Mmmmmmmmm......Mauritius

Greetings from Mauritius! I consider myself a very lucky lady for managing to get out of Heathrow a couple of hours before they closed it down.

I am holidaying with my family at the lovely resort of La Pirogue in Flic en Flac. The staff at La Pirouge are extremely friendly and everyone knows "La Famille Valladares" because there are just so many of us here. The weather is perfect and the people are friendly. Because of my Indian skin, I get mistaken for a local and so everywhere I go, I get locals talking to me in French or Creole and fully expecting a response. Fortuanately, I do manage a response in French even though I'm sure my grammar is terrible.

Mauritian men are charming and flirtateous. I've been on the receiving end of their charm. But it is fortunately, all harmless. The good thing about being mistaken for a local is that you don't get hasseled by hawkers or taxi drivers.It also gives me a lot of confidence when bargaining at the local market stalls.

I've been doing a lot of swimming, rambling and things one normally does when on an Island holiday. I hope to go deep sea fishing one of these days. I went canoeing yesterday and the current was a bit too strong. My canoe had a mind of its own and after drifting near the reef, it capsized leaving me stranded in the water with the oars. I have to admit the sight of me grabbing onto the oars for dear life must have been hilarious. After I swam back to the shore, they had to get a boat to rescue my canoe. I felt no embarrasement, but I'm also not in a hurry to show my face there again.

Mauritius reminds me a lot of Goa, India. Only this place is a lot cleaner. Mark Twain is supposed to have said that "Mauritius was made first, then heaven was copied from it". I'm sure that anyone including myself who has travelled here would agree with Twain. I know that if Paradise is anything like Mauritius, then I want to die right here and now. Because I already feel like I'm in heaven and I'm happier than I've ever been.

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