When we first heard that we were going to Mauritius as part of the rerouted itinerary, we didn’t know anything about it or even how to pronounce it. We began researching it and started rhyming “Mauritius is Delicious”, so we’d not embarrass ourselves once we landed. The more we learned about Mauritius, the more excited we got about visiting, and it did not disappoint.

Let me start with some basic stats that will help set the stage for our day. Mauritius is a melting pot of Indian, Chinese, African, and European, mostly French, descent. As there were no indigenous peoples of the island, everyone is the descendant of an immigrant, whether arriving there freely, or brought there as part of the slave trade in the 1700s-1800s. They say every slave that was traded in Asia or Australia passed through Mauritius. The population of 1.2 million lives in harmony, as everyone is a descendant and there is no class system.

Mauritius was founded in 1502 by Arab traders and it changed hands between the Dutch, French and British until 1965 when it received its independence and became its own republic, with Port Louis as the capitol. As with Figi, there is a huge Chinese presence, whether with the large fishing fleets that operate from there, or the large investment in roads and infrastructure.

The Hindu religion makes up 49% of the population. We spent much of our day in Mauritius visiting temples and learning of the upcoming Maha Shivaratri festival, which is the largest Hindu pilgrimage outside of India, drawing 600,000 people to Mauritius. They were already setting up Prabha tents and water stations to support the worshippers. Maha Shivaratri is a solemn event, notable for its introspective focus, fasting, meditation on Shiva, self-study, social harmony and an all-night vigil at Shiva temples. It was a senses filling experience to visit the temples, with incense burning, colorful deity and the beautiful saris of the women.

We also visited a factory where most of the world’s model ships sold are made. Everything is done by hand and the crafts persons are skilled. We could not believe the detail on these ships. Marshall, of course, was particularly interested in the old-world tools and techniques. We also saw a dormant volcanic crater, the Black River Gorges National Park, and the Seven Colored Earth.

It was a full day and the traffic around the island was awful!! We were 2.5 hours late getting back to the ship and had one minute to spare before our all-aboard deadline. It was an exciting finish to a fascinating and fulfilling day.