DAYS 5 AND 6 - PORT LOUIS
The Blue Penny Museum
houses a very rare pair of unfranked 1d (blue) and 2d (red) stamps
No photos of the real thing of course, though we’re just in time to see them (lit up for 5 minutes each hour), plus an excelent exhibition on the postal service (Mauritius being the fifth country in the world to have one).
As you'd expect, the dodo is also a popular emblem (though odd to celebrate having wiped out a species...)
Next stop, the circuit Champs de Mars racecourse – 2nd in the world (!?). It's also where independence was declared 50 years ago.
Work our way on a steep run upwards to La Citadelle or Fort Adelaide. Excellent views of town.
Tonight's west-facing apartment, with a terrace overlooking Baie du Tombeau, is a perfect sundowner spot (and the weather obliges)
houses a very rare pair of unfranked 1d (blue) and 2d (red) stamps
No photos of the real thing of course, though we’re just in time to see them (lit up for 5 minutes each hour), plus an excelent exhibition on the postal service (Mauritius being the fifth country in the world to have one).
As you'd expect, the dodo is also a popular emblem (though odd to celebrate having wiped out a species...)
Next stop, the circuit Champs de Mars racecourse – 2nd in the world (!?). It's also where independence was declared 50 years ago.
Work our way on a steep run upwards to La Citadelle or Fort Adelaide. Excellent views of town.
Tonight's west-facing apartment, with a terrace overlooking Baie du Tombeau, is a perfect sundowner spot (and the weather obliges)
Next day, on the way into PL is Rivulet Terre Rouge Estuary, and a bird sanctuary
- sadly, the migratory birds aren't due until late October but it's a pleasant, calm spot with some resident giant tortoises (also endangered)
Onward to UNESCO Aapravasi Ghat, the holding area for all newly-arrived indentured workers from (mainly) India. Another sad tale of colonial exploitation.
And one last evening with Baie de Tombeau sunset and local rum
- sadly, the migratory birds aren't due until late October but it's a pleasant, calm spot with some resident giant tortoises (also endangered)
Onward to UNESCO Aapravasi Ghat, the holding area for all newly-arrived indentured workers from (mainly) India. Another sad tale of colonial exploitation.
And one last evening with Baie de Tombeau sunset and local rum
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