Paradise on Earth ? Mauritius, Definitely

After a long period of silence, due to private and professional reasons, I am now back online and ready to share my latest travels and geocaching discoveries. I found two geocaches in a country I had never seen before : my 43rd country was a total beauty and a welcome surprise after so many gloomy months in my life. I decided to go for an island destination where I could do some scuba diving or water activities, some mountain or nature walks and take some rest in an ecotouristic environment. My choice fell on the island of Mauritius. It was a wise choice, and I really fell in love with this place.

Funnily enough, they call themselves Paradise, and when you arrive at the airport you are greeted with this sign :


But to be honest, they really deserve to call themselves that way since the island offers everything a discerning tourist would like. Although the island has a reputation for being expensive (the flights are indeed not cheap) you can find all types of accommodations and eateries, from the local beach food stall to the posh star-studded restaurants.

Mauritius is well known for its beautiful landscapes, and nature welcomed me with a beautiful rainbow when I arrived at the hotel :



So off I went to do all the things I like : swimming and diving (no pictures, unfortunately, as I have not bought the underwater camera case yet) but most importantly visiting the beautiful areas the island has to offer. Since the island has a volcanic origin, the mountains are stunning and the views impressive :


There is a lot of indigenous vegetation but also (unfortunately) a lot of imported plants and animals. The islanders are actually trying to clean up this mess by tearing down the non-native trees and trying to get back to the original vegetation. The Vallée de Ferney (see http://www.cieletnature.com/vallee-ferney/index.php ) is a great example, and if you like to see what they are doing you can book a two or three hour guided walking tour in the valley which was saved from destruction just a few weeks before the trees were cut to give way for a highway construction. Actually the valley contains five unique mahogany trees, found nowhere else on earth. And the view from the top end of the valley is gorgeous



But surely Mauritius would not have its reputation if it did not have the sea and the beaches it has. There is a lagoon with some strong corals protecting the island, and therefore all the beaches are safe and the water is not too deep. The colors of the sea, and the different shades of blue are probably the most stunning I have seen in my life. Here is an example : the harbor of Blue Bay



And the beach at Cap Malheureux - probably th most scenic spot in Mauritius, to be found on every postcard. It has to be seen in the late afternoon when the colors are softer and the temperatures perfect



A few things not to miss :

• the 'Route du Thé', where you can see the tea plantations of Mauritius,
• the Casela nature park (where you can interact with lions - obviously they are not native to Mauritius, but it is quite an experience to pet a lion, see below)
• the 'Pamplemousses' botanical garden, small but very interesting, with lots of local plants

Here are a few pictures of those three highlights of the island :


It's nice to be close to a lioness - but I was not really feeling comfortable... By the way, my cat's hair is much more silky...




Pamplemousse botanical garden. Huuuge lotus and water lilies




And finally, the most romantic moment of the day: sunset on the beach...






Truly paradise

Mauritius, I'll be back !

Three new countries added to the geocaching list

I have not done a lot of geocaching recently. Too much work, traveling and domestic activities... Still, at the end of 2008 I took a few days off and visited the 'Alpes Maritimes' in France, stopping on the way to visit the splendid cities of Avignon, Arles and also the Camargue, a wonderfully preserved natural park near the Mediterranean. The trip ended in Nice and Monaco, where I found a geocache near the launch pad of the Monaco Paragliders.

I had never seen paragliders, and it is quite an impressive sport, particularly when you see them start off, running off the cliff and hoping you will stay in the air... like this :

And of course, from the top, you have a stunning view of the Principality of Monaco. The weather was cold, and there was a lot of wind, but the sky was adding a nice touch to the grandiose view :

And in early January I took a business trip to Mexico and Argentina. As usual, very little time to do any sightseeing, but I took an couple of hours to do some geocaching and discover some of the interesting places of the capitals of those two countries. First in Mexico, I went to the casa de azulejos (translated as 'the house of Tiles'), an old 18th-century palace transformed into a restaurant, where the facade is covered with the blue and white ceramic tiles that are commonly seen in Portugal, and which are thought to have originated in China. A must-see when you are in Mexico. It is located in the historical center, and is very close to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, another great baroque building in Mexico

And finally, the wonderful city of Buenos Aires. My colleagues took some time to show me the city and invited me to a great Tango show (Thanks guys !) which was very different from anything I have seen in documentaries. Seeing tango live is quite an experience, and since we were seated in the first row, it became quickly obvious that these dancers are athletes as well... You definititely need stamina for this 'sport' . Maybe that's why the Argentinians are eating so much - especially meat (huge steaks that would humiliate a Texan), but I'm not complaining. I am not a great fan of meat, but I have to admit I had the best steaks, or 'asados' as they call them, in my life

So I took them geocaching in the city and as usual, they were amazed that these little treasures are hidden everywhere in their city. We had great fun, especially since one of the geocaches was near a huge monument in a part of the city that they had never seen. If it wasn't for geocaching, they would never have seen it...

But I did not want to leave Buenos Aires without having seen a symbolic place : the Plaza de Mayo.

Since Oct. 22, 1977, dozens of women whose sons and daughters were kidnapped and presumed murdered during the bloody military dictatorship that ran Argentina from 1976 to 1983 have been trying to find two younger generations. Their children and grandchildren are among the 30,000 who were "disappeared" during the nation's so-called dirty war. They are called the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. The group's name reflects its origin in the 1970s when mothers and grandmothers gathered at that square in central Buenos Aires every Thursday afternoon for a half-hour walk to protest their children's and grandchildren's disappearance.

So far, the grandmothers have helped to trace back hundreds of victims but more importantly, recover the identity of 88 young people, sons and daughters of those who 'disappeared'. It is a very moving story and a highlight of the modern history of Argentina. The grandmothers have a website, so check it on http://www.abuelas.org.ar/

So I went to visit the square, had a silent moment to reflect on the fate of those thousands of 'desparecidos (disappeared) and prayed that it would never happen again anywhere in the world. Here is the square, with the presidential palace at the southern end of the square :



Next countries ? probably Egypt or the Arab Emirates... Stay tuned