Mauritius is another jewel of the Indian Ocean, and if it were a color, it would be the brightest blue you could imagine. Thanks to the large reef that encircles the island, the waters here are clear, bright, and calm. Also, quite reassuringly, there's never been a recorded shark attack in Mauritius, unlike in neighboring Reunion, which is surrounded by unprotected open ocean!
This was the first place I really enjoyed snorkeling, so much so that I even tried my hand at scuba diving one day. It was exhilarating to dive far beneath the surface, look a pufferfish straight in the eye, and see a clownfish snuggling in an anemone for the first time.
 |
| Blue Bay, Mauritius |
 |
| Snorkeling |
 |
| Clownfish and anemone |
We were joined by my Swedish friend, Julia, who I'd befriended in Kabul years earlier. We stayed in the south, in Blue Bay, in a cute little bungalow right on the beach, where we woke up each morning to the sounds of tropical birds and waves crashing. For breakfast, we ate hardboiled eggs with juice and coffee from the hotel, and for lunch, we'd eat roti and crispy samosas from the food vendors down on the beach. Usually, we skipped dinner because the cuisine at the restaurants in town was pedestrian and made for unadventurous French and German pensioners. No matter, in the evening, the beers were two-for-one, and as long as our bellies were full each day, we'd head out on the water in the morning for more swimming, snorkeling, and diving.
 |
| Blue Bay beach |
 |
| Crispy fried shrimp |
 |
| Blue Bay beach |
 |
| Shrimp soup |
 |
Anemone in the sunlight
|
 |
| Lionfish |
 |
| Butterfly fish |
 |
| Pufferfish |
 |
| On the edge of the lagoon, where the waves break on the reef |
Comments
Post a Comment