As I booked a trip to Mauritius, I was not sure what to expect, aside from a few blogs I have read and YouTube videos I have watched about their cuisine. When I got there, I can honestly say I was extremely impressed with how good the food was as well as the landscape of the country.
For a great experience of whale and/or dolphin watching, please contact Captain Vic at the following website: https://www.whalewatchingmauritius.com/
The highlight of the island, of course, was the whale and dolphin watching. We had some fantastic views of the Sperm whales getting very close to us on the small boat. There seemed to be a family with a small baby, and I was able to get some fantastic photos.
The Spinner dolphins are always so much fun to see, especially when they’re close to the bay in their pods and are swimming in sync. They sometimes jump without any warning and with the boat shaking because of the waves, it is hard to get a great photo of them…but I tried.
The people on this island are extremely multicultural and from different ethnicities, which makes for an interesting mix of religion and food.
- You have a huge population from Europe who live and vacation here, along with the Franco Mauritians who are of French descent. Mixed in with these are a lot of people from South Africa who have started coming to the island.
- The Indo Mauritians, which are descendants of Indian laborers, make up a big part of the island’s inhabitants. These people are Muslim, Hindu, and Christian.
- The Creoles, people of African descent that are sometimes mixed with the European or Indian people, make up another part of the population.
- The last major group is the Sino Mauritians. They make up a smaller percentage of the population and usually have some of the best foods.
The landscapes on the islands are stunning. It is hard sometimes to find a place that has flatland’s, pristine and clean beaches, and mountains just a few hours’ drive from each other. If, however, you land in Mauritius, you can see all of these within an hour of each other. Despite them mass developing and taking over some of the beautiful landscapes with homes, I believe they will still leave the beautiful parts intact because that is what people come to this lovely island to see.
The buildings in Mauritius – as you guessed with so many ethnicities and religions – are absolutely stunning. It would not be uncommon to see a traditional Chinese restaurant, then next door to that a mosque, then walk down a few paces and see an Indian food restaurant. To top any of that off, there is a lot of colonial architecture still prevalent in the capital, as it looks like you are walking down a main street a hundred plus years ago.
A trip to such a foodie heaven country would not be complete without a creole cooking class!!!! I talked to a lady about her cooking classes before I came. She has been doing these for a long time and has so much experience. Sandy Daswani runs Feast of Mauritius, and has a published book with all the recipes. I spent a few hours with her, learning all the ins and outs of Creole cooking, all the while sipping beer. The final lunch was something to die for!!!!!
If you do a trip around the island you will run into some of these cheeky little macaque monkeys. I believe they were introduced here as they are only indigenous to South and East Asia. You will often find them in or near tourist attractions or picnic spots because they love to steal food. Rumor has it that the US and other countries buy a bunch of them up to do animal testing on, which I find quite sad, but again, that is only rumor. I got to spend some time with these monkeys among a picturesque background of mountains and a vivid looking sky.
The Central Bazaar in Port Louis was one of the best stops during my days on this island. They had different sections, each like most markets having items like clothes, perfumes, fruits and vegetables, and meat. This place was wonderful. The old building with sunlight barely coming in made for some memorable and fascinating photos.
How can you even travel here without sampling all of the food they have to offer? As mentioned above, with all the different ethnic groups living here, it is a melting pot haven for many interesting flavors of food. Some restaurants use a combination of French, Chinese, Indian, and Creole. The cooking class taught me a lot about how they mix their flavors and all the spices they use.
As I am a fan of seafood, I decided to go on a lobster eating binge here. I went to a restaurant that I had heard about having the best lobster called https://www.amigo-restaurant.com/, and it did not disappoint. The owners were great people. They have a wide selection of tapas as well as different seafood, and their bar is extremely beautiful.
I also had the chance to get one of the biggest lobsters I have ever had in my life. It was about 2.8 kgs and it was worth every cent of it, along with all the side dishes.
I stayed at two different hotels as one was in Grand Baie and extremely close to everything you would want to do. After three nights I went to a hotel that had its own private beach and some great food. It was somewhat of a resort without having the resort name and the views were amazing, as was the food. I even did a lobster dinner by the sea!!!!
Hotel in Grand Baie- Azure Beach Boutique Hotel (Great Breakfast, Bar, and Restaurant)
Resort Style hotel with great food- Recife Attitude Hotel (Great beach, bar, and food) and Lobster by the Sea Dinner!!!!
As you can see, this lovely island pretty much has it all!!! While it is being gentrified like other parts of the world, especially with beaches as good as this, it keeps its cultural charm of cheap restaurants where the locals go to eat. I would definitely return here in the future as it was just a relaxing time. You can choose if you want an upbeat holiday or just a lounge holiday, and sit and look at the endless ocean of blue……
One response to “Mauritius- The Land of Multicultural Cuisine and Wonders”
Love the dead meat pictures.