The tenth day of December, year 2009...I am sitting on our terrace, Apartment 3A at “le Cerisier”, right between Mont Choisy and Trou-aux-Biches, Northwest Mauritius.
I am in shorts, no shirt, and when I lift my eyes above the screen I see, over some lazy sun loungers, and over the large, circular pool, to the most beautiful Indian Ocean, sparkling and bright blue in the warm evening sun...Reminder for Europe – the date is 10 December...
How on earth will I be able to leave this all behind on Sunday? How long can I protect these wonderful pictures and memories before they fade to be replaced with what we Germans call Alltag (daily routine)?
It has been now almost 8 weeks, shy of two small and awfully short days, that we have been living this one-off, once-in-a-lifetime, never to be repeated in this form, unique, original – I am running out of words here...dream. And a dream indeed it has been.
We have enjoyed the process of acclimatising to this weather, getting accustomed to this country far out in the Indian Ocean, learning about traditions, mentalities, moods, foods, sports and most importantly, about people. As cliché as it sounds, it is people that define the flavour of a country, and of this country even more so. The smell when you arrive, this so important whiff hitting you upon leaving the arrival hall – that does wear off so very quickly. But the combination, the symbiosis of individuals, in any country I guess, but mostly in Africa I found that not only interests me, but leaves a deep impression in my mind and in my heart. It is the people (plus weather, food, atmosphere, sports etc etc) that I have fallen in love with, in what are now both my favourite countries – South Africa and Mauritius.
I am not going to bore you by naming those numerous and wonderful individuals whom Silvia and I have been blessed to cross paths with – but let me assure you that all of you out there have played the most important role in our Mauritian dream, and I am so very grateful for all those countless moments, those adventures we were able to enjoy together.
You might have guessed by now that our Mauritian book is rapidly approaching its end, though a very happy one it is. We are certainly not glad (not yet even willing!) to leave, but what a wonderful life we have had here! And for that we want to be just grateful.
To summarize the last week: My little sister Antonia arrived last Wednesday, wintery pale and sun-hungry (true German – sunburn within the hour ) and has fitted in so perfectly with our rowdy crowd – as I knew she would! Without any help she sailed with ease through her diving course, impressing further with her good manners and easy laugh, additional to that healthy appetite and insatiable thirst only an active student can have – I am very proud of her!
My little Silvia has been less lucky with her diving though...just as she got the heck of this sport, indulging every moment under water, coming up with this big, excited smile, she got some ear problems that have forced her out of the water for the moment. She got an ear infection and is currently taken cortisone and antibiotics – I hope she will get better soon.
Before this unfortunate incidence we however were lucky to go on a day cruise by catamaran up to “Flat Island”, in the hope to see some sharks at a dive spot optimistically called “Shark Pit”. Sharks we did not come across, but we had the most wonderful dive together, with breathtaking scenery and some amazing visibility – perfect, even without sharks. I really do love diving with Silvia – and I look forward to doing many more adventurous dives together with my courageous girl! The fact that she jumped into that deep water, expecting to look straight into some carnivorous eyes...makes me so very proud.
That was indeed a wonderful day out, with braai/BBQ on the boat, some excessive snorkelling with my two girls, and the fact that the catamaran and its crew were rather dubious and certainly not at all trained or experienced in what they were doing – only added this exotic, African flavour. Very nice.
Then my birthday approached. Turning 31 is not really an occasion to celebrate triumphantly but we were going to use this excuse to still party in style, to have all our friends over, and to thank everyone for becoming our friend in Mauritius.
Our dear friends James and Brigitte, with whom we have by now spent many happy hours with amazing cuisine, plenty of grape juice and lots of laughter, offered to organize the party – which turned out to be just the perfect team for this event!
People arrived at 6pm at our private “le Cerisier” beach for Caipirinha sundowners. Parts of Brigittes’ team were two very nice and helpful gentlemen who looked after us with drinks and later on with the BBQ. We had invited about 30 people who more or less all turned up, even little Loik, Pascal’s adorable son, and little Lucie, who has become one of my dearest friends, as the photos might prove!
The location was just perfect, on our white, softly-sanded beach, and I could not have asked for a more beautiful sunset!
Silvia had gone through the effort of preparing a special “Nick’s birthday playlist”, asking several friends in Europe to email her songs – and after the beautifully presented and super yummy braai / BBQ everybody was on the dance floor! Brigitte and James had also prepared a little bonfire on the beach, and at some stage the party crowd was dancing around the fire like in a Shakespeare play – what a sight! The location also offered a pool table, and apparently there were some fierce competitive matches between different nations down there...
I was showered with lovely gifts, including lots of booze, books and some very handy dive gear from my friends from the Orca dive club. I was and am very touched. At some stage even a big birthday cake was presented, which my beautiful Silvia, by now most merry from the very potent Cocktails, insisted on cutting together with me...
My Silvia was a true gem that evening, chatting to everyone, making people dance, having a great time! In fact such a great time that she until today does not remember my speech, and anything happening after that...
Little Antonia was also blending in perfectly, shaking a leg, and impressing the crowd with some true Brummy (= Birmingham) drinking talent! Antonia does not remember finishing the cheese plate all by herself – despite not even being fond of cheese...
It was a perfect beach party – and I had the best birthday party I could have possibly asked for! My special thanks to Silvia, Antonia and especially Brigitte and James for making this a wonderful and unforgettable birthday.
Two days later I became officially a PADI Divemaster. Man – that was hard work in hindsight, but I am glad I have done it because it has taught me a lot about diving. I am certainly lacking a hell of a lot of experience, but I am looking forward to gaining that over the next years.
Poor Silvia was not allowed back into the water after her ear infection so I did my last dives with my little sister Antonia which I also enjoyed thoroughly! Antonia saw, in I think her third dive ever, a shark, a turtle and a ray... how lucky can one girl be?!
As a farewell present Wolfgang took me down deep to almost 50m, and I was blown away by the beauty of nature down there.
Then it was almost time to say goodbye to Mauritius and all our friends! We quickly snatched up some hours and sunrays at our local beach, together with our friend and dive instructor Mahir and his fiancé Kühlschrank (she is from Aserbidijan, her name is truly unpronounceable – but she sounded like that), before meeting up with our friends for the last time, for the last supper.
We had spread the word that we were going to have dinner at this quirky restaurant somewhere inland, unknown to tourists, and therefore very cheap and cheerful! I was very surprised when the full armada turned up, I am guessing 20 people, to spend the last evening together with us! Thank you again for coming, friends – it meant so much to Silvia and me.
After some tearful goodbyes, hugs and kisses we then left all those good people behind – and I truly hope that one day our paths will cross again, with all of them.
We had a wonderful time in Mauritius, not one fraction of a second too long – and I hereby promise to come back to the island hopefully very soon.
One last word in this context to my two girls, Silvia and Antonia: Silvia – I had the most wonderful time with you here, and I cannot wait to explore the new adventures awaiting us in South Africa and Namibia, with you as my perfect partner, friend and love!
Antonia, I am so very proud of you, travelling to Mauritius via Paris all by yourself, and being so incredibly easy-going, funny and a joy to have around! We could not have asked for a better accomplice for our last two weeks.
Lastly, let me apologize to those who had the stamina to read all of this, without falling asleep or becoming ill over all these soppy goodbyes and thank-yous, but I do get sentimental after spending 8 weeks in paradise – with many new faces in our lives, who all are now in my heart.
That’s it – see you all in South Africa! xxx
