At Port Louis market merchants sell all the rums, saffron and other spices, and traditional musical instruments like the jambé and the maravanne. It’s such a lovely place to visit because Mauritians are eager to share what we love. If a traveller is in need, we always go the extra mile. Friendly merchants will advise you on what medicine to buy. They’re kind and do it with good intentions.
A nice, local shop called Le Rendez-Vous sells items from local entrepreneurs and artisans – candles, journals, dresses by designers like Mélina Audibert, shoes, books written in Creole, photography and paintings. Everything is 100 per cent locally made. A lot of visitors don’t know about it. There are two branches – one in La Croisette Mall in Grand Baie in the north of the island and a second one in the centre of the island at St Pierre.
Spinner dolphins in MauritiusGetty Images
I swim in the sea five times a week. The marine life in Mauritius is so lively and animated; you still have lots of beautiful coral, schools of fish, whales and dolphins. I can’t get enough of dolphins. On the west coast, I take a boat with friends at 6-7am when temperatures are cool and head to Black River Tamarind, where you can jump in the water with your mask and swim with dolphins. I once saw a pod of about 200 of them below me. You just forget everything because you’re with something bigger than yourself.
Annega
There’s another small islet called Île aux Benitiers, half a mile from the mainland. You can snorkel in its crystal-clear waters (and also nearby at Crystal Rock, a fossilised coral reef poking out from the sea), then sit on the beach, eating banane flambée and drinking locally made white rum mixed with fruit juice. In summer I feel the sun on my skin and my energy shifting. Living in Mauritius is good for your mental health.
