7/18/11

Today was one of the most memorable days-off yet. We coordinated a driver to take us all to the South of Mauritius for the entire day (for only about seven dollars per person. Amazing!) We've all been dying to go to the south … everyone raves about it. After today, we know why.

After visiting the national center for hinduism (which I will document in its own post), we visited Alexandra Falls, which is a gorgeous lookout over a super green mountainous valley. We had to cross over a small creek to arrive at the lookout, and when we arrived we were all taken aback by the view, a type terrain entirely unlike anything we'd seen in Mauritius. I got up on the edge and tried soaking in the gorrrrgeous atmosphere around … it's a pretty cool feeling to see a vast valley of stunning mountains in front of me, with the sparkling blue of the ocean in the distance (no really... sparkles!)

Our next stop was a trip to "The Gorges." We walked past a few small vendors (selling the usual tourist knick-knacks) and along a path that ended at a rocky edge. As we arrived to the edge, we looked out upon an even more vast and breathtaking scene than the last. The mountains below stretched far into the horizon, lush and green, fading to brilliant teals and purples in the distance. I immediately turned to BJ and said, "Oh my word! We're in the Land Before Time! This is the Great Valley!" And that's exactly how I felt--I felt like Little Foot the dinosaur arriving in some sort of promised land… an astonishing paradise visited more often in fiction than reality.

Our next ride in the van took us down into yet another valley, this one more dominated by rolling fields of sugar cane than mountains. It was so lovely, sitting in that van with all those great people sticking my head out the window and feeling the wind on my face,,, right where it should be. :) We were all pretty impressed with the diversity of landscapes we were seeing. One direction mountains, another direction rolling hills, another lakes and rivers, another the ocean. It's amazing how much can be packed onto one island.

The roads were pretty exciting. We keep making the joke that the people who designed the highway and roads of Mauritius must have closed his eyes and doodled with a pencil to make the road plans. The roads wind and wind and wind, constantly warping quickly into unexpected switchbacks and S curves. It makes for a lively ride, no doubt. Our van winded down through the hills until we reached a point when we departed from the paved road and headed out on a dirt road. The dirt in Mauritius is really red, which always looks pretty magnificent in fields of bright green sugar cane. The off-roading felt like the sort of African safari I've always imagined … I was totally soaking it up.

At last we arrived at our destination, a plain dirt intersection in the middle of a few hills wholly alike all the others. We hopped out and started hiking down a pathway (the road got to thin for the van, I realized, so we needed to walk the rest of the way.) A really fantastic scene sat to our left as we walked--a giant hill with a gorgeous African looking tree (haha… I'm sure it has a name…) standing tall at the top of the hill … a picturesque silhouette on a bright and sunny day. Our stroll didn't take long. Soon we had wound around a corner in the path and arrived at a large patch of trees (like a mini-forest tucked into the hills.) At the entrance to the patch of forest, in a small clearing, sat a small hut. A middle-aged man with brown leather skin sat next to a colorful pile of coconuts and pineapple . He was clearly trying to sell them, but to whom I am not so sure. Four boys (ranging from about 8 years old to 18 years old, I would guess) were hanging out around the hut, most wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, like they were ready for a swim. They were excited to see us, and happy to let me photograph them.

Soon, we were escorted through the trees to something magnificent--a waterfall. A calm river moved through the trees and large rocks toward a ledge, where it fell freely about five stories down into a small lake below. It looked to me like a tribal scene from "The Testament." I've always dreamed of visiting a place like that--a small waterfall and natural lake situated in some exotic jungle-like forest. Three of the boys walked right into the river (it wasn't very deep) along the rocks that led to the edge of the waterfall. One pulled out a cigarette and smoked it looking over the edge. I snuck out onto the rocks and took a picture (everyone on land spazzed out, of course, begging me to be careful.) Then, without warning, another boy approached the edge of the waterfall, stretched his lanky arms outward, and jumped off the edge! He jumped far out into the air before descending into the water below. (A huge jump was necessary, or else he'd have landed on the giant rocks immediately below the ledge.)

It wasn't long before two of our group members, Austin and Lexy, had changed into swimming suits and were taking the plunge themselves. The man from the fruit hut had walked over to show them how it's done. (Alas, Lexy and Austin were the only two smart enough to pack swimsuits.

We soon started hiking down a side trail in order (around another patch of trees) to reach the lake below. The path was muddy. Like, really muddy. I love mud though and found hiking in thick, orange colored mud to be pretty fun. I so loved being at the base of that water fall. It was fun watching the village boys get lost in the mist floating at the base of the cliffs and slip below the surface in the fresh, cool water.

And we were only halfway through the day. :)