In a week we will be gone from Mauritius, taking with us
some wonderful memories…
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| An old Dutch fort lies under these French military ruins at Old Grand Port, Mahebourg |
The Dutch first landed here about 1638 (calling the island after
Prins Maurits van Nassaueiland). But the Old Port at Mahebourg proved
disastrous, being on the SE side of the island which is exposed to the worst weather
and their time here was characterised by hardship and failure.
And the extinction of the large, flightless one-egg-per-year endemic Dodo bird.
And the destruction of most of the Ebony forests.
And the destruction of most of the Ebony forests.
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| Looking eastwards to sea: a bad location for the port, as this area suffers heavy weather |
The Dutch cleared huge swathes of Ebony forests but made some
positive contribution by bringing in sugar cane plants from Java before they
abandoned the island, leaving also macaque monkeys, java deer and fugitive
slaves.
They had found, on the other side of the island, “Rade des
Tortues” - “Harbour of the Tortoises”.
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| The endemic Mauritius Giant Saddle-Back Tortoise became extinct but numbers of other large tortoises are now nurtured in parks |
The French colonised this abandoned island in 1715, naming
it Isle de France, and used “Rade des Tortues” (now known as Port Louis) as the
main port, using mainly slaves to develop the island. The French influence has
remained dominant, despite the British ousting them about 1810 and governing
the territory until its independence in 1968.
We visited Le Morne peninsular, which is dominated by 556m Brabant
mountain (in the distance on the left, seen from a Black River Gorge area
viewpoint) - a basalt rock peak and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| Le Morne (“Mournful One”) Brabant mountain: site of slave tragedies |
The craggy mountain is dotted with caves and overhangs and
was a refuge for runaway slaves - and the site of tragedy. The British
abolished slavery early in 1835 and a police expedition travelled there to
inform the slaves that they had been freed; but the slaves misunderstood the reason
for the policemen’s approach and leapt to their deaths rather than endure
re-capture. The day is remembered by Mauritian Creoles in an Annual
Commemoration of the Abolition of Slavery.
On the other side of the mountain, Le Morne lagoon is a
windy playground - a stunning kite boarding spot!
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| Brilliant colours of grounded kites waiting their turn |
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| We saw about 30 kite-boarders out simultaneously in a small area: an amazing sight! |
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| Their smiles lie - Rolf and Carmen growled at me all the way up to the top of the Citadel! |
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| But the view from the top was superb |
After slavery was abolished, the British had to satisfy
their subsequent need for cheap labour; they began a system of bringing in
indentured labourers (a form of debt-bondage) particularly from India but also from
China, Malaysia, Africa and Madagascar. This (often brutal) system ended in
1920, and has resulted in a mosaic of cultures living on the island.
There are
attractive reminders of Mauritian history and culture around every corner….
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| 1736 windmill alongside harbour |
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| Lovely street lights on Place Nelson Mandela circle, at Port Louis Theatre |
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| Small shrine on the water’s edge |
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| Office of the Prime Minister of Mauritius |
Many of the old Mauritian walls are built of beautiful black
volcanic rock, as in the Prime Minister’s Office building, and any walk along
the coast will take you clambering over these tumbled rocks.
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| Strolling around Grand Baie: sometimes white beach, sometimes black volcanic rock |
Pretty beaches, beautiful sea, vibrant streets and colourful
displays: lots to see here!
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| Magnificent fresh fish for sale in Grand Baie |
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| Driving fish towards their nets in Merville Bay |
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This is how you do it if you are a tourist – but YOU don’t keep the fish you catch!
The boats each came in with about 6 magnificent Dorado
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| Colourful Dodo? One wonders why the Natural History Museum in Port Louis shows them like this… and behind it an artillery piece! |
Our 4 month visit here will soon be over - we leave
Mauritius on 30 September.
As we leave the harbour, we will pass a sight that has
become familiar in our numerous entries and exits: this fire-damaged ship, the
Brandenberg, was brought in by local tugs months ago.
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| The owners of the containers on board must have been frustrated… but they were eventually offloaded and trans-shipped |
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| Hopefully the overhaul and repaint has now begun |
Au Revoir, Mauritius!
We will stop for a few days in Reunion then, when the
weather prediction looks good for at least the first 5 days, we will set off
for Richards Bay.
To see where we are on that voyage, go here….
A most interesting History lesson xx
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