Mauritius - a piece of Paradise

Anton Petrus writes: “Mauritius is an amazing place. With a fairly small territory, the inhabitants were lucky to get almost heavenly conditions, with constant warmth, white beaches and turquoise water. Many would kill to live in such a paradise. Naturally, not everything is perfect on the island, and quite a lot of economic and social problems are hidden under a colorful wrapper. But at the same time, Mauritius is on a par with the Seychelles and the Maldives - precisely for the snow-white sandy beaches and the unreal beauty of the reef. What is a tropical paradise? Let's take it apart and put it on the shelves. ”

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Source: Journal/anton-petrus

Economy

The basis of the economy of the paradise island is the agricultural sector, led by sugar cane, and of course tourism. Sugar cane is used to make sugar and rum. There are many fruit plantations on the island - pineapples, bananas, lettuce - almost everyone eats there)

1. A small rum factory. Now it works only for tourists. Tasting 5 types of rum and 3 liquors is a very difficult task))

2. Pineapple plantation

3. The famous Mauritian palm stalk salad is a very strange but tasty dish.

People

The majority of the population of Mauritius is Hindu - about 70%. They have their own holidays, temples, attitude to life. The streets of the island's capital, Port Louis, are decorated with old posters of Indian films. Yes, and I myself had the feeling that songs and the search for relatives would now begin, in the best traditions of Bollywood.

About 20% are Creoles, and 3% are Chinese, whom I saw only in the capital

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5. Indians are very friendly, no one has ever forbidden me to take pictures of themselves, they always communicated with a smile and helped.

Religion

Major religions in Mauritius: Hinduism (48%), Catholicism (23.6%), other branches of Christianity (8.6%), Islam (16.6%). About 0.4% of the population officially recognize themselves as atheists. There are many Catholic churches on the island, almost every village has a small Christian cemetery, right on the ocean…

6. Holy lake with a Hindu temple. On the left is a 50-meter statue of Shiva

7. Residents of Mauritius suffer from a mild form of gigantomania - a 50-meter statue of a god can be seen from afar

Language

The inhabitants of Mauritius speak French, English and Creole. In practice, it turns out a wild mixture, fringlish - English with a French accent, which is not always understandable.

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Money

The Mauritian rupee is in use. The exchange rate against the Russian ruble is almost one to one, against the dollar - 30 rupees per dollar. Money - multi-colored candy wrappers, mostly worn to holes. The coins are rather for show, the change was given out only once with a change.

Roads

The asphalt of the island made the most pleasant impression on me. It was very unusual for a resident of a country in which there are only two normal tracks to drive on a smooth, almost glassy surface. But of course not without flaws. Almost all of them are so narrow that in some sections there are traffic lights to regulate traffic in one lane. But even where there is two-way traffic, with two lanes, it will be difficult for an inexperienced driver to dodge a speeding bus or truck.

The markings on the roads are made according to the English model, not everything was clear there, frankly speaking)

I forgot to say that the movement in the country is left-handed. Upon arrival, I traditionally wanted to get into the car to the right of the driver, but I saw the steering wheel there))

9. A narrow road passes through a huge banyan tree. The trouble with local roads is the lack of footpaths. It's just awful for a pedestrian to walk there. After passing the bus, you can easily find yourself in a ditch ...

Transport

Right-hand drive cars, with all brands - from Mercedes and BMW to Fords. Surprised by the variety. Two types of cars are very popular on the island - a pickup truck - it's a workhorse there, and a mini. Small cars are most often found on the steep roads of Mauritius. Yes, and they often offer mini and micro for rent.

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Nature

In a word, heavenly. The average temperature in winter is about 25 degrees. Heat, of course) There are a lot of exotic plants on the island, banyan trees, coconut and date palms, an abundance of fruit trees. According to the locals, you can eat almost everything.

11. Coconut. They say most accidents on the island are caused by coconuts falling on your head.

That's the trouble with the fauna on the island. When the Dutch (the first settlers) began to colonize the island, they not only destroyed the legendary dodo bird, but also cut out the local turtles to the root. And their population was just huge ...

Bats live in Mauritius, including the flying dog. One of them during the night shooting almost made me turn gray. I expected to see crowds of monkeys, but I only met a couple.

12. One impudent monkey was running near the crowd of tourists, hoping to steal something))

But there are a lot of birds on the island, birdwatchers have a place to turn around. A green parrot lives in Black River Park, which, unfortunately, was not seen.

13. Shamarel waterfall - for generations it has been inherited ...

Ocean

The ocean is fucking dangerous. That's the only way I can express my admiration) The island is surrounded by a reef that prevents high waves from getting close to the shore. Near the shore, it is simply unrealistic turquoise, crystal clear water ... And behind the reef, the waves are breaking ..

But the ocean is fraught with a lot of dangers. For example, a stone fish - which disguises itself as a stone. It is worth stepping on it, and the deadly poison is injected instantly. Or a Portuguese boat, the touch of which causes burns and terrible pain. Well, and a sea snake - which I was led to see, and was lucky not to step on. Thank God, there are no sharks in such numbers as in neighboring Reunion.

14. The ocean near the village of Sulyak, where the reef strip breaks

lure

A large number of natural and historical attractions are concentrated on a small island. In this regard, he reminded me of the Crimea. A bunch of waterfalls, picturesque canyons, reefs, mountains - you can't count everything. The funny thing is that almost all local wonders are on private property. The state owns only the beaches and roads. Even the famous 7 sands are someone's property.

15. 7 sands, 7 sands or Colored Earth is almost the main attraction of Mauritius. Multi-colored sands are in the crater of the volcano

Extreme

The island is a paradise for all water activities - kite, wind, surfing, diving - there you can definitely come off to the fullest. The southern part of the island is a place where a strong wind blows almost constantly. There are constantly hanging out all kinds of water adrenaline maniacs, including kiters. Moreover, a significant part of them are locals who zealously monitor the traffic on the water and do not always have a positive attitude towards visiting kiters.

Actually, thanks to kite surfing, I ended up on the island. Kite Jam Festival brought together the best kiters and surfers from all over the world. Petya Tyushkevich, Jason Polyakov, Evgeniy Novozheev, Keahi de Aboitiz - world stars, they worked miracles on the water. Sometimes it was simply impossible to look at the water, it was so colorful from the kites.

16. Windsurfing legend - Jason Polyakov

17. Mauritius is an island for those who have a solid capital, but at the same time love outdoor activities. Paradise for kiters, divers and water adrenaline junkies. Those wishing exotics are better off going to India - the island is completely European, 300 years under the wing of France and England have done their job. But those who want to actively relax, play golf on the ocean, dive with dolphins - a direct road to the island. There are a lot of Russians in Mauritius, and it is unlikely that any of them will want to go home))

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20. Anton Petrus traveled for you. May the light be with us!

The trip was organized with the support of Svyaznoy Travel