We were only in Mauritius for a day, but it was pretty spectacular. I really wish we could've stayed longer. There're a lot of really interesting things going on on that island. There were no indigenous people, so the inhabitants are truly a blend of all the people that ended up, or were brought there, for various reasons. Mauritius was also home to the dodo bird. There were several other flightless birds that evolved on volcanic islands like Mauritius and Hawaii because there were no large mammals or predators, people wiped them all out pretty quick. There was a big pigeon, kind of wren, and even a big flightless parrot, among others.
My day, and most everyone's, in Mauritius was a bit obscene. We pretty much got off the ship, and went to a smaller, sort of private island. There we spent the day lounging, snorkeling, swimming, and overall enjoying the Indian Ocean. There was also a huge cookout which was scrumptious in every way. Because the people come from everywhere, so do the culinary influences. There’s Indian, Creole, French. So good. And there was homemade rum. Man was that good. Mauritius was developed by the British for sugar cane, so the presence of rum is not surprising, but the quality of it blew me away. Better than even any Jamaican rum I’ve had (granted, I’ve never been to Jamaica, so I only get the import). To flavor it-- instead of the nasty syrups or whatever it is they use in flavored rums back home-- they just take plain rum and then drop fruit straight in the bottle. So the coconut rum has a bunch of real, fresh (coconuts everywhere in Mauritius) coconuts floating in it. When you finish the rum you can eat the fruit if you want.... though coconut flavored rum is a lot better than rum flavored coconut. Oh yeah, and they have this beer called Phoenix. I only had some because it's consistently ranked among the top like 5 or 10 beers in the world. Well, it was pretty good I must say.
In case you get the opinion that I just spent my day drinking, I didn't. I explored the little island and went snorkeling, too. Lots and lots of soft corals. Some was brilliant royal blue like I’ve never seen in coral before. And the lava rocks on the shore line made lots of interesting tidal ecosystems.
Neat.
My day, and most everyone's, in Mauritius was a bit obscene. We pretty much got off the ship, and went to a smaller, sort of private island. There we spent the day lounging, snorkeling, swimming, and overall enjoying the Indian Ocean. There was also a huge cookout which was scrumptious in every way. Because the people come from everywhere, so do the culinary influences. There’s Indian, Creole, French. So good. And there was homemade rum. Man was that good. Mauritius was developed by the British for sugar cane, so the presence of rum is not surprising, but the quality of it blew me away. Better than even any Jamaican rum I’ve had (granted, I’ve never been to Jamaica, so I only get the import). To flavor it-- instead of the nasty syrups or whatever it is they use in flavored rums back home-- they just take plain rum and then drop fruit straight in the bottle. So the coconut rum has a bunch of real, fresh (coconuts everywhere in Mauritius) coconuts floating in it. When you finish the rum you can eat the fruit if you want.... though coconut flavored rum is a lot better than rum flavored coconut. Oh yeah, and they have this beer called Phoenix. I only had some because it's consistently ranked among the top like 5 or 10 beers in the world. Well, it was pretty good I must say.
In case you get the opinion that I just spent my day drinking, I didn't. I explored the little island and went snorkeling, too. Lots and lots of soft corals. Some was brilliant royal blue like I’ve never seen in coral before. And the lava rocks on the shore line made lots of interesting tidal ecosystems.
Neat.
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