Adventures of NaDave: H'moon 7 - Mauritius Isle Aigrette

We had a great sleep in our AirBNB overlooking Blue Bay. We saw where most shops didn't open to 9a or later, so we decided to head down to the beach and scope it out. The morning weather was cloudy, but we wanted to get info on where to snorkel and where boat trips for the nature preserve left from. Before we could get too far, the skies opened up and dropped a morning shower! Everyone scattered so we did as well back to our house.

We looked at our guide book and saw there was a market, so decided to head into town as the sun was slowly peaking out. We needed to get some souvenirs and food, make some bookings and also visit the Post Office. We need ship home our Lovers Tree from Madagascar, as we didn't want to have the same hassle every time we went through customs.

We hopped in our rental car and headed into Mahebourg. We stopped at the launch point for the Isle Augrettes tour, and made a booking for the final trip of the day, they only had a few openings left (yes!). Then we near the market and parked the car. We first needed money for everything, so Dave first looked for an ATM and took out the maximum amount (check). Then we headed to the Post Office, and it was quite an interesting local experience, we felt like we were really amongst the locals. We packaged up our tree the best we could and sent it off to Dave's parents in USA. (Unfortunately the package arrived with the branches of the tree broken off).

We then headed off to the Mahebourg market. There was a beautiful courtyard, and shops with huge spreads of fruits and veg. We were craving a cuisine that mixed the french, indian, and african heritages that make Mauritius unique....and we finally came upon the Bismillah Snack, and bought several Pain Curry bites, they were so good! We also bought a few fruits and continued on. We walked around the nearby shops window shopping, and then also found a patch in a small shop. The package made it look like it was ages old, but we got it!

We still wanted to book a snorkel, but were having trouble finding what we wanted. On the drive back to our AirBNB, we found a small shop and pulled over. We went to the window, but no one was there. We were disappointed, but then the shop owner showed up! We explained our situation and he said he'd pick us up right after our Isle Aigrettes tour. Wohoo, everything was booked!

We headed back to our AirBNB, freshened up, then headed down to enjoy the warm beach! The sun was strong and people were out. We strolled out through the plant-covered path, and enjoy some R&R. We couldn't stay for too long bc of our pale white skin, but some beach time was great...considering we were hoping to be in Seychelles :(.

We packed our bags for the Aigrettes tour and snorkel trip. We waited at the boat launch and could see the island about 500 yards off shore. We were excited bc this island contained so many rare animals! We boarded the small boat with people all kinds of languages, then motored across the crystal blues waters. Off in the distance were cloud covered small mountains that ran into the sea, it was amazing! We got to the shore of Isle Aigrettes and it was very different from the mainland, heavily wooded and no sand. The tour was ~90 minutes and we were excited!

We hopped off and walked immediately to a welcome center. Since we were the last tour of the day, we started quickly. We sat and guide informed what we'd see and also the history of Mauritius as a place where the white man has learned lots about animals. We learned that the Dodo bird was here and early Dutch travelers traveling across the Indian Ocean, eventually killed off this turkey-like bird. It was the first time the white man realized they could influence the world, and everything wasn't in Gods hands (link)!

As we toured the island, it was like seeing a different place. There was so much tree cover, and the trees look so different! We also saw rare birds & huge fruit bats! We both loved the bright red fody bird, and while following it from tree-to-tree, a bird pooped on Dave's white shirt! We then came to the main attraction, the giant turtles. Or as our guide called them "the giant tor-tice". The main attraction was 'Big Daddy', and we each got to give him a back leg massage! We also came across a male & female couple, they were so cute in their huge shells! We could have stayed for hours longer, but the tour was over, and it was time for our snorkel trip!

We were picked up on the shore of Isle Aigrettes by a local man in a speedboat (like fancy celebs!) then we motored over to our spot. The sun was warm, but it was late afternoon so there was a slight chill. We each wish we wore a little more to keep us warm, but we made do. We enjoyed the clear water, and explored the fish and plants (not as crazy as Australia). The scenery was beautiful and we even had time to sneak a kiss! We climbed back into the boat and headed for shore...but the tide had come in and the boat had trouble getting back to the launch! He had to slowly navigate around the choral and plants, and it awhile! We thought we were gonna get stuck!...but we eventually got back.

We headed back to our AirBNB and showered up from the salt water. We then sat on our porch and watched the sun go down while enjoying some wine. We found an awesome place for dinner, Chez Maryse. We walked there and enjoyed the local feel. We had some amazing food, including Dave's fish curry (with the bones still in it) and some delicious chilled Rose wine.

With full tummies, we walked back to our AirBNB and got ready for our last day in Mauritius. We do an epic hike, see some waterfalls, tour a distillery, and then head for Reunion.

Welcome to Mauritius