Hello from Mauritius!

Hello everybody. If you are a student from the United Kingdom, I hope you are enjoying a well deserved summer break. We are enjoying our time with family, friends and acquaintances:) Justine especially likes a day at the beach, splashing in the warm sea water and building sand castles. My favourite beach is Pereybere in the north of the island. The water is clear and shallow and the sand is fine; if heaven is on earth, I would not be surprised if it's there;)

We have lots of relatives here and we are trying to visit as many people as possible without missing out on some sight seeing (especially for Justine's benefit). So far, so good! We have not only been to the beach but also to gardens and various towns. Shopping in Mauritius can be very interesting;) you can try yourself at haggling with the hawkers and grab yourself a bargain in branded shops. The food here is basically asian but there is also some creole dishes due to the strong african influence from colonial times. I particularly like the "rougaille", a tomato based sauce in which Mauritians put meat, salted fish or sausage. It's a real explosion of flavour. If ever you visit here, be sure to try this with a "bouillon brede", which is a soupy, leafy vegetable dish. Rice is the staple food of Mauritius; it's eaten with practically everything and every day. 

Saffron rice with chicken 

Today we took a break from going out and decided for a chilled day at my parent's. I did some leaf rubbings and just helped around the house, like old times, like when I lived here. Justine played on her tablet and ate some local delicacies made by my parents and my uncle. Dad is quite good at wood carving. He made a magic wand for Justine who is of course thrilled by it! I don't have a picture of it yet but I will soon get one and post it in my next entry.

Below I am including some pictures of our time here so far. Lots more adventures to be had;)