Mauritius

Flying into Mauritius, after a 12-hour flight crossing the Mediterranean, the Sahara and the western Indian Ocean, our pilot lost his place in the queue for the runway. So began an impromptu aerial tour of the island. This gave me a perspective of things to come: oddly shaped volcanic peaks jutting out of lush green fields of sugar cane; streams and rivers criss-crossing a landscape dotted with lakes and reservoirs; and a fine coastline, remarkable for its white sands and blue lagoons.

The plane landed, and I came back down to earth.

I spent the next four weeks trying to understand the complexity of the island. Being relatively small – slightly smaller than Britain's Lake District – it is possible to cover the whole of Mauritius in a single trip, gaining a global understanding of its history, geography and people. It was first settled by the Dutch in the 16th century before being abandoned and was subsequently settled by the French as a slave plantation economy, only to be captured by the British in the early 19th century. Since independence in the 1960s, the island has been seen by many as a multicultural haven of peace, love and understanding, with luxurious hotels, golf courses and fine beaches for the discerning tourist. Read between the lines, and you’ll discover a different story... Racism, riots and social unrest are as much a part of the country’s history as the idyllic postcard image of blue skies and white sands.

You might want to climb one of Mauritius’s many peaks (they are all small – the tallest being only 828 metres – yet some are very challenging), hike in the Black River Gorges National Park or explore the private estates that have recently been opened to the public. Or bathe under cool waterfalls, swim in lush lagoons, dive or snorkel within the coral reef or take a boat trip to one of the nearby uninhabited islands. Also visit zoos, museums and colonial houses and spend the rest of your money on cheap clothes and souvenirs in the capital Port Louis or the Central Plateau towns.

One of the highlights of my trip was learning the Creole language (Morisyen). Although much of the vocabulary is based on French, words have been added from many languages - Chinese, Malagasy, Tamil, Hindi, and now English have all made contributions. The language unites Mauritians of all ethnic and religious backgrounds and is fabulous to hear. Walking along a beach one day, I saw a group of men sitting under a tree, playing the traditional folk music, séga. I was surprised that I could understand what the guitarist and his friends were singing so melodically:

Mo kapitain,
Mo bato ‘nn coulé,
Enn bato, dé bato, trwa bato, kat bato

[My captain,
My boat has sunk,
One boat, two boats, three boats, four]

Any decent map of Mauritius should give a sense of the mountainous terrain of the country. I would recommend the excellent maps by IGN and Freytag & Berndt's Mauritius. Both maps are aesthetically pleasing for cartophiles, and very practical, especially if you intend to hike or drive through the rugged interior.

Travel literature for Mauritius is sparse, but the few titles that exist in English are worth tracking down: Gerald Durrell’s Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons will give a good sense of the situation as regards the island’s endangered wildlife, whereas Bernardin de St Pierre’s Journey to Mauritius provides an earlier perspective on Mauritian life. Passages where he recounts his trail along the Mauritian coastline opened my eyes to the island’s nature and also to the treatment of slaves in the 18th-century French colony.

I found guidebooks by Lonely Planet and Bradt very useful, the latter being particularly strong on the country’s natural environment.

• Read Tim's new blog on life working at Stanfords.

Author: Tim Cleary
Date: 27 February 2009
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