Mauritius Memories - Part 7
Tuesday, September 25th
Not much to report here, but I'll see if I can come up with something interesting....
Today was probablyl the warmest day we've had on this side of the island. Well, actual temperature is probably pretty similar to other days, big difference today was there was very little wind. So much so that this morning the waves were barely breaking on the outer reef.
I decided to take advantage of the lack of wind and calm waters to do some snorkeling out front here. Typically I wear glasses, but when I snorkel I use contacts and the combination of the contacts, the goggles, and the crystal clear water was unbelievably GORGEOUS! I could see for MILES underwater. Okay, okay, NOT MILES really, but a really really LONG way. I could see the sunbeams shining down through the water to the sand way down below. Just TOTALLY cool.
Saw the little growth of coral that's coming back in here. The owner HATES it, but it's so tiny and such a sign that the ocean is healthy that I love it. Also saw a small sea urchin and a star fish (or whatever their politically correct name is now a days).
On a bit of the down side, after snorkeling I was in such a good mood that when someone wandered by and said "Bonjour Madam" I responded, "Bonjour". BIG MISTAKE, it was one of the very few beach vendors plying their trade on this lonely stretch of sand. SO, he started in on me trying to get me to buy jewelry that he and his family make by hand, etc. etc. I told him no I wasn't interested but he wouldn't leave. Finally I said, NO, NOT INTERESTED, PLEASE LEAVE and sat down to read my book. He continued to get in my face and say, LOOK, madam, made from the spines of the sea urchins and coral we harvest from the reef out there. I lost it, I was like LISTEN, I TOLD YOU I'M NOT INTERESTED, AND harvesting coral is ILLEGAL, and REALLY BAD for the environment. I'm sure the police would be very interested in your illegal harvesting activities, should I have a discussion with them?!?!?
I'm pretty sure he didn't understand half of what I was saying, but he caught the word police and that I was REALLY pissed off, so he stormed off muttering about coming to his island, disrespecting him and his people, why you come here if you not want to talk with locals? And then uttered some creole words that I'm sure were merely a blessing and a wish for a lovely afternoon... YEAH RIGHT!
It really soured me a little bit. Though I KNOW better then to engage with strangers on the beach. I was just in such a great mood, having just come out of the water from snorkeling and my typical defenses were not up. That'll teach me! Okay, shaking off that bad vibe~~~~~~~~
I have one more day here, my flight is scheduled to take off in about 27 hours. I've had a really great time here, but I'm ready to go home. Three weeks is a REALLY long time to be gone and I'm just missing home and ready to leave. Not looking forward to the 30+ hours of travel time, (one 12 hour flight, one 7 hour flight, rest of the time waiting in airports) but since transporters have not been invented yet I guess it's the best I can do!
It really is quite lovely here and the local people are all super nice. They're all shocked to meet an American, they never get visitors from the USA. I know if it wasn't for work I never would've HEARD of Mauritius, let alone book a vacation here, but I'm really glad I did!
I'll probably post something from the airport tomorrow since I have club access and they supposedly have wifi, no promises from Paris though! I should be home by 6:00 PM on Thursday if the travel Gods smile on me!