My first flight over the Indian Ocean was on my eighth birthday. I was going to Mauritius with my family on a beach resort holiday that I’d been excited about for months. I was terrified.
The idea that such a big plane could be supported by air didn’t make logical sense and left me feeling that because flight felt it should be impossible, airplanes are doomed to crash at some point. After making it through four hours of jaw-clenched airborne terror, I arrived to a holiday that was exactly what was promised in the adjective-laden brochure. Languid days of beach lazing on the resort’s perfect stretch of thatch umbrella-shaded sand melted into warm evenings of sega dancing demonstrations. My sister and I ate dozens of freshly-cut pineapples expertly cut into spirals by men wearing shirts the colour of the sea, and even now when I think back to that holiday I can vividly remember the sharp sweet fruity smell. I went snorkelling for the first time, entranced by an underwater world I’d previously only seen on tv, and nearly threw up on a glass-bottomed boat trip. I tried to learn how to waterski and then watched as my instructor broke his leg showing off to some girls on the beach, which left me with a life-long aversion to watersports, and gained an English pen-pal while paddleboating whose skin was whiter than the beach. We never needed to leave the confines of our beach bungalows.
Nevertheless, one day we rented a tiny roofless jeep and drove around the island, forgoing the resort’s scheduled activities. I remember driving through fields of cane sugar that were higher than the car, passing street food stalls redolent with the smells of frying samosas and curry and markets thick with people and exploring the somewhat grimy streets of the capital, Port Louis. I decided then that this was the kind of travel I wanted to do (despite rather enjoying lying next to the pool drinking sugary concotions out of pineapples).
Twenty years later I went back to Mauritius on assignment for the travel magazine I worked for, along with a photographer. Turbulence somewhere over Madagascar had me gripping his hand in fear – my flying phobia still unabated despite my otherwise rational adult mind. By this stage, however, double gin and tonics had become my prescription-free panacea.
Another thing that hadn’t changed was my travel philosophy rooted in an avoidance of the generic. Hiring a car with a radio tuned to the wailing hits of Bollywood movies, we set off in search of a story about the Indian Ocean atoll that hadn’t been covered – one that would not include lengthy descriptions of beach loungers. Trying not to be a tourist on an island covered in resorts is the kind of travel assignment challenge I relish. In a week we crisscrossed Mauritius and discovered more of the place I’d had a glimpse of on one day in a mini jeep.
We drank vanilla tea with an eccentric Franco-Mauritian who owns a colonial mansion filled with antiques that smelt like a history book in an overgrown garden that looked like something out of a fairy tale. Filling our bellies with as much gourmet culture as we could fit into each day, we tucked into cheap and tasty street food – fried chilli noodles, curry-filled rotis, chilli cakes and all manner of sweet coconut-covered treats – Cantonese dim sum (skipping the stewed chicken feet) and a Creole feast prepared by a mother and daughter in matching hibiscus-print outfits. Beyond taste, Mauritius presented a cornucopia of olfactory pleasure: brewing tea at the Bois Cheri factory, kumquat-infused rum, a vanilla plantation and fresh produce markets effulgent with the scents of incense, pineapple and herbs.
Learning about the dark side of the island’s history, from natural pillaging by Dutch sailors to two centuries of cruel slavery, provided a contextual backdrop that changed the way I started to look at this piece of tropical paradise. We photographed Le Morne rock, learning its sad legend of runaway slaves leapt to their death from its height to avoid capture, explored ramshackle cemeteries under stormy anti-cyclone skies and visited a beach called ‘Black Magic’ when winds threatened to send us over the edge down to a tumultuous sea crashing on rocks – nothing like the serene image plastered on brochures. We wandered through the 150-year-old Chateau Labourdonnais’ orchards and grand lavender-and-cream mansion straight out of Gone with the Wind, and imagined the lives of early French plantation owners and their families on this isolated, disease-riddled island of mutinies and cyclones.
I realised that when I came back from the assignment and shared my out-of-resort experiences with friends who had no idea of the cultural depth, historical breadth and sensually layered texture of the island, that this is what inspires me to travel. It’s not just an exploration of the new, for me it’s about finding (and telling) the stories of a place, looking beyond the obvious and the adjective-awash brochures.
The trio of photos of me are by photographer Russell Smith.
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What a lovely story! It’s so great to see how getting inspired and moved by travel as a child turned you into the epic traveller you are now. And now I want to go to Mauritius as well…
Thanks Joe!
It is said that some people are born into their careers. Thankfully for you and us it was not medicine. A brilliant piece of writing that made me hanker for my own adventure. And I even got to learn a new and brilliant word – effulgent.
Thanks Brad! I’m loving effulgent too – read it in an AA Gill story recently and realised I’d never used it. I’m going to have to try not to use it in every travel story now!
Or of course you could specialise in effulgent destinations?
As rich in sensations as Mauritius itself must be 🙂
I’ve always pushed Mauritius to the bottom of my extensive travel list for the reasons that you challenged in this post. I always thought of it as that place that unimaginative people go on honeymoon… To climb off the plane and into a resort that looks just like every other resort on the planet. You’ve inspired me to pull it back up into my top 10 🙂 Thank you.
Glad to hear it! Lots of well-travelled people turn their noses up at Mauritius, thinking it’s boring and generic because it hasn’t been marketed any other way. As long as you have your own car/scooter/are willing to take the bus, then Mauritius is a fascinating place.
What a brilliant angle on a travel story, loved the nostalgia pics.
Thanks James!
Nice one, Sarah. Love your sentence: ‘…it’s about finding (and telling) the stories of a place, looking beyond the obvious’ – that’s the essence of good travelling (and of course good travel writing too).
Thanks Roxanne. Yep, that’s definitely it. Sometimes I think travel writers forget about the job they’re supposed to do (which is not just hotel/restaurant reviewing) – it’s about telling stories that people wouldn’t otherwise know.
As always your pictures and words have inspired me to add another destination to my bucket list! Thank you for sharing the unique beauty you see in every place you visit.
Thanks Zarah! Everytime someone tells me that I’ve inspired them to travel somewhere then I know I’ve done my job right 🙂
Thank you for this, really love the way that you write! Your story has made me think about Mauritius is a very different way! As always love your pics!
Oh Wow, how I loved reading this article. I have never been to Mauritius but it came alive right in front of me – the smells, the beauty, the history. Your travel philosophy brings another dimension to seeing the world in your travels in a way which is reflected in your writing. You obviously have a special place in your heart to really want to discover the hidden delights of this wonderful planet of ours. You have a precious talent – don’t ever lose it.
Great post Sarah! It seems your passion for travel started at an early age. Mauritius is beautiful and that is why it makes a perfect honeymoon destination.
Thank you Raymond! My passion definitely started on that first “overseas” trip.
What a beautiful family trip ? Mauritius is a beautiful country to visit on a trip. Thanks for sharing your travel experiences with us.
I’ve never traveled outside South Africa, I took my very first flight a few weeks ago during my working trip exploring South Africa. I had the best time of my life and I see myself slowly falling inlove with traveling, am I soon to be a travel blogger? That’s the question I keep asking myself. Great post!
What an amazing travel blog. I particularly loved the photos. They were just great and i have read a couple more stories and the photos are just amazing. Great work!
Hi Sarah
This is the site I have been looking for. We are leaving for Mauritius next Saturday 4th Jan 2014. Apart from the beaches I want to venture off the beaten track and explore the culture of the island as well. Any advice as i am hiring a car to drive around.
Ridwaan
Wow Sarag, you really did Mauritius justice, its one of my favourite countries to travel to, I have been more than 7 times. I dare say you have been more times than me from the looks of it.
These are really really beautiful pictures and shine quite a different light than the one one that is normally shone.
So great to see. Really love your blog
Wow Sarah,, you really did Mauritius justice, its one of my favourite countries to travel to, I have been more than 7 times. I dare say you have been more times than me from the looks of it.
These are really really beautiful pictures and shine quite a different light than the one one that is normally shone.
So great to see. Really love your blog