Aquarium des Lagons

The bus system here is so useless lol. They’ve just reduced the bus lines and schedules so no buses run between 8am and 1pm, and then when they do it’s once every hour.

So I waited at a stop near the hostel to catch a bus to the cultural centre, making sure to not miss the first afternoon bus. And then when it came I was told I could buy a bus ticket on the bus, even just with cash. The bus driver was very stubborn and wouldn’t let me on, and told me I had to go back to the main station to buy a ticket at the machines. So I guess I’ll take a bus in an hour. I walked a few blocks back to the main station only to find out the single fare tickets are only valid for an hour! And they’re 500F (CA$6) each! How are you supposed to catch the bus if you’re stuck on the other side of town?? All the other multi fare options were more than twice that amount just for the card no fare included. A very strange system indeed, but I have a slight feeling it might be in place to make the busses slightly more “elite” and less attainable for less affluent people? Who knows…

Anyway, as I decided to change my plans and visit the aquarium instead of the cultural centre, a bus going that direction stopped at the station and I had time to buy a single fare ticket. I guess the universe decided today was an aquarium day.

The actual aquarium itself was awesome! Not huge, but lots of different tanks showcasing freshwater, mangrove, tidal, reef, deep sea environments and more! And really well put together. I only paid 1200F for the student price and spent a good three hours there haha. They even had a turtle exhibit outside, with three types of sea turtles! A nice relaxing air conditioned place to spend the afternoon. And fun to see so many of the fish I’ve been seeing while snorkeling, but up close and from dry land haha. I also bought a beautiful sea turtle sticker from the gift shop.

As I couldn’t buy a bus fare back, I decided to walk back as it was only about 4 or 5km. A nice sunset walk along the water, and of course stopped at the McDonald’s along the way to compare.

https://strava.app.link/uP7OEZz7kSb

Probably the worst McDonald’s cheeseburger of the trip, however the caramel cheesecake that I got was delicious and well worth it.Read more