Though perhaps not as inquisitive and active as in some of the other countries we’ve visited, life here moves at a slower pace, centered around the water and everyone enjoys it with locals flocking to the beaches every weekend for fun and family cookouts. We’ve genuinely enjoyed our time here, meeting different people and learning from Mauritian and expats about the island’s history and how things work here.
Our boat trip got canceled early in the week, but fortunately, we were able to reschedule. After leaving the apartment at 7:15 am, we arrived in Grand Baie 10 minutes later and and then sat around waiting to be picked up….Rach has to lie to me so we arrive on time; my timekeeping is still rubbish!. Grand Baie is the main hub in the north, with small boutiques, restaurants, and a casino, also the best place on the island to buy fish. The small tender took us from the beach to the 50ft catamaran, on which we’d spend the day. With a small group, we headed out of the harbor towards our first destination, Coin de Mire (Gunners Quoin), the island we spent our first two months looking out to every day. We arrived some 45 minutes later and anchored on the sheltered side of the island.
All the small islands are protected wildlife areas, except for the two we’d visit later in the day, completely off-limits to locals and tourists alike. There was an opportunity to dive in and see fantastic tropical fish feeding around the coral heads before heading east across some very choppy water. About an hour and a half later, we pulled into a beautiful sheltered bay with turquoise waters, wedged between two small islands, Île Plate (Flat Island), where we’d spend an hour or so exploring while the captain and his team prepared lunch. The island is about a square mile and has some beautiful white sandy beaches running around it. One of the first things we noticed was the Paille en Queue (Tropic Bird) performing their frantic aerial displays with their long wisp of a tail, mesmerizing! Lunch was some delicious barbecued fish, which we both enjoyed. After a long leisurely lunch, we headed over to Île aux Gabriel (Gabriel Island) to find a shaded spot under a Filao tree to watch the aerial displays and stare out towards the mainland. Sadly, the fantastic wide beaches that once surrounded both islands are slowly eroding. Back on board the boat, we made our 20km journey back through the choppy waters for what was a very enjoyable and quick 2hr return leg back into Grand Baie. A great day!
Dream Chasers 