Adjusting to Island Life

We’ve been in Mauritius for a full month now.  The first couple of weeks were spent adjusting to the culture shock and feeling homesick for France, but now we’re enjoying our new island home.  We’re also starting to realize that we’re probably going to be homesick for Mauritius when we leave this beautiful island.

We’re still riding this learning curve like a ’79 Harley Shovelhead.

[Confession: I’ve never actually been on a Harley, but it sounds good, doesn’t it?  And a boy can dream, can’t he?]

First Day of School

When we first set out on this trip we had no intentions of enrolling Braeden in school in the places we visit, but after a few months it was clear that he was eager to spend more time around other kids.  So after about a month in France we started researching preschool (“preprimary”, as they’re known here) options in Mauritius, and we found one or two that seemed promising.

We traded some Facebook messages and a couple of phone calls, and shortly after we arrived on the island we drove over to the Humpty Dumpty school and met with Mme Appadu, a wonderfully warm woman who started the school over thirty years ago and who clearly loves children.

She gave us a tour while Braeden played with the other kids.  The school itself was a bit grittier than we were used to, but we kept our minds open and we were quickly won over.  Braeden loved the classrooms and in particular the playground, and we loved the teachers and their dedication to the kids.  We enrolled him the very next day, and a week after we arrived, we were dropping him off at his new preschool in Mauritius.

Mommy shed a few tears as we left him behind, but we both realized with a shock that this was the first time to ourselves we had had in over three months, and we wasted no time in putting it to good use.

Most days we dropped him off at school and went directly to the Coeur de Ville Mall in Flacq, where I could work out and Mom could shop.  On my days off from the gym we took a “date day”.

On one particular day we packed a picnic lunch and drove to the Belmar Public Beach, a beautiful palm-strewn beach 5 minutes away from our villa.  We enjoyed a delightful picnic lunch on the beach as we watched the tourists stroll back and forth on the beach, and when we were finished we set out for a walk on the beach ourselves, checking out all the beautiful resorts that have staked out spots on the nicest stretch of beaches on Mauritius’ east coast.

An Epic Hike

A couple of weeks into our stay we decided we wanted to check out Mauritius’ largest park, Black River Gorge National Park.  It’s a lovely park with tons of hiking trails, and we got there early enough in the day to tackle the trail to Mare aux Joncs, a large waterfall that (supposedly) would take 1 1/2 to 2 hours to reach with a toddler.

As frequent readers of the blog will know, our son isn’t a fan of walking around the city.  But put him on a challenging hiking trail and he’s off like a shot, yelling things over his shoulder like, “This part is tough, Mommy,” and “Be careful, Daddy, it’s slippery here.”

It was a long, grinding hike over rocky terrain, but he took it like a champ.  Frankly, if we knew how tough it was going to be we probably wouldn’t have attempted it with him, but we were glad we did.  He was beaming the whole way, and the harder it got, the harder he worked.

After three hours we finally crested a hill and the waterfall came into view.  We were tired, hot, and hungry, but it was worth it.

The waterfall was absolutely beautiful and we had it all to ourselves.  Well, a lone hiker did show up towards the end of our visit, and if you follow me on Facebook you’ve seen the video, but except for that dude we had it all to ourselves.

We picked out a choice spot on a large boulder right beneath the falls, unpacked our lunch, and had a picnic right there.  All we had were ham sandwiches and banana chips, but each of us felt, beneath that majestic waterfall, that we were enjoying Saltines instead of crackers.

If you’re a fan of Eddie Murphy you’ll get that reference.  If not, go watch Delirious.  And send me a thank-you present. 

After about an hour we packed up, snapped some pics, and headed back down the trail for the two hour hike back to our car.

B’s First Dive

The following weekend we decided to hit the far end of the “touristy” spectrum and we booked a tour on a Blue Safari submarine out of Trou aux Biches, on the island’s west coast.

We didn’t tell Braeden what we were doing, and when we showed up at 9 am he was full of questions.  Blue Safari turned out to be a very well-run, very slick operation, and we were welcomed and ushered into a warm waiting room with cool underwater videos running.

Braeden quickly figured out what was up and he wasn’t immediately sure whether he was game.  He was excited, though, that he got his own PFD, which is always a thumbs-up in his world.

After a briefing about our day we were escorted down to the docks, swept aboard a tender, and driven out to “the big boat” about a mile offshore where the subs were tied up.

The staff at Blue Safari were professional and efficient, and within minutes there were 10 of us loaded into the tiny sub with our Captain, Damian.  The inside of the sub was warm and the sea had a bit of a swell going so I immediately started feeling ill, but soon the sub slid beneath the surface of the Indian Ocean and the movement stopped.

We descended through the bright blue water and within minutes we could see the sandy bottom about fifty feet below.  Out my porthole I saw the flash of what I thought was a fin just at the edge of our visibility, but as I watched I saw the clear form of an Eagle ray, a large one, emerge.

“Ray!” I shouted and pointed out my window.

Damian swiveled in his seat, continuing to expertly manipulate levers and dials.  “Where?  What kind of ray?”  He looked to the port side where I was pointing.

I blanked.

“Sting ray?”

“No!”  I was still pointing, trying to sight down my finger out Juliann’s porthole so she could see it too.  She squinted in the direction of the ghostly ray, which was now growing fainter, but she still couldn’t see it.  I desperately tried to claw the name of the ray from my memory but couldn’t.

WTF?!?  You know what kind of ray it is, c’mon!  What is it?  WHAT IS IT?!?

“Eagle ray?” she asked.

“Yes, yes, an Eagle ray!” I practically shouted.

“An Eagle ray?” Damian yelled, and he turned the sub to port.

But it was too late.  The ray had decided it wanted no part of us, and it was bolting, now only just a flicker out my porthole in the deep blue.

Meanwhile, the group of seven Indian tourists in the sub with us were left to wonder what the hell just happened.

The rest of the tour on the sub was great.  We cruised over the reef and Damien expertly flipped the sub on its side so we could get a closer look at a large Moray eel that was giving us the stinkeye.  We checked out the wreck of the Starhope, a Japanese vessel deliberately sunk twenty years ago in 100 feet of water.

The entire time the boy was glued to his porthole, gaping at the swarm of life before his eyes.  Juliann and I have been diving together for about a decade now, so we’re used to seeing life on a reef, and we had forgotten what it was like to see it with fresh eyes.  It was worth every urge I had to use the pukie bag in the sub’s seatback pocket.

An hour passed like seconds and we were back on the surface again, tearing toward shore in the tender, talking excitedly about all the things we’d seen on the reef and the Starhope.

Our adventure in the sub had made us hungry, so we clambered into our little car and skipped up the coast to Grand Baie for another visit to The Beach House.  Yet again we had an excellent meal, and this time I had a burger that had to be at least three quarters of a pound.  It was messy as hell but damned good.

Durga Puja

The week of Uncle Scott’s arrival…oh, hold on a second.

[Aside:  That’s how we’ve been measuring time since we arrived in Mauritius.  Three weeks before Uncle Scott’s arrival.  10 days before Uncle Scott’s here.  Uncle Scott’s coming next week.  Can you tell we’re excited to see family?]

Anyway, the week of Uncle Scott’s arrival we were invited by the property manager, Rakesh, to his home for dinner near the end of the fast celebrating Durga Puja.

I had no idea what Durga Puja was, and you probably don’t either, so I’ll save you a Google and tell you that it’s a Hindu festival that celebrates the goddess Durga.  If you want to know more than that I’ll wait while you bounce over to Wikipedia.

[Elevator music]

Welcome back.  At 6pm the Sunday before the end of Durga Puja we drove over to Rakesh’s house a few minutes from our villa and met his lovely family.  We were greeted by his wife, who we knew already, his parents, his brother Silas, and his daughters Kooshna and Trishma.

We had already met Kooshna as well, as she had come over to the villa the week prior to help us with an internet issue.  She’s a very smart, very spunky 17-year-old and she took to Braeden right away.

They whisked us into their sparkling clean house and into a comfortable living room where we sat on cozy chairs and were served an orange drink.  We’re normally very careful about what we let Braeden consume, as we try to avoid giving him added sugars, but to quote the immortal Joel Goodsen, every once in a while you gotta say “What the f**k.”

As soon as he had a sip Rakesh’s wife told us that it was Fanta, and I think I managed to keep my wince as to myself.  I looked over and the boy had already gulped the whole glass down.  Seconds later he was bouncing off my lap, holding my face in his hands, and barking something incomprehensible while our hosts looked at him like he had just burst from Sigourney Weaver’s chest.

[Oh, you haven’t seen Alien 3?  Good, I just saved you two hours.  Another thank-you present is in order.  Send rum and Red Vines.]

We managed to calm him down and a few minutes later we were sitting in the dining room with the whole family.  They served us food and, with the exception of Kooshna and Trishma, none of the family ate.  Instead they talked with us while we ate, which was a little strange at first because it felt like we were being rude to them, but after a minute or two we went with it and dug in.

During the Hindu fast of Durga Puja worshippers apparently only eat vegetarian food, so what was served to us was strictly vegetarian.

I knew this in advance, and those of you who know me well are aware that my idea of a vegetarian meal is eggs with bacon topped with ham, chicken, and a burger patty, garnished with a pickle.

The pickle is the vegetarian part.

Suffice it to say I was apprehensive.

A vegetarian meal?  Like, ALL vegetarian?  With no meat?  Will there be meat for dessert?  Maybe a meatball garnish for my Fanta?

Kooshna informed us that the dish we would be having that evening was the traditional Seven Curries, and as soon as my plate was set in front of me my reservations vanished.  The food looked delicious and tasted even better.  There were seven dishes all on the same plate, and a heaping pile of steaming hot roti (a light, fluffy, tortilla) was set in front of us.  We eagerly tore off pieces of roti and scooped up the food on our plate, eating with gusto.

Braeden was a bit tentative, but Kooshna plunked herself down right next to him and started feeding him like a concerned Italian grandmother.  He immediately apprehended that Kooshna was not to be screwed with and obediently tried everything she fed him.  We were delighted.

We tried Chou-chou, Songe, a banana dish, Breadfruit, and three other dishes that were so tasty my mouth is watering weeks later just writing about them.

For dessert we what I think was Kheer, an Indian version of rice pudding.  Braeden would still be sitting in their dining room today chowing it down if we let him stay there.

After dinner they brought us out to their yard where they proudly showed us all of the plants that furnished our dinner, and after grateful hugs and goodbyes we left.  It was an amazing experience that will stick with us for a while.

Thank you, Rakesh, and many thanks to your family for your generosity.  We had a great evening with you all.

Uncle Scott and Gunga Talao

Braeden luuurves his family, and ever since we told him back in August that two of his uncles would be visiting us in Mauritius he had been super excited.  As in bouncing off the walls excited.  As in asking a million questions about when Uncle Scott and Uncle Sausage (ask me later) would be here.  As in we regretted for two full months ever telling him.

Juliann and I were excited, too, because frankly we’d been looking forward to seeing a familiar face.  So when the morning came for me to pick up Uncle Scott at the airport, the energy in the house was high.  I met him at the airport and he strolled out, looking as cool as ever with a grin on his face a mile wide.  We caught up on the ride back to the villa, and when we pulled into the driveway we could hear Braeden yelling, “Uncle Scott’s here!”

Uncle Scott had gifts for all of us:  a new phone for me to replace my old on-life-support Droid Razr, a thermometer for Juliann (she wasn’t thrilled with my pick of thermometer for the trip, so she had Scott bring a new one), and a box of carrot cake Larabars for the boy.  It was like Christmas morning in October.

The flight from the U.S. was a little more than two days, so it took Scott some time to recover.  He spent at least a week taking long naps during the day and waking up at 4 am to catch the sunrise.

While he was recuperating Braeden, Juliann, and I headed over to Grand Bassin to take in Gunga Talao, one of the holiest Hindu sites outside of India.

Gunga Talao is a temple situated on a lake in the mountains of Mauritius, and Hindu legend claims that the waters of the lake are actually from the Ganges river.  We visited the site during Durga Puja, and the day we arrived there were hundreds of Hindu worshippers making offerings at the lake.  We wandered about, watching them pray, open coconuts, ring bells, and light incense.

We started on one side of the lake where there were many statues of Hindu gods surrounded by freshly made offerings and made our way to the other side, where there was a huge shrine on the banks of the lake and a large temple at the top of the bank.  It was a very cool trip into another culture.

We also made sure to see the huge statue of Shiva at the entrance to Gunga Talao, including the enormous road running straight up the hill and the huge sidewalk next to it.  Gunga Talao is such a holy site that many Hindus make a pilgrimage to it each year, and the 20′ wide sidewalk is crammed with walking pilgrims at peak times.

Next:  A trip to the doctor, the Market Scene, and Ile aux Cerfs