It might not sound so romantic, but I see Mauritius as a beautiful mixed soup.
Colorful, delicious..and, well, SO mixed!

At least four cultures, catholics, buddhists, hinduists and muslims live together in an harmonic bright mess. This, together with a long past as colony of three big european powers (Great Britain, France and the Netherlands), has given to Mauritius its unique perfection.
We were privileged enough to enjoy the island from a very special place for us, and we did our best to relax and enjoy the calm sunset breeze, the warm lagoon waters and the neverending corals and fish banks. That, for me, was the best of Mauritius – sometimes I am just happy that my camera is not waterproof.

But this beautiful island is not only sea-and-relax. As I mentioned a few lines above, the different cultures and dominations have left their traces in many of the economical and cultural highlights of the island, from the tea plantations to the hindu temples, from the right-hand traffic to the French-like language (créol, to be fair, is an actual language standing on its own feet!).

In between two snorkelling sessions, we visited a few of the highlights of the island. Maheswarnath Shiv Mandir, the largest hindu temple of the island, with its impressive statues of Hindu gods, lots of wild (but very smart and shameless) monkeys, a colorful building and a large lake where fat fish and votive offers float all together, ..is a really, really special place.

Not too far from it, the tea factory and museum of Bois Cheri are another spot that cannot be missed. Not much for the tea museum, quite small and quick to visit, but mostly because you get the chance to assist to the process of tea making from the beginning to the very end! They will guide you through the tea-drying areas to the pacakging facilities. And, as a cherry on the cake, you can enjoy a complimentary tea and pastry tasting in the tearoom above the hill, with a splendid view on luscious vegetation overlooking a small lake. Perfection in one blink.
The restaurant adjacent to the tearoom is also worth a visit, with well-made mauritian food and good, earthy smiles all around.

The vanilla and rum production site of Saint Aubin is also worth a visit. Half a day was enough for a walk in the small but well-preserved gardens, then a stroll leads to the colonial house and to the nearby rum factory. The tour is enjoyable and you can try the rum in all its production steps! You can also taste all the different types of rum at the end of the tour in the small shop connected to the factory, and possibly buy some to bring back home (really worth the money, given what we pay in Europe for a bottle of much inferior quality! we didn’t get it just because we do not drink:D). The restaurant over there is very good too.

And finally, La Vanille Nature Park! If you can’t wait to have gigantic turtles running after your eucalyptus branches, well this is the place for you. You can touch them, and even ride them if you can!

Many other sites are just hidden on the way, just park your car somewhere safe and start exploring. Visit the market in Quatre Bornes (those mini samosas sold on the side of the street..!), have your hair cut in Chemin Grenier or just enter the local supermarket (Winners!)..you fill discover the genuine and innocent smiles of the people, your best negotiating skills, beautiful (and cheap!) cashmere scarves, dozens of different spices and rice types, ..a whole new world where to get lost forever. Pictures guaranteed.
And, please, do not miss the sunsets for the world.