Travelog for: Hugo Hippy

Hi Chloe,

Today we went to Mon Choisy Beach - it's on the north-western part of the island near Grand Baie. It's a very pretty beach!  The water is a lovely turquoise colour. There are no waves because of the coral reef that surrounds most of Mauritius.





For lunch we ordered some food from a street vendor who has a stall right by the beach. We had some fries, cheese samoosas and some chicken curry with fried noodles.

Hi Chloe,

Today we visited 'Cap Malheurex' "Cap Malheureux is a small fishing village located on the northernmost tip of Mauritius, just north of Grand Bay and Pereybere (2 miles from Pereybere). The red roof beach chapel is its well-known landmark and it offers magnificent views of some small islands off the coast, such as Ile Plate, famous for its lighthouse, Ile Ronde, a wildlife bird sanctuary, and Coin de Mire, an enormous rock of historical importance, since it was from there that the English secretly embarked on September 2, 1810 to win over the island from the French."
(from:http://www.elegantdestinations.co.uk/mauritius/accom_capmal.htm)

Hi Chloe,

Today we tried some Indian sweets. This one is called 'Jalebi' and it is very sweet. It reminded Katara of a South African sweet called "Koeksisters"



We also tried another Indian sweet - it tasted like 'coconut ice' but is made with grated coconut.



So far I'm having an awesome time! Wish you were here Chloe!

Hi Chloe,

Today we did a lot of driving, because of the work Katara's husband has to do. We drove through some towns and through Port Louis (the capital of Mauritius). We also saw lots and lots of sugar cane. Sugar cane is Mauritius' main export - about 85% of Mauritius' arable land consists of sugar cane.
















I was in charge of giving directions 



This bridge leads to the Bagatelle Mall:





Here you can see the Bagatelle Mall, which is close to Port Louis.



We stopped at the mall for Lunch:





On the way back to our hotel we drove passed this cool looking building:

Hi Chloe,

Today we visited the "Mauritius Aquarium Ile Maurice" in Pointe aux Piments.











I saw a clown-fish, that looked just like Nemo...





This poster was really pretty...





Outside we also saw a fossilised fish skeleton:



And I got up, close and personal, with a shark....yikes!!



And this eel was huge and frightening!!



I really enjoyed the visit to the aquarium today! 

For lunch we ate some noodles:





I also tasted some "Fanta Pomelo". It tasted great! Katara told me that this flavour is not available in South Africa. She also said, that strangely "Pomelo" is also the Afrikaans word for "Grapefruit". So it seems that both the French and Afrikaans word for Grapefruit is 'pomelo'. Oh yes, I don't think I've mentioned this before but in Mauritius English and French are the spoken languages. 

Hi Chloe,

Today I tasted some " Super La Mousse Noir" - it's a watery jelly made from grass jelly powder, sugar, water, and vanilla flavouring. Apparently it's good to drink after eating a curry because it takes the burn away...



I also tasted a Mauritian beer 



Lilla and I shared it:



PS: I also mailed you a postcard today, from "Cap Malheurex" - I hope it arrives soon! 

Hi Chloe,

Today we went to "Chamarel" to see the
Seven Coloured Earths We also saw the Chamarel waterfall.









I also saw some giant tortoises 





I'm having a great time! 

Hi Chloe,

For dinner this evening we went to a Thai Restaurant, called "Wang Thai"

For starters we ordered "Chicken Parcels" and "Prawn Springrolls"



Our main meal was some "Sweet and Sour Pork" with rice.



The Jasmine rice came in this beautiful silver pot



And for dessert we had some "fried pineapple with ice-cream". It was yummy!

Hi Chloe,

Today we visited a Super Market. By the bread section they had a nice display because in Mauritius they have a bread festival. This year it was celebrated on 30 May 2013

"The Bread Festival is celebrated every year around the St Honore, the patron saint of bakers, at the initiative of Moulins de la Concorde.
It aims to rediscover the wealth of bread, as a flavor and nutritional point of view.

The various forms of bread are celebrating: baguette, faratha, country breads …
The Bread Party also reintroduces the trades related to bread, from farmer to baker.

It emphasizes the important role of bread in different cultures.

The Bread Festival is an opportunity for everyone to celebrate sharing and friendship.

The Bread Party gives appointment to Mauritius to rediscover bread under its gourmet and festive aspects"





Here are some other things we saw at the supermarket:

Tamarind chutney:



Mauritian Rum:



Spices:



We bought some chips made from Breadfruit and we were surprised at how much it tasted like potato...





I'm feeling a little sad though because our Mauritius trip is almost coming to an end... 

Hi Chloe,

Today we took some more photos at the hotel.

Here you can see "Ile Gabriel" (Gabriel Island) in the background. Katara and I found a short video clip about the Island on YouTube















Some bougainvillas:



Along the walkway at the hotel are pots filled with water and flowers - it looks so beautiful!





Here is a beautiful Hibiscus flower:

Hi Chloe,

This morning we woke up to overcast and rainy weather - which was quite surprising - as we had good weather for our whole trip. Unfortunately our 2 weeks in Mauritius had come to an end, and it was time to take the plane back to South Africa.

It rained the whole way to 'Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport':





Here you can see "Port Louis" - the capital of Mauritius in the background:



Here we are the airport waiting to board the plane:







I hope we will have a pleasant flight back to South Africa.

Lots of Love,
Hugo

Hi Chloe,

Today Katara and I tried out a new recipe to make "Crescent Cakes". Basically it's a short-bread type biscuit made with ground almonds.

First we gathered all the ingredients:



And then we mixed and kneeded the dough. We let the dough rest in the refrigerator.



Next we shaped the dough into half-moon shapes...



...and baked them in the oven. We let the biscuits cool off on a wire-rack



and then we dusted them with some icing-sugar. Look at the nice pattern it made on the wax-wrap...

Hi Chloe,

Today we went grocery shopping and we had lunch at MacDonald's.

We snuck a few photographs in the store 














And here we are at MacDonald's





The South African currency is Rands and cents. This is what the coins look like

Hi Chloe,

Guess what? President Obama visited South Africa for 3 days. He even visited "Pretoria", also known as "The Jacaranda City". There was an article in the local community newspaper about his visit 

Hi Chloe,

Today Katara taught me how to make a "Beer Bread".

All you need for a basic bread is 1 packet of Self-raising Flour (500 gr.); a bottle of beer (330 ml.) and a little milk.



We added some cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, olives, Italian herbs and a little salt for flavour!





Next we stirred in the beer...



and added a little milk to form a dough.



We placed the dough in a greased bread pan, and sprinkled the top with some needs



We baked the bread in a preheated oven for 1 hour at 180C



Delicious fresh home-baked bread! Yum!