Mauritius, paradise island in the Indian Ocean

Let us warn you first, that this blog entry might not be as exciting as usual since we spent most of our time on the beach in Mauritius. We had a very relaxing (lazy?) week, almost felt like a vacation within our vacation, especially after the 40+ degrees we've experienced in UAE.

This tiny spot on the map in the Indian Ocean is one of the most popular honeymoon destinations in the world, with a perfect setting to qualify as a "paradise island":
- luxury resorts with infinity pools, where we enjoyed our special "honeymoon package" - champagne, fruit bowl and free dinner: 

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

 - long, white, sandy beaches with palm trees and warm turquoise waters - no comments:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

- great seafood, tropical fruits we've never seen before and dinner shows proving the diversity of the Mauritian culture - where Europe meets India, China & Africa:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

- and some of the most amazing tropical sunsets over the ocean:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

But Mauritius has a lot more to offer than just the typical honeymoon paradise. After a few very lazy days we decided to explore the inlands of the island, which offered a lot of adventure and unforgettable memories. Like a vast green blanket, sugar cane plantions dominated the dramatic landscapes along the bumping roads:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

We were on the way to a lifetime experience at Casele Natural Park, our one-on-one adeventure with the lions and tigers, the big cats of the island. After a briefing we were given a big stick and advised to keep it between us and "the cats" and never wear our sunglasses as they would see the reflections in our glasses and might think we are friends or enemies, thus they might either want to play with us... or kill us.

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

 
Well, little Gulliver this time got a hint of a fear and decided to"keep the distance" (the tigers seemed just a bit scarier than the toucans last year in Brazil), thus he enjoyed the more pieceful sites of our tour, like:
- the geological oddity of the seven coloured earth:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

- the national parks, amazing waterfalls and botanical garden:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

- the colourful tamil temples and the holy hindu pilgrimage site, the Grand Bassin:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

- or the views of Port Luis, the crowded, dusted, traffic filled capital of the island, from above:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

For a perfect ending to our vacation in Mauritius, we signed up for a catamaran cruise to the beautiful island of Ile aux Cerfs:

From INDIAN OCEAN - Mauritius

See all our pictures from Mauritius here.