First view of the southwestern tip of the island of Mauritius.
Pilot and tug boats assist in our approach.
Colorful Hindu temple not far from our berth.
Two gendered god.
Lingam--phallic symbol of Shiva.
The color continues.
Shrine to the Virgin Mary on the southern hillside of Port Louis.
This poster has a familiar feel.
Central park of Port Louis with monuments to good guys.
Aptly named bank for a country whose culture blends that of enslave peoples from Africa and indentured peoples from Asia.
Had a delicious sugar cane and ginger drink.
Had a nice visit over lunch in the market food court with this family with ancestry from India but have lived first in Malaysia (his home country) and now in Mauritius (her home country). The son wants to go back to Malaysia.
When our family visited Mauritius in 2015, we were only allowed to spend a 10 hour day in the country--no over night (due to previous infarctions from riotous SAS students on previous voyages). One of our activities that day was climbing to the top of the peak (la Pouce) in the center of the photo.
Day two was the scheduled Field Class form my Geography of Hazards class. We joined with Professor Ed Boyer's Coastal Ecology class for a fun day on the south coast of Mauritius.
It was a beautiful drive southward to Bel Ombre.
This center (part of a beach resort) hosted us for the day. We had lectures and demonstrations in the center and then outings focused on reforestation of mangroves and the decimation of coral reefs due ocean temperature rise.
Mauritius like many other small island nations is at the forefront of efforts to mitigate the devastation that is now happing with climate change.
One of those efforts is to restore coastal mangroves to lessen the impact of more severe cyclones come ashore. Mangroves, stabilize coastal environments and lessen the impact of cyclones and tsunamis.
