Flic-en-Flac, Mauritius

Mauritius was a surprise! It was not on our itinerary, nor did we know anything about this tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean. [Ken on Tik Tok & Google Maps: Where is Mauritius?]. Since we are now traveling with Kelvis (Ugandan passport) we chose the country because it’s an easy flight from East Africa and it is visa-free. (Sidenote: if you want to get us going on a rant, just say the word “visa.”) It was definitely worth the visit! Just east of Madagascar, it is one of the most stable and developed economies in Africa. The land is strikingly similar to Hawaii – beaches, mountainous interior, waterfalls, hiking trails, and palm trees. The main language is French (bonjour!) and most of the people have Indian heritage.

We spent our time in two seaside tourist villages – Troux-Aux-Biches and Flic-en-Flac. We drove most of the island in our rental car. The roads were crazy for a combination of factors: 1) super narrow roads, which would be fine except 2) there was no shoulder and the pavement ended with steep drop-offs, which again would be fine except 3) there was no parking along the road so cars LITERALLY stopped and parked in the road. The result was narrow two-lane roads turned into one lane, but with traffic going in both directions. Nuts! In their defense, the roads were all well paved and mostly new with no potholes.

The beaches were top-notch, but our most enjoyable moments were sharing new things with Kelvis. I think we had just as much fun as he did, experience all his “firsts:”
· Flying in an airplane
· Seeing the ocean, swimming in the ocean, and dunking his head underwater (oops, we forgot to tell him to close his eyes!)
· Taking a bath in a bathtub
· Using a washing machine and dishwasher
· Having air conditioning in his room
· Going to McDonalds (he loved it!)
· Trying all kinds of new foods - fried noodles, fried rice, sushi, coconut soup, Thai papaya salad, Belgian waffles, pickles (he did NOT like!)
· Going to horse racing (at the oldest racetrack in the southern hemisphere, there since 1812… who knew?)
· Going on a hike – we spent a gorgeous day on two separate hikes at Black River Gorges National Park
· And now… we are at the airport, heading to India!Read more