Mauritius

What? You have never heard of Mauritius? Well, neither had I until I saw it on our destination list. It is an island nation (4 islands) in the Indian Ocean about 2000 miles east of the east coast of Africa. It may be best known as the home of the now extinct dodo bird. It has the usual history of nations in this area. Colonized first by the Portuguese, then the Dutch, then the French, then a troubled path to independence. It has attained stability and is ranked as one of the most stable African nations. Infrastructure looks fairly good and it is the largest port on the Indian Ocean. Economy is based on textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tourism (rapidly expanding), sugar and financial services. Population is 1.2 million.

While Bill took a tour of the island I chose to go to a tiny reef island that had been cleared of invasive species to prevent endemic species from going extinct (like the dodo). We saw giant tortoises, skinks and new birds. No dodo though!

Onward towards Africa.Read more