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.MAURITIUS: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2016 "Bonjour!" Mauritius is the last port on our itinerary. It was a quick overnight rocky sailing from Reunion. Mauritius, with a population of 1.3 million, is somewhat larger than Reunion. We made port in its capital city Port Louis. The Island of Mauritius is almost eleven times the size of Washington, D.C.

After our arrival at 7:00 AM, we headed to immigration and then boarded the excursion bus for the day. Our tour guide was a young local lady by the name of Ann. French is spoken here and we immediately noticed Ann's accent. Eventually we became accustomed to her Frenchie English. The tour took us around the busy city where our first stop was the beautifully detailed HINDU MAHA JANA SANGHAM Temple. After taking a few pictures there, we were on our way to the busy, busy downtown market. Our bus let us off at the new downtown shopping district. In order to see the old, main market, we had to walk through an underground road crossing and then walked three blocks. What a different world within a short distance. The people in the streets were a concoction of different nations. We entered a crowded indoor market, with people who were almost shoulder to shoulder. How people walk through the narrow aisles is beyond me. We had to squeeze our way past vendor after vendor. We took pictures left and right. Too bad we can’t take pictures of the smell! Wow! It takes your breath away. The fish and meat market was in an adjacent area to the main market, but we turned around at the door. No way, Jose, were we going to subject ourselves to more pungent “smells”! The heat and humidity made it even more unbearable. We were given an hour and a half to look around the market. That time went by fast.

We made our way back to the bus. We passed various sites, among them was the Shrine to the Virgin Mary. Our next stop was an old 1800’s plantation residence named EUREKA, which is about a 30 minute drive outside the city of Port Louis. The original owners were Europeans and they were rather productive. Not only were they successful in their plantation endeavors, but the couple had 16 children. I am sure the intent was to put them to work on the plantation. The plantation grew sugar cane. The house, which looks more like a mansion, was built to accommodate all the children.

After an hour there, it was time to head back to mother ship, after all, it was almost 2:00 PM in the afternoon. And what was our first line of business once we got to the ship? Why, the dining room, of course! We were all starved. After a hearty meal, we had just enough time to get to our cabin and rest before the ship pulled out of our last port. Yes, it was time to head toward Fremantle, Australia. It will take us seven days, non-stop, to reach our destination in Australia. The Capitan just announced, as we were pulling out of Mauritius, that a storm was brewing. As we head southeast, we hope to circumvent a newly formed Cyclone by the name of Uriah (sp?). According to our Capitan, we last fueled in Durban, South Africa. The ship can sail for eleven days on one tank of fuel. Let’s hope we get to Australia!

PS. A thought from Nelly

I hope the Cyclone will not delay us, because we have to catch a plane in Perth and fly to Melbourne. Also the question that came to my mind is: Do we have enough fuel to make it to Freemantle if we are delayed? I am no good when it comes to rowing.

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Mauritius, a volcanic island nation in the Indian Ocean, is known for its beaches, lagoons and reefs. The mountainous interior encompasses Black River Gorges National Park, with rainforests, waterfalls, hiking trails and native fauna like the flying fox. The capital, Port Louis, blends foreign influences and offers sites such as the Champs de Mars horse track, colonial Eureka plantation and 18th-century botanical garden.Capital: Port LouisDialing code: +230Currency: Mauritian rupeeContinent: AfricaPopulation: 1.296 million (2013) 

 Mauritius (ⁱ/məˈrɪʃəs/; French: Maurice), officially the Republic of Mauritius (French:République de Maurice), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) off the southeast coast of the African continent. The country includes the island of Mauritius, Rodrigues (560 kilometres (350 mi) east), and the outer islands (Agaléga, St. Brandon and two disputed territories). The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues (172 km (107 mi) southwest) form part of the Mascarene Islands, along with nearby Réunion, a French overseas department. The area of the country is 2,040 km². The capital and largest city is Port Louis.

The island of Mauritius was visited during the medieval period by the Arabs and then by the Portuguese, who named it Dina Arobi and Cirne, respectively. The island was uninhabited until the Dutch Republic established a colony in 1638, with the Dutch naming the island after Prince Maurice van Nassau. The Dutch colony was abandoned in 1710, and, five years later, the island became a French colony and was named Isle de France. Due to its strategic position, Mauritius was known as the "star and key" of the Indian Ocean.^[18]Mauritius became an important base on the trade routes from Europe to the East before the opening of the Suez Canal and was involved in the long power struggle between the French and the British.