indoor pool. Here we present ourselves (almost) like professionals and snorkel leisurely. "Fux, Fux, Fux!!!! Quick! Over here!"

"Mooooom! There are sooo many here!"

No one could ever guess that we have never done this before. The corals are probably not healthy, and the fish stocks are not very diverse either, but we cheer for each individual specimen. Striped ones, yellow ones, a trunkfish, funny needlefish, small water leopards, black giants... and we are in the middle of it. How lucky we are!

All of this at the foot of Le Morne, which seems to watch over the peninsula like a big guardian! We are in awe of this scenic beauty and, fitting for Easter, we think of Goethe's Osterspaziergang! "Here I am human, here I can be!"

After a day in the fresh air, we treat ourselves to a sun break on Monday. Rain is forecasted anyway. Even if it doesn't necessarily rain, even though it was predicted, and Ida really wants to experience a tropical rain, we prefer showers without clothes. So we spend a day at the Mall of Mauritius. Without mosquito spray and sunscreen. If only the drive weren't there. 20 minutes in African traffic chaos is more instructive than a week in German elementary schools: sticking your hand out the window justifies everything; there is no right before left (here the hand out the window applies. If both have their hand out, it simply takes some luck); flashing the headlights warns of the police; honking is a greeting (but also a warning); turn signals are unnecessary (because there is the hand out the window); Christmas decorations do not belong on trees but in line buses; you can drive on every (!!!!!) street with three lanes; you just have to dare (one-way streets are respected though); no matter how narrow and crowded the road is, there is always enough space to sit on the road with your butt and clean the rims; you can easily ride three people on a moped on the highway (also without a helmet); the higher the loading area of a truck, the better the view for the passengers on top; the traffic police regulate the traffic flows in the roundabouts and since there are about 3-4 of them per kilometer, unfortunately there is no time for traffic offenders. Well, maybe that's also intended: in China there is birth control, in Europe life with many children is simply too expensive, and here natural selection according to Darwin takes effect.

Although... we haven't consciously noticed any accidents so far. We do see police and emergency medical services, which remind us of films from the 60s, but otherwise we have been lucky so far! To be honest, we also want to do without such spectacles for the rest of our vacation!

Speaking of spectacles. The Mall of Mauritius offers them as expected. But that's not a big deal, because strolling around and letting yourself be carried away in the hustle and bustle doesn't hurt either. We all find something in some store; a large part of the providers are of Western origin anyway and less local than we might have expected.

For lunch, however, we rely on the tastes of the locals and choose the stand with the longest queue! However, while waiting, we realize that the queue is not because of the good food, but because of the unbelievably slow service throughout the food court! Goodness gracious, the two employees are slow. Unfortunately, the long wait doesn't help us figure out why we are queuing up here in the first place, so before we know it, we are facing the expectant and at the same time empty eyes of Tippertriene and Schöpfschluri!

With a little frustrated help from the two energy brakes, we get a bit of everything. We suspect that there are different dim sums in strange broth and a noodle soup with beef stew. Ida even likes the latter, but neither of us likes the former. Between 'Omma, try this' and flummy cheese (or is it fish?!) apparently everything is included.

Halfway fortified and after a few more hours of strolling including a manicure and pedicure, we head back home. By the way, the announced rain, which was the reason for today's excursion, stays away until we arrive at our cabin in the evening and start the grill.

Timing is everything...

The next day is beach hopping again.

The north is calling and with it another attempt at snorkeling.

First, we go to the northwest tip to Mont Choisy Beach, a secret tip on the island according to a blogger.

How can something be declared a secret tip if it can be found on the internet with about 1849 reviews?! It actually makes little sense, but never mind...

We arrive at the parking lot around half past 10 (as at all locations directly on the beach so far) and after another 30 meters walk through palm trees and Kilaobäume, we find ourselves in almost complete solitude on a paradise-like white sandy beach in front of turquoise blue water. Seriously... this beach is a true gem. Only about ten other tourists or locals get lost at this picturesque spot, along with us. And for the first time on this vacation, there is an almost cloudless sky, which highlights the contrasts of the sea, beach, and trees even more. We are in awe and jump into the water for an extensive round of Frisbee.

Unfortunately, what is missing here are the hoped-for snorkeling spots.

For those, we have to and want to drive a few minutes back to the south to Trou aux Biches.

But before that, we let ourselves be completely and typically touristically overwhelmed. Something that shouldn't happen to us anymore.

A tourist trap talks to us and asks if we would like to eat something. He would even bring the food directly to our sunbed. My first reaction is "No!", but since we are all hungry, we ask for a menu or rather his poorly copied overview of 08/15 dishes.

Since the prices are also listed next to the dishes, we decide to order a meal on the beach and order grilled rice with fish, grilled noodles with chicken, a mixed salad, and fries with chicken wings (for Ida)!

Each collection of finest culinary art costs a maximum of 200 Rupees according to DIN-A4. "You pay when I bring the food!" the somewhat nice gentleman repeats, and under the influence of hunger, we agree to this deal! 20 minutes later, he returns with 2x rice with overcooked fish chunks and three frozen shrimps each, as well as a box in which fries are on the left and salad is on the right, with three chicken wings letting go of their excess fryer fat! He demands 1500 Rupees for this (30 €!!!) and leaves us somewhat stunned! Because what good is a discussion here?! Exactly nothing...

We enjoy the rice, after sorting out the fish, we imagine the other portion of rice to be noodles, but also sort out the chicken fish or fish chicken, and try to dry the fries in the sun from the fat!

We try to see it positively by convincing ourselves that we didn't have to search for a lunch snack like this. The lousy food found us and defeated us with laughter.

We leave the paradisiacal "secret tip" and drive a few kilometers south as planned and apparently exchange paradise for touristville at first glance! As soon as we set foot on the sand, we are besieged by various providers of various excursions and action possibilities. From dolphin tours to glass-bottom boat trips and banana boat rides, to the obligatory pearl necklace seller, everything is there! But this time we skillfully reject all the seductive-sounding offers!

Unfortunately, there is hardly any shade at this beach section, so we squeeze ourselves under one of the few trees with a few other vacationers. Never mind, because we are here for snorkeling.

We feel a bit uneasy about the many boats directly behind the separate swimming area, but we venture into the sea. Since the lagoon drops very shallowly into the sea here, we have to swim about 150 meters out to reach the first corals! But we are rewarded with a variety of fish in different sizes and colors!

Simply absolutely impressive. We can't think of anything else!

After a short rest, we go for a second trip to the corals in front of the imminent change in weather (at least the sky around us looks quite threatening), before we are drawn back home!

At home, we enjoy dinner on our own private beach area, enjoy the sunset (unfortunately not cloudless), and let the experiences we had sink in again with a beer and a soda for Ida!

We are grateful for the moment.