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Mauritius, so much history.
By Sheila Duncan | May 31, 2008
Hi Everyone!
Marhaba, and greetings from Turkey! We realized the other day that it has been ages since our last posting, and we’ve seen so much it’s hard to know where to start. So… on to Mauritius!
While the interior of the island is almost entirely sugarcane fields, the perimeter is ringed with gorgeous white sand beaches, and the water a beautiful azure blue. Mauritius is famous as having been the home of the now extinct Dodo bird. This trusting flightless bird was completely unafraid of humans, and as a result the entire lot of them was quickly eaten to extinction by Dutch, Portuguese, and French sailors passing through the area. We spent most of our time driving around the island in our rented jeep, lounging on the beach reading, swimming, and snorkeling on the days that it was warmer (it’s winter here in the southern hemisphere), and hiking in the interior of the island.
Driving around Mauritius was my first time driving on the left hand side of the road! It took a little getting used to, especially because the jeep was a manual and the stick shift is still in the middle (steering wheel on the right), so you shift with your left hand instead of your right. The turn signal is also on the right hand side of the steering wheel, which was weird. It was hard at first, but by the end of our time here it seemed pretty normal, as did dodging the crazy assortment of dogs, children, scooters, buses, and tractors pulling huge trailers loaded 20 feet high with sugar cane. The streets here are very narrow, and people park, pass, swerve, honk and drive however they please.
We saw many small villages, practiced our French, took a lot of hikes, and went to see a huge sugar processing plant that has been converted into a museum, called “L’Aventure du Sucre” (The Adventure of Sugar). (The offical languages are both French and English, but most everyone speaks Creole French). The sugar museum was really cool (We learned more than we ever needed to know about sugar production), and it explained a lot about the history of the island as well.
About 80% of Mauritians are of Indian heritage, people who came over in the mid to late 1800’s to work on the sugar plantations for a small French ruling class. Most came over on 5 year contracts, where they agreed to work for one employer for a minimum of five years, and in return received their room, board, and ocean passage paid by their employer. (kinda like indentured servants in colonial America). When we were boarding the plane in Singapore to come here, it was a surprise to see all of these people who look Indian (and some Chinese) all speaking French. Really throws you out of your stereotypes!
More postings on Africa and Turkey soon!
Love,
Sheila and Louis
Topics: Travelers Stories |
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