7 days at sea is one of the consequences of the changed itinerary avoiding the Middle East, although it didn’t stop us altering course to avoid a rocket! This one was courtesy of Elon Musk and not Donald Trump!

This period is clearly too much for some cruisers as ‘show rage’ has occurred in the Theatre with a singer heckled by 2 different passengers, one at the very front and one at the back. The singer was tying musical numbers to a version of her love life experiences, and her apparent inability to find ‘the right one’. It was clear that those heckling were finding the ‘back story’ boring. The singer kept her composure, and did invite those people to leave the show, but they didn’t. Later that evening there was a Facebook post asking for the hecklers to be identified and shamed – maybe ‘walk the plank?’ – I was going to copy the post for here, but unsurprisingly it has since been taken down. Another entertainer ‘not having a good day’, was a young magician. The atmosphere felt like an audition for “Britain’s Got Talent”, where you were waiting for the red ‘Xs’ to be pushed. A few nights later, in the daily program, he was listed as “The Magician is back!”. Having choices as to where we spend our evenings, we opted to give this a miss. I saw him on the Lido deck the next day, so he didn’t manage to disappear!

A little history on Mauritius

So, our first port stop after 8 days was Port Louis in Mauritius. Described by Mark Twain, as what Heaven would have been modelled on, this relatively small island is one main out of a group of three volcanic islands, termed the Mascarene Islands, the others being Reunion (a Department of France) to the West and Rodrigues (a constituency of Mauritius) to the East. Mauritius has no indigenous population, so settlement was dependent upon explorers and battles for territory. The first explorers in the 10th Century, were Arabs, but they didn’t settle; the next explorers were the Portuguese, but again they didn’t settle as they already had established rule in Mozambique. Next came the Dutch, who together with African slaves, tried to make use of the ebony forests, and establish a sugar cane industry. This was all in vain, and they left, to be followed by the French in 1715.

The Dutch did leave behind a legacy, that of the extinction of the Dodo. The first recorded mention of the dodo was in 1598. In the ensuing years, the bird was hunted by sailors and invasive species, while its habitat was being destroyed but introduced predators e.g. pigs and monkeys. The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo was in 1662.

The French had more success than the Dutch in developing the industries on the Island, and they named it “Ile de France”. The Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain then ensued; in ‘Round 1’ in 1810, Napoleon scored his only Naval victory against the British here, but later in the year; ‘Round 2’, the French were vastly outnumbered, so rule succeeded to Britain, and it was renamed Mauritius. Britain had a ‘tough time’ with the abolition of the slave trade in 1834, and to compensate, brought indentured workers over from India. Surprisingly for a conquering nation, the British allowed most established local laws to remain, including the fact that most spoke French.

After World War 2, there was a growing movement for Independence and this was granted in 1968, with the country adopting its new flag and becoming a member of the Commonwealth. The Flag is a 'Rainbow' affair representing the many cultures that have been brought together here, living in relative harmony. The "Red" symbolises 'Fraternity,' coming from the Flame Trees representing a symbol of the blood spilled by the ancestors. The "Blue" symbolises 'Loyalty', and represents the Indian Ocean breaking upon the shores. The "Yellow" symbolises 'Prosperity', and represents the golden sandy shores within the treasures of the sunset. The "Green" symbolises 'Fertility', and represents the endless fields of sugar cane steeped in the smell of sugar and molasses, of toil under a blazing sun.

The modern day population of 1.3 million people is therefore diverse, with descendants of the African Slaves, the Indentured Indian workers, some Chinese and some Europeans. English, French and Kreole are the languages the vast majority speak; Kreole is the language spoken at home, whilst English and French are used in Commerce, Business, Industry and Government. The main Industry currently is the service Industry followed by tourism. The vast majority of the population live in and around Port Louis, and from an elevated position, you can see the urban sprawl of the City. I found the road signage quite confusing; on one stretch of road, were the typical British format road signs, and then all of a sudden then changed into the French format, but with English writing. There were plenty of Billboards around, some in French and some in English.

At the last minute, I decided to take a tour as it was being offered with 2 x 10% discounts. I was glad I did, apart from bearing witness to the incompetence of herding humans from the Theatre to their respective busses on shore. My group ended up waiting over an hour in the theatre to be called, hence the tour started late, and the consequence was being rushed through each of the planned stops, because the tour still had to end on time. The tour visited 3 sites, I hadn’t been to before; my previous visit went out to Tea Planatations, but much of that appears to be taken up by coffee plantations now. I digress (as usual); today’s tour went to a Sugar Mill, now Museum of Sugar. The history of processing sugar cane into refined sugar, is closely tied in with the history of Mauritius, the differing ‘bosses’ and ‘workers’. It so happened that our visit was tracking behind a school group of 6-7 year olds; luckily I can read, so didn’t have to try to listen to the Tour Guide paraphrasing what was on the information boards, when he was competing with the screams of delight from the hoards; I hope they weren’t going to the Rum tasting that followed the tour! All parts of the sugar cane are used, and byproducts include mulch, roofing material and molasses for baking and rum production. In the ‘Retail area’, there was the opportunity to try different unrefined sugar products, for those cruisers who were not Diabetic! I included some ‘tasting notes’ and ‘usage tips’, should I decide upon another career change in Retirement!

A little bit more about Sugar:

The 7 primary types of specialty sugar produced in Mauritius include:

• Muscovado Sugar: A highly unrefined sugar that retains a large amount of its natural molasses, offering a rich, sticky texture and a strong, complex flavor profile.

• Molasses Sugar: The darkest and moistest of the sugars, packed with deep caramel and toffee notes.

• Demerara Sugar: Ranging from light to dark, this natural sugar has a larger crystal size, providing a subtle crunch and distinct golden color.

• Golden Granulated Sugar: A free-flowing sugar with a clean, sweet taste and a light golden hue, perfect for everyday baking and beverages.

• Brown Soft Sugars: Available in varying intensities, these sugars are soft and moist, bringing a perfect balance of caramel and sweetness to recipes.

• Caster Sugar (Golden/Fine): A finer-grain sugar that dissolves quickly, making it ideal for delicate baking, meringues, and syrups.

• Coffee Crystals: Specially crafted, large unrefined sugar crystals designed to melt slowly in hot beverages, releasing subtle tropical flavours.

Following the sugar, we were moved onto the Rum tasting, with three differing products being tasted, a ‘standard’, a ‘mature’ and a ‘liqueur’. I thought the rum was ‘rough’, and would have benefitted from a standard ‘marriage’ with cola; however the liqueur was a lot smoother, but not enough to release the moths from my wallet. My only ‘mission’ was to get a Mauritius fridge magnet; I found a small one with the flag and a Dodo - $10! Don’t be fooled, Mauritius is not cheap…

Back onto the coach for a short drive to Pamplemousses to visit the National Botanic Gardens; the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere! The French established gardens here from 1736, but it was in 1767 that French Intendant, Pierre Poivre introduced, vegetables, fruits, flowers and spices from around the world. His Excellency Dr the Right Honourable Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (shortened to SSR for the Australians and those unable to pronounce the full name), was the first prime Minister of the new Independent Mauritius from 1968 to 1982. There is a funerary monument to him in the gardens, and many important structures are named/dedicated to him, including these Gardens and the International Airport. The notable features of the Garden were the many varieties of Palms and the pond of giant Amazon Waterlilies, as well as Chateau de Mon Plaisir (no, its not a brothel – per my rudimentary translation and dirty mind), it is in fact the house from which the Garden was developed and extended by Poivre.

Our final stop was back in Port Louis, where we drove through the narrow streets of the Inner City, and then uphill to the Citadel, called Fort Adelaide, in honour of the wife of then then King of England, William IV. It was between between 1830 and 1840, but was never used except to accommodate a meagre garrison from time to time. As you would expect, it overlooks the City and Coast, and therefore provides an excellent photo opportunity. One feature below the Citadel was the Champ de Mars Racecourse, a thoroughbred horse racetrack inaugurated in1812, by The Mauritius Turf Club (MTC). Fun fact: Mauritius Turf Club is the oldest horse-racing club in the Southern Hemisphere and the second oldest in the world!

Crown Princess could be seen from the Citadel, so we knew it wouldn’t take too long to return to the ship, although we were running ‘late’. I could have sworn that the guide mentioned stopping at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in the City Centre; that did not happen, but I still managed to snatch a photo as we passed by. Having purchased my fridge magnet, I didn’t feel the need to get the shuttle bus back into the City Centre, and instead enjoyed the skyline views from my balcony, as well as the Sailaway at 5pm.

We now have had a change of entertainers; the magician ‘disappeared’, but was replaced by a “Comedy Magician”….. A new ‘Enrichment’ lecturer joined the ship also, so I will be ready for some new lectures for the next 5 sea days. The next port is Cape Town, where the first sector of this World Cruise finishes, with an exchange of some Passengers, Crew and Entertainment both leaving and arriving for the next Sector through to Dover.

I am looking forward to Cape Town, as I have an overnight safari to look forward to. This has been arranged independently, as it was a fraction of the offering by Princess. Several passengers took up the Princess Tours to Kruger National Park or Victoria Falls. As much as Montgomery would have liked to have visited either, the cost was prohibitive; $19,999 for a solo - this is almost half of the price paid for the entire cruise! At the end of the day, it would be a luxury excursion, leaving from Mauritius, so included flights to Johannesburg, then to Kruger or Victoria Falls, the cost of Hotels/Lodges/Tours, and then flights to Cape Town with Hotels/Tours/Sightseeing to then rejoin the ship. It involves 6 nights accommodation, so I can see where the cost goes.

My safari is not at Kruger, but at Aquila Lodge about 2 hours Northwest of Cape Town; for one night (single supplement), transport, side trip up Table Mountain, 3 meals, stargazing and 2 game drives; I am paying $900! I think I can justify this, plus Ross will enjoy the peace and quiet for 2 days; he may think/wish I’d been eaten by a Lion!