Our day sailing on a catamaran started near the old port of Mahebourg situated on the south east corner of Mauritius.
From here we headed towards the Ile des Cerfs following a picturesque coastline with mountains and hills reaching to the sea. I was glad to note the area spared from any ugly developments but wondered for how long it would remain like this.
We stopped for snorkelling on a part of the bay which rose to quite shallow depths and where the turquoise waters were remarkably clear. They provided a welcome contrast to the sea nearer the coast which had turned browner in colour due to the mud brought down by the overflowing rivers as a result of the recent rainstorms. It was fun swimming about the bay but we did not spot any fishes! More interestingly when we continued our journey we encountered a school of dolphins having fun leaping about the waves and teasing us.
It was in this bay that Napoleon won perhaps his greatest naval victory, the battle of Grand Port. Fought between 20 and 27 August 1810 over possession of the harbour the British navy suffered their worst defeat in the Napoleonic wars when the French managed to block the enemy’s frigates. Paris’ Arc De Triomphe has the name of this battle inscribed on its list of Napoleonic honours. A pity that Nelson had been killed at Trafalgar five years previously. It might have made all the difference if he had been present.
The Ile aux Cerfs is a picturesque place with its archetypal desert island atmosphere of white sandy beaches, palm trees and turquoise lagoons. We stopped for an hour there but could find no deer (cerfs) remaining. Fortunately we’d seen them during our visit to the Pamplemousses botanical gardens a couple of days previously.
It was a relaxing return trip to Mahebourg. The town was founded by the Dutch during their two brief intervals of colonization in the seventeenth century when they succeeded in eating the last Dodo. The town is named after French governor Bertrand Mahe’ de la Bourdonnaise.
It was, however, a pity that our trip did not include a visit to the town which contains two interesting museums, the Historical Naval museum housed in an ancient mansion and the Frederik Hendrik museum recounting the Dutch occupation of the island. It’s a good two hours by bus to reach Mahebourg from where we are staying but we have visited the main museums in Port Louis which similarly recount the history of the island.
From London to La Costa (and Lucca and Beyond) Part Three 