It's been a while I haven't written anything but it is just that I don't feel in a hurry at all :) So there's going to be maaany pictures (because I more prefer pictures than writing:))...
It is a really beautiful time now, the beginning of their summer - supposed to be really hot but it has been raining quite enough. Everything became so green and colourful just within an eye blink and the red flamboyant trees, that give Mauritius a special charm, are fully blooming. And more and more insects are coming to our lights... Mosquitos in the evenings are a pain, but manageable.
After staying in La Gaulette for a while and having no wind for kitesurfing we decided to move on - our main objective was to reach Port Louis and see the situation with cargo boats. We reached Port Louis quite fast and it greeted us with noisy and intense traffic. Before coming here, people were impressed we would go around the island - it seems far and is much faster with a car - and were wishing us "good luck" passing Port Louis.. It was noisy and dusty, but it was OK.. We passed the city and decided to stay somewhere not far and stopped for a lunch in Baie du Tombeau where we also found a place to stay - straight on a beach, 500Rs per room. So the next day guys went for a ship hunt, and came back with one of the most important purchase for our bikes - a loud signal, which we felt a need for from the beginning - sometimes someone is going too far and misses a turn somewhere (that is why we feel a need for a mirror which is on its way), or somebody in the back wants to stop for something, then the loud signal is heard every time, especially if it is a combination of 3 :). The situation with cargo ships was not promising as they are afraid to take passengers.
We stayed in Baie du Tombeau for two nights and paid 1000Rs each, but on a check out day the lady said that we need to pay more, because 500Rs is for 12 hours of stay, but she didn't say this before. So we felt like it was an ugly "business plan" and rejected to pay more, because if somebody would have told this before - we would find another place to stay. We offered to call police if the owner feels that there is something wrong, and she did, so in the end policemen told her she was wrong. It was the first time we heard that there are guesthouses that charge for 12 hours, and even more surprising was the fact, that they knew we are travelling with bicycles and do not come to a guesthouse just for using a bed for a short time. Later we found a couple more hotels renting the rooms for 12h in Belle Mare and their main clients are coming just to have some fun, the room walls kind of feel like they have seen a lot of nasty things and these uncosy places we avoid. So after this, we learned to make sure about the prices ourselves, though it is the owner who has to tell everything clearly.
The empty road up north leads along sandy shores and eventually it is hard to see them around Grand Baie as all you can see is huge walls of luxurious villas and the traffic becomes a bit more intensive, but overall - it's a pleasure to cycle here. Our next stop was at Cap Malheureux, 7km further from Grand Baie, near a small church on the shore, which is a tourist attraction. We thought, maybe we would stay here, find some kitesurfing possibilities as well as diving. We found an apartment to rent after we asked in a restaurant near the church, so we got a 2-room apartment for 1000Rs/night and stayed here for a couple of nights, then we felt that we wanted to keep on moving - and it was the beginning of the East coast.
It was a real tranquillity along east until Belle Mare... First night on the East coast we decided to camp - we saw quite many beautiful places and were stopped on a nice beach around 15km from Belle Mare. Guys went to look around for a nice spot - there are villas all along the coast and they asked a local guy they met if we could put our tents on the beach not far from his area, and if it is safe. The guy said it was no problem but told that 2 weeks ago there was a robbery in one of the expensive hotels, though camping for 1 night should not be dangerous at all. We were a little bit paranoid and tried to "hide" ourselves a bit in a nearby construction site that belonged to his cousin. But just right then it started pouring like crazy and we all ended up building our tents in a construction building under the roof :). We had a delicious noodle soup for dinner that we cooked ourselves in the construction, together with wine and the sound of wild ocean..
Next morning we were early and reached Belle Mare early, so we could spend some time on a beautiful beach in the furthermost northern corner of the long beach which is definitely the most beautiful on the island (so far that we have visited) with white soft sand... There are expensive enormous hotels all along the beach with miles of golf fields, we were spending our morning near one of them and met a friendly german who was really excited to see us coming with our bikes full of stuff - once he was also a very active traveller but now he is old enough to just come and relax in a hotel area with her wife happy to have peace on a beach chair under an umbrella. We spent an hour or so chatting with him and guys felt dying for food so we left and continued cycling to the center of Belle Mare.
For our night we decided to keep on going until we reached Trou D'eau Douce - this was our last chance for finding a room until Mahebourg, as we have been here already, but didn't find anything worth staying, so had to go back to Belle Mare. Why not, we thought, we could spend some days here and just relax on a beautiful beach. We checked all the apartments and villas on the way but everything seemed to be too expensive for us and as soon as we reached Belle Mare, we went straight to the police office to ask, what they could offer us. They really wanted to help so me and Agnius jumped in their jeep with bars on windows and we started cruising around the small city checking all the cheap places that they knew... Local people in the small streets were looking with frighten when they saw a police car (it seems they are afraid for some reason) and surprised to see us in it, probably thinking that something bad has happened to us. I was trying to smile for everyone but couldn't get the concern and surprise out from their stoned faces:). Best sleeping options were occupied and other ones were not worth the money - even being completely empty they didn't want to give us a normal price (one owner asked 900Rs for a smelly fan room with no wifi, another - 1200 for a nicer one up on a hill - both of them had kind of "dirty" atmosphere where people come for only one thing and at first the prices they said were for 12 hours) so we just refused them. Policemen seemed to understand us and felt a little bit sorry. They said we can camp in a park on a public beach which is in front of their station and assured that it is going to be safe - otherwise we can come to them, or call, or scream anytime :). We could take a shower in a public shower, use public toilet and get drinking water from the police station as well as charge our phones. So we put our tents and not so long before it became completely dark, and after having some roti for dinner with wine we had a nice sleep.
We started the day even earlier the next day, around 5 - such a peaceful feeling when it is becoming light again, you can hear how the life starts waking up from the beginning, somebody is jogging, sleepy kiosk owners start opening, birds singing and everything is lighted by a warm light. We had our breakfast in Trou D'eau Douce - for breakfast we usually stop in one of those "snack'eterias", where you can get some indian food (roti, samosas, fried vegetables or sandwiches) really cheap. This day we cycled the longest distance on our trip - almost 100km. We had a stop in Magebourg where we visited guys at the Orient guesthouse, then we stopped in Blue Bay for snorkelling and lunch. It was quite a rainy day, but somehow we managed to avoid getting showered, and after the sky cleared out we continued cycling to Souillac, where we had stayed before already - the food and the service there were perfect and we really missed the veggie burgers they make for a really reasonable price. We had already decided that we were going to stay in La Gaulette for a month and spend a new year here. And if getting lucky with the wind - do some kitesurfing.
And there is a swimming pool. Can't complain..
Well, we are not so lucky with the wind so far (it was windy only once since we came back), but from all the places - La Gaulette is our favourite. It is nice, peaceful, laid back, not crowded, cheaper (not only apartment but also fresh fish) and with a beautiful scenery - good place to spend days and relax.
It is a really beautiful time now, the beginning of their summer - supposed to be really hot but it has been raining quite enough. Everything became so green and colourful just within an eye blink and the red flamboyant trees, that give Mauritius a special charm, are fully blooming. And more and more insects are coming to our lights... Mosquitos in the evenings are a pain, but manageable.
After staying in La Gaulette for a while and having no wind for kitesurfing we decided to move on - our main objective was to reach Port Louis and see the situation with cargo boats. We reached Port Louis quite fast and it greeted us with noisy and intense traffic. Before coming here, people were impressed we would go around the island - it seems far and is much faster with a car - and were wishing us "good luck" passing Port Louis.. It was noisy and dusty, but it was OK.. We passed the city and decided to stay somewhere not far and stopped for a lunch in Baie du Tombeau where we also found a place to stay - straight on a beach, 500Rs per room. So the next day guys went for a ship hunt, and came back with one of the most important purchase for our bikes - a loud signal, which we felt a need for from the beginning - sometimes someone is going too far and misses a turn somewhere (that is why we feel a need for a mirror which is on its way), or somebody in the back wants to stop for something, then the loud signal is heard every time, especially if it is a combination of 3 :). The situation with cargo ships was not promising as they are afraid to take passengers.
Leaving La Gaulette.. We can see those trees from our terrace somewhere high up in the back of Agnius
Flamboyant (The Royal Poinciana), also called a flame tree, is a sign of the soon coming New Year.
Our bikes are always close to us. Terrace in Baie du Tombeau
We could observe sunsets and cargo ships that head to or from the Port Louis harbour from our terrace in Baie du Tombeau.
We stayed in Baie du Tombeau for two nights and paid 1000Rs each, but on a check out day the lady said that we need to pay more, because 500Rs is for 12 hours of stay, but she didn't say this before. So we felt like it was an ugly "business plan" and rejected to pay more, because if somebody would have told this before - we would find another place to stay. We offered to call police if the owner feels that there is something wrong, and she did, so in the end policemen told her she was wrong. It was the first time we heard that there are guesthouses that charge for 12 hours, and even more surprising was the fact, that they knew we are travelling with bicycles and do not come to a guesthouse just for using a bed for a short time. Later we found a couple more hotels renting the rooms for 12h in Belle Mare and their main clients are coming just to have some fun, the room walls kind of feel like they have seen a lot of nasty things and these uncosy places we avoid. So after this, we learned to make sure about the prices ourselves, though it is the owner who has to tell everything clearly.
The empty road up north leads along sandy shores and eventually it is hard to see them around Grand Baie as all you can see is huge walls of luxurious villas and the traffic becomes a bit more intensive, but overall - it's a pleasure to cycle here. Our next stop was at Cap Malheureux, 7km further from Grand Baie, near a small church on the shore, which is a tourist attraction. We thought, maybe we would stay here, find some kitesurfing possibilities as well as diving. We found an apartment to rent after we asked in a restaurant near the church, so we got a 2-room apartment for 1000Rs/night and stayed here for a couple of nights, then we felt that we wanted to keep on moving - and it was the beginning of the East coast.
Interesting rock formations. The landscape is like that in the western part of Mauritius.
Some more trees..
Pretending that we don't argue at all :)) A cheerful "cheers!" for the picture. One of the biggest challenges when travelling in a group is to come to one decision, especially when everyone is quite different..
Church at Cap Malheureux
An umbrella in Grand Baie
Our bikes with a view to Ile Coin de Mire
It was a real tranquillity along east until Belle Mare... First night on the East coast we decided to camp - we saw quite many beautiful places and were stopped on a nice beach around 15km from Belle Mare. Guys went to look around for a nice spot - there are villas all along the coast and they asked a local guy they met if we could put our tents on the beach not far from his area, and if it is safe. The guy said it was no problem but told that 2 weeks ago there was a robbery in one of the expensive hotels, though camping for 1 night should not be dangerous at all. We were a little bit paranoid and tried to "hide" ourselves a bit in a nearby construction site that belonged to his cousin. But just right then it started pouring like crazy and we all ended up building our tents in a construction building under the roof :). We had a delicious noodle soup for dinner that we cooked ourselves in the construction, together with wine and the sound of wild ocean..
The Moustache beach
The flycatcher :)
Early morning in our "sleeping room"
Trees on the eastern coast
Lay down, relax..
A circular halo over the beach umbrella
On a Belle Mare beach
For our night we decided to keep on going until we reached Trou D'eau Douce - this was our last chance for finding a room until Mahebourg, as we have been here already, but didn't find anything worth staying, so had to go back to Belle Mare. Why not, we thought, we could spend some days here and just relax on a beautiful beach. We checked all the apartments and villas on the way but everything seemed to be too expensive for us and as soon as we reached Belle Mare, we went straight to the police office to ask, what they could offer us. They really wanted to help so me and Agnius jumped in their jeep with bars on windows and we started cruising around the small city checking all the cheap places that they knew... Local people in the small streets were looking with frighten when they saw a police car (it seems they are afraid for some reason) and surprised to see us in it, probably thinking that something bad has happened to us. I was trying to smile for everyone but couldn't get the concern and surprise out from their stoned faces:). Best sleeping options were occupied and other ones were not worth the money - even being completely empty they didn't want to give us a normal price (one owner asked 900Rs for a smelly fan room with no wifi, another - 1200 for a nicer one up on a hill - both of them had kind of "dirty" atmosphere where people come for only one thing and at first the prices they said were for 12 hours) so we just refused them. Policemen seemed to understand us and felt a little bit sorry. They said we can camp in a park on a public beach which is in front of their station and assured that it is going to be safe - otherwise we can come to them, or call, or scream anytime :). We could take a shower in a public shower, use public toilet and get drinking water from the police station as well as charge our phones. So we put our tents and not so long before it became completely dark, and after having some roti for dinner with wine we had a nice sleep.
Hindu temple looks like a snowman
We started the day even earlier the next day, around 5 - such a peaceful feeling when it is becoming light again, you can hear how the life starts waking up from the beginning, somebody is jogging, sleepy kiosk owners start opening, birds singing and everything is lighted by a warm light. We had our breakfast in Trou D'eau Douce - for breakfast we usually stop in one of those "snack'eterias", where you can get some indian food (roti, samosas, fried vegetables or sandwiches) really cheap. This day we cycled the longest distance on our trip - almost 100km. We had a stop in Magebourg where we visited guys at the Orient guesthouse, then we stopped in Blue Bay for snorkelling and lunch. It was quite a rainy day, but somehow we managed to avoid getting showered, and after the sky cleared out we continued cycling to Souillac, where we had stayed before already - the food and the service there were perfect and we really missed the veggie burgers they make for a really reasonable price. We had already decided that we were going to stay in La Gaulette for a month and spend a new year here. And if getting lucky with the wind - do some kitesurfing.
Going round..
Brabant from Le Morne village
Late breakfast
Our best apartment in Mauritius
Another apartment is not so good but has an amazing view
Well, we are not so lucky with the wind so far (it was windy only once since we came back), but from all the places - La Gaulette is our favourite. It is nice, peaceful, laid back, not crowded, cheaper (not only apartment but also fresh fish) and with a beautiful scenery - good place to spend days and relax.
Learning..:)
Souvenir vendor on the beach and her pet
You can hear these old school ice-cream cars from far, and you can find them on every beach. In the background is Le Morne Brabant
