The birds, a quick visit to Port Louis and the south

There’s a lot of wildlife here, and I’m getting used to the turtles accompanying me on my early morning swims. Outside of the ocean, I’m under the spell of the beautiful little birds, many of which you can only hear and catch fleeting glimpses of their striking vibrant colors as they go about their frantic little lives.

We spent the last few weekends out looking at potential next places to move to, which hasn’t been an easy endeavor as everything on the small island over the festive season is either beyond our budget or already booked. After drawing a blank with all of the usual online sites, Rachel joined the local Facebook rental group on the off chance and posted an ad with what we were looking for. After a few busts, Sabrina came up trumps with what is to be our next apartment, which we’re both relieved and excited about.

One of those busts took us to the southern end of the island, and after quickly ruling it out, we decided to take a look at the Rochester Falls. Contrary to what the tour guide tells you, unless you have a good 4×4, it’s not possible to traverse the terrain in a Suzuki Swift. So, abandoning the car 100 meters from the top, Rach and I made the short walk down to the volcanic columned falls, which was well worth the visit. During the dry season, the falls are more like a dribble, but as we’ve had a few tropical downpours, we got to see the spectacle at its best.

On another day, we decided to take a quick look at Port Louis, the country’s capital. We spent some time there walking along the dock, which is essentially an outdoor shopping complex that wraps around a crescent-shaped harbor. It was interesting watching people of different nationalities milling around. However, I’m not a shopping fan, so we moved across the road to have a quick look at the financial district and the old colonial-looking government house before weaving our way out of this busy city, which, as we discovered, is the capital of the most densely populated country in Africa. Still really enjoying island life, though.