Port Louis

by - 1/27/2016

As our tropical vacation is coming nearer, I have been reminiscing my previous island conquests. Of course Mauritius tops them all. Not only because it was our first getaway together but its actually one of the loveliest places on earth. Out of all the fantastico places I have visited in my life till date, this place has had the maximum impact in my life! After all it was our honeymoon! No matter how many countries I strike off from my bucket list, this island would always remain at the top!

The first day of our seven day tour was North Mauritius. It included Port Louis, the capital city and the Pamplemousses Botanical garden. We were one of the very few couples of our hotel who actually took all the sightseeing trips. All of our acquaintances preferred to stay in the hotel itself for romance. If coochy cooing was so important, why to spend lakhs to fly so far? That can be done in any 5 star hotel in India itself ;)


Anyways, Port Louis has been a very important city in the medieval times. Its location had a great impact on how international ship trade took place. The Portugese, French, British all with strong fleet used this place as a stopover in the Indian Ocean . The reason being Port Louis is surrounded by mountains on all sides.  Therefore its safe from natural calamities as well as pirates. Even today the British and French have disputes over its name..Mauritius is a British name while the French call it Ile Maurice.

Also it has the oldest race course in the world!!


giant water lilies...Victoria Amazonica to be precise... these leaves are so big and buoyant that they can withstand the weight of a human baby!!


Coming to the Pamplemousses botanical gardens, this place was really unique. India has pretty large botanical gardens where I have seen rare flora. So I did not have much expectations. But the giant water lilies ( Victoria amazonica) astounded me!! The leaves are so large that they can support a baby's weight and wont drown!

the Champ de mars racecourse...the world's oldest racecourse in the Southern hemisphere...

Also we saw giant tortoises ( Galapagos)of evolutionary significance there. So this tiny fantastico island has an impact on all of us! I mean who can escape evolution? We all have studied about Charles Darwin and his theories on evolution and Galapagos Islands. Its Africa after all! The entire African continent has so much to offer...its a fantastico destination!


Speaking of evolution, an episode of FRIENDS comes to my mind. Have you watched the series? Ross is an paleontologist whose bread and butter is evolution. Once a fight crops up between Ross and the eternal moron Phoebe when she says that she does not 'buy' evolution. Ross flies to rage and says that evolution is not something to be bought but to believe it whether you like it or not!!

I hope we all swear by evolution!!  




my affair with trees...




entangled in the web of branches!!




entry to the fort Adelaide...


catching a bird's eye view of the city through telescope...


the city from top of the fort...


the Champ de mars racecourse from the fort...
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

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