ARTICLES
Sisters are doing it for
themselves in Mauritius
Liz Robbertze – Check out my blog on
www.lifewithdizabeth.co.za
And just like that Easter is over! What happened to March, February and January? I am super proud of myself; I did not succumb to hot cross buns this year! Even when they were on “special.” The marshmallow eggs, I am afraid to say, not so much! I enjoy a Sweetie pie, and I really love giving them instead of a birthday card; I truly feel a Sweetie pie says it all
(never mind how it’s taste says everything!)
So, as I sit and try settling into the working week, my mind wonders. Why I hear you ask yourself would her mind wonder? Well dear moms, earlier in the year my sister and I, after all these years of being moms and
having never been brave enough to do this before, chatted casually about visiting her daughter, Tracy, in Mauritius ‘sometime during the year’. In January my sister’s daughter emigrated and took with her my
sister’s precious two grandsons, and we had promised ourselves we would visit her.
Alluring emails
Each day I would receive a mail from my sister on packages to Mauritius. I glanced through them and would reply “hmm not bad” and continue with my working day. Next day another package mail would pop into my ‘you’ve got mail’ list; I would glance at it and comment nonchalantly that that wasn’t bad and continue with my working day.
This occurred for a week or two, until the morning the package was too good to ignore. We started looking at dates and months and the sound of a getaway to Mauritius sounded more and more alluring. One of us had to make the decision and so my sister took the proverbial bull by the
horns – and booked!
Before we knew it, we were at the airport checking in! Although it was a fantastic ‘sisters are doing it for themselves’ getaway, one we truly both treasured, it did remind me just how special my little family are to me and how I missed them. Those days when dirty linen is left on the floor for mom to retrieve; that used coffee cup that hubby didn’t take through to the kitchen. The routine of being a mom. Fetching the kids after sport; prepping dinner. You miss those whilst you are idling your leisurely days in the hot, hazy, lazy tropical sun on a beautiful island. “What?” I hear whispering to yourself
“Never! Not me.” Trust me dear reader, you too would miss your peeps.
Comparing trips
What I found very interesting on this trip was the comparison to four years ago when my hubby and I were in Mauritius at a resort. Awakening to the beauty of the glistening sea, and the gentle, hot breeze whispering
through the hotel, we only ventured out of the resort twice. Once we went cycling on the Mauritian roads; I most certainly would never hazard that again! And once we hired a tour operator who took us to the most popular touristy sights on the island. Chamarel – the seven sands, and Curiosity corner were great fun, whilst the Deities were enormous and quite an experience.
We bartered and shopped, seeking something that the kids would find wonderful, and worth playing with, that comes “all the way from the island mom and dad visited and didn’t take us with!”. This time Karen
(my sister) and myself, as I mentioned, were visiting her daughter and
her little family – so we stayed with them. We were hence part of the
everyday life and routine of living in Mauritius. This was truly amazing
and quite an experience on many levels.
Dropping her two boys off at school each morning, visiting the supermarkets, and their malls – what an interesting and completely different mindset this was to a resort lifestyle.
A different life
This little family – like many families on the island is fairly new on the island and still feeling their way around. However, it is interesting how different life is there to life here. The children are all at private schools.
The school her boys are at consists of a series of houses that are in the neighbourhood and together they comprise of the school, from grade 0 to grade 12. The principal (owner) of this school is an ex pat, as are the majority of the families we met and socialised with. The children’s school day is different to a school day back ‘home’ in South Africa in many ways. There is no sport, for one. When you consider how sport to average South Africans is a large part of our lives.
One thing that the family finds quite frustrating is that if there is even a “hint’ of rain on the island then school is cancelled. For the first term in their reports it states that the boys were ‘absent’ 11 days, when in fact
school had been cancelled. Yes, there had been a tornado recently which I am quite sure was a hairy experience but an average rainy day and the island shuts down!
South African Mauritians
What truly blew my mind was just how many South Africans there are living on the island. Waiting for the kiddies to come out of school – if you closed your eyes, shut out the intense, truly revoltingly intense heat of
the day – well you would well and truly not be wrong in assuming you are in a dream where you were holidaying in Ballito or Durban. Interestingly, the common language amongst the moms is not Creole or even French but good old Afrikaans!
Once whilst in the local supermarket Tracy bumped into newly made friends, when we walked away, she explained they were from Nelspruit! Oh my word – how I had to hold myself back from not running after
them and asking for a good old Nellies hug! Perhaps it was because we were guests that Tracy packed a heb-cooler majority of the evenings, and we waddled down to the local beach (yip, dear reader within walking distance of their home) and we took trillions of photos (well I did, typically me) of the setting sun – but I guess let’s be honest – each sunset is truly a magnificent painting.
Mauritian cuisine
Adjusting to the Mauritian cuisine is an interesting topic not to mention the cost of groceries and the cost of living! Oh, my giddy aunt, meat
is a definite no-no for every night – well that is if you are living on my
wage! There is a fair amount of ‘unique’ tastes there. Lots of ‘Chinese’ that isn’t really Chinese (well in my humble opinion). There is a pancake type thing in a sauce, which at first biteI was a bit like “hmmmm not sure” and by the last bit I was“Yummy!Yummy!” It was called Dahlpori.
Another major no-no (if you living the life of me) – wine! There is an abundance of South African wines, but at a truly exorbitant price! Oh my word, a bottle here costs me approximately R60 and that exact bottle
on the island would set me back R350 – if I recall it was about six hundred rupees! I began to really question my living wage. We visited some incredible beaches, and had some really great family time. Thanks
to all the family for your kindness. Each morning my sister and I would awaken, make a cuppa and waddle down to the beach to watch the sunrise and chat. That is one thing we always do, whether we haven’t seen each other in forever or have been inseparable for days on end – we always have something to chat about!
Although the journey there and back were two totally different experiences – they were both great. On the last leg of the journey,
as our hubbies eagerly (well I would like to think they eagerly awaited us) my sister and I truly didn’t recognize our own luggage! Yip dear reader I kid you not. My sister picked her luggage up, returned it to the carousel and around and around the case went until we were the last travelers
and that lonesome case was the last case and we figured it has to belong to her! Right there we had another belly laugh – what an amazing time it was. At the end of the day with all the rands and SENSE we spent, it was truly a magnificent ‘sisters are doing if for themselves’ holiday. I am trying to convince my sister next up – LONDON!! From cozzies to coats!
And on that note dear readers I wish you a wonderful Mother’s day – yip sooner than soon. Take care, be blessed and always be kind to yourself.
