April 5, 2026
Honestly, we hadn’t heard of Mauritius before we came on this cruise. It’s an island about 700 miles east of Madagascar and it was a central stop for vessels going around the Cape of Good Hope until the Suez Canal opened. Today Mauritius is a source of tea, spices, and sugar, and it provides IT and banking services internationally. While tourism is important, much of Maruitius’ food is imported from Australia, New Zealand, and Africa, so the island limits the number of cruise vessels it can accommodate to one a day to extend its food supply.
We landed in Port Louis and took a bus tour (always a bus tour) around the southern part of the island. Like Viet Nam, the land in Mauritius is generally relatively flat, with suddenly small mountains.
One of the first stops on our tour was at a small set of dunes that was said to have seven colors. We aren’t sure we saw all seven, but we did see quite a few and the colors were vivid. We were told the beds were volcanic, with iron and aluminum oxides and hydrates that produced the colors. They also said that the chemistry of the beds prevented vegetation.
We ate lunch at a restaurant that overlooked a horse racing training track. The track has an interesting shape and a beautiful setting.
Our next stop was the Chamarel Waterfall, about 300 feet high. We found it impressive. Dottie maybe more so than anyone else on the tour. Everyone else climbed to a higher height to get the best view. Dottie was left on her own to commune with the waterfall. She said a prayer, sang a song and contemplated on those loved and lost. It was the best Easter Sunday service she had been to.
We also visited the Trou aux Cerfs crater, which was formed by a now dormant volcano. It’s overgrown, but if you look in the middle you can see grass at the bottom of the crater.
About half of the people in Mauritius are Hindu. We stopped at a temple, where there were statues of many of their gods. The one in the photo on the left is Durga. Our guide reminded us that Hindus believe in reincarnation, and said that Durga had been reincarnated nine times, which is represented by the eight arms in the statue. The god in the photo at right is Shiva.
Mauritius was the home of the Dodo, which has been extinct since the late seventeenth century. According to our guide, Dodos became extinct because they only laid one egg a year, and when western ships visited Mauritius, rats came ashore, bred, and eventually ate the Dodo eggs.
On to Durban,
Dottie and Mal
Port Louis, Mauritius (mar-ish-us) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country’s financial and political centre.
It is famous for being the hub of Mauritius, known for its bustling harbor, diverse markets, and historical sites. It’s famous for its mix of French-colonial and modern architecture, a rich cultural melting pot with influences from Indian, Chinese, and Creole communities, and the Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO World Heritage site.