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Mauritius Journal Day 5 & 6

Over the past 4 days I’ve invited you into our Travel Journal. Click if you missed Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4.

Day 5: Monday 28 November 2011.

Sadly, today is our final day on the Island, so we don’t have a moment to lose. We got up early, had yet another delicious breakfast of “the works” and then got ready for our new adventure. We were scheduled to visit another resort Le Touessrok. It’s a sister resort to Long Beach and part of the hotel group, Sun Resorts.

Greg is bike crazy. His mom always says that he should have been born with wheels, so it was only fitting that he hire a scooter for the day. When the taxi arrived to take us to the other resort, I hopped into the air conditioned car and Greg followed on the scooter. Every time I looked back to see where he was, he had this “I’m in my element” grin fixed to his face.

We drove through a few villages and finally came to the resort. Le Touessrok is very different to Long Beach even though it is the “sister resort”. Long Beach is more modern, eco friendly and has a new cosmopolitan feel to it, while still being islandy. I loved their beach and the entrance was exquisite with this huge tree and old bird cages hanging from them.

We settled into a Vanilla rum and coke, a sizeable lunch of Margherita Pizza with fresh Basil for Greg and Chinese noodles for me. That was the half portion by the way!

We explored the resort, the beaches and then decided that since we had hired the scooter we should make use of it and ride around the island, the villages and experience that sort of lifestyle too.

We hopped onto the Scooter and traveled down the little Mauritian streets. The wind whipped past us as we rode and it was a welcome relief from the heat. Being on the scooter really gives you a different experience. When you’re in a car, yes, it’s air conditioned… but you don’t get the local smells (spicy) or the more tactile feel to the island. I feel like you view more on the scooter than when you’re in a car. It’s hard to explain.

The odd driver “gently” motivated us to clear the road with 2 hoots, but other than that we rode along quite happily. I had my camera permanently around my neck and I asked Greg to stop a few 100 times. There were just so many things to see and photograph.

We had seen so many Mosques and Temples, that when we saw a Christian church, it really stood out for us. We drove in and decided to explore. It was so peaceful and beautiful with it’s blue stained windows. It’s been built from the Volcanic rock on the island and you can see and feel that it’s been made with love.

The tree is the orange and red version of our blue and purple Jacaranda Tree

We stopped at roadside cafes, clothing stores, rode some sandy tracks to the incredible public beaches, rode gravel roads through tobacco fields and eventually the journey took us back to our resort, Long Beach.

Right in the middle of this village stood Hugo Boss. Just so bizarre.

Hump 50m Ahead … Too funny!!
This is the entrance to Long Beach

When we arrived back, Greg very “sadly” parted with the scooter… but he was cheered up by the creation waiting for us in our room. Our towels were beautifully folded into an elephant. It was stunning.

A chilled out afternoon on the beach was in order. It was our last day to swim in the sea and we had to soak up the last bit of sun. Greg and I also did the sail boat together. That was fun.

We heard music coming from the pool area, so we packed up the beach stuff and headed across. A swim in the infinity pool washed off all the sea salt and we lounged around, enjoyed some bubbles and then headed back for our room after we had squeezed the last ounce of sunshine out.

We were to be guests of the resorts General Manager, but we received a phone call to apologize that he wouldn’t be able to make it and that we would have dinner with the Sales Manager, Dinesh and the Sports Manager, Sebastian instead.

We got ready and headed for the Piazza. We met Dinesh and Sebastian at The Shore Bar where they insisted we order cocktails. Um… if we must 😉

1 Pina Colada for me and 1 Long Beach Sensation for Greg plus Ti Punch cocktails and lots of banter and laughter later… we headed to the Japanese Restaurant: Hasu.

We were instantly transported to Japan. The chairs were so comfortable and we sat in a private room decorated in lush red and burgandy decor.

Greg, Dinesh, Sebastian and I

Just when I had thought I had eaten all I could eat at Long Beach, we were spoiled to a 7 course meal. Yes. 7 courses. Each meal was so delicious and unique. Bottles of wine flowed and so did thimbles of Green tea.

Dessert: Green Tea Mousse with home made Raspberry ice cream and wafer

Dinesh and Sebastian were such fun. They are so passionate about their careers, the resort and the Island. It was a pleasure to listen, learn and laugh with them. Our airport transfer was scheduled for a very early *ahem* 05h30… so Dinesh and Sebastian suggested that we just party all the way through. We laughed thinking they were joking. They weren’t.

We headed to The Shore Bar and they ordered more cocktails for us.

Soon Bombora Night Club opened and we went there to spin around the dance floor. I had very smartly said I don’t handle alcohol well and that my friends call me “Florence” because I “nurse” my drinks. Greg, wasn’t as smart (sorry love)… instead he “boasted” about how he was all right with alcohol. Silly mistake. Our hosts saw that as an invitation to be perfectly good hosts and order more drinks for Greg and virgin Pina Colada’s for me. 1 Springbok shooter, 2 tequila’s and a few beers later, a whole lot of mixing had gone on. We left the club at 02h00 and I gave a very green Greg 2 headache tablets, a bottle of water and set our alarm clock for 04h30. Ouch.

Dinesh and Greg

Day 6: Tuesday 29 November 2011.

I felt like I had just fallen asleep when my alarm clock went off. Greg looked a different kind of green – the hungover kind and I gave him more water and TLC. We packed up, settled our bill and waited in reception. Vanilla Tea and coffee arrived for us. Our driver arrived perfectly on time and we said a very sad good bye to the Long Beach family.

Sunrise … The view from our suite
Writing the travel journal

Our driver took us to the airport via the coastal route, which was beautiful and it had lots of twists and turns. I’ve never heard Greg so quiet. At one point I thought a very green Greg might ask the driver to pull over… but he seemed OK and focused on the breathtaking views. Views of the ocean with little fishing boats dancing on the sparkling water, the sun rising higher and higher, the green sugar cane fields rolling over expansive hills, the blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds and the people out and about either sweeping the streets or their scooters. I couldn’t get over how many people were awake so early. Normally coastal towns/villages are quite dozy – you would imagine an island to be even more so. Not Mauritius. It has the relaxing atmosphere but the people are so driven and hard working.

We arrived at the airport, got stamped out of the country and hung out in the Duty Free Area. I have never seen Greg so hungover. I feel so bad for him… and I feel bad in saying that I am slightly amused too. He is quite cute. Greg actually said and I quote: “I feel like the southern end of a lesser spotted Mauritian Yaks testicles.”

Charming.

First things first. A greasy breakfast for Greg and a croissant and coffee for me.

It was then onto the Duty Free shopping. We bought a few gifts for the families, my beloved Toblerone and after years of testing “I love Love” perfume in Duty Free, I finally decided to stop testing and just purchase it.

That was it. Our flight was announced and soon we were boarding. Au Revoir Mauritius. Thank you for being so magical and good to us. Can’t wait to go back soon.

Thank you to World Leisure Holidays for organizing such an INCREDIBLE trip. We are truly appreciative and it’s a trip Greg and I will never forget.

Melanie Millen-Moore and Dawn Horwitz, thank you so much for everything… You’re stars.

I’d strongly suggest you book your trip with World Leisure Holidays today. Call 0860 954 954 or book online at www.wlh.co.za

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