Chamarel

Our first real stop on the South Island tour was the 7 Color Earth, also called Chamarel. Because of the unusual volcanic & geologic history of the island, these unique mounds were discovered.



Taking pictures of the information signs rocks....any chemists out there can decode this for me? Apparently, the site is on private property (a giant sugar cane farm), but it has been opened to the public, for a small fee.



There was a nice boardwalk around the area of coloured earth & a small restaurant that had a balcony with a great view of the area.



It was a beautiful contrast to the super green mountains that surrounded it.



But honestly, it was a little disappointing. It was neat and all but, we just spent a few minutes here. Definitely not a reason for a visit to Mauritius.



I'm having a blast here!



The other (sort of) interesting thing we saw at Chamarel was see these giant tortoises eating breakfast.



NOM NOM NOM




As we drove by this, H & I both had no clue what it was. Upon closer inspection, it was a field of pineapples! For some reason, in my mind, they grew on trees & not on the ground.



It was a very educational trip to say the least.



The fields made for beautiful scenery in the mountains with the palm trees along the ridge line.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Slept good last night, I'm feeling better, Mia slept in her little kennel all night too, got to visit with my hubby a little last night & hopefully Zoe will be coming home today.

South Island Tour

We started out our explorations of Mauritus with a private tour of the South part of the island- this is where most of the *pretty* geologic features and nature-type of things are located. We promptly returned our rental car & hired a drive for the day- it was surprisingly cheap, safer than driving ourselves, stress free and informative.



The inner part of the island is an elevated plateau, so our first destination was to go up to the top & check out the view of the west coast.



The weather here was perfect in the first week of June- cool & breezy, lots of sun.



The island is the remnants of an old volcano (or several) & I loved all the mountains everywhere. It was also very tropical & it was what I imagine Hawaii would be like- tons of fruit & tree and green stuff everywhere.



There were several bays that looked like great places for snorkeling & the blue water looked so inviting. If you look closely, you can see the outer reef where the waves break way off shore, and of course the tons of sugarcane planted in the foreground.



H & I are city people- we were so amazed to see fruit growing everywhere around the island.



"Hello Mr. Mountain! Please come back to Houston with me."



The island is an interesting mix of Hindu, Islamic & Catholic. We learned there are two distinct types of Hinduism & you can tell them apart by how their temples are decorated.



Know what this is? We didn't either....



It's a salt flat- places where they take the salty ocean water & evaporate it to harvest salt.



Driving around the island was really a treat- between the towering sugar cane & the even taller mountains looming around the island, I was in constant clicky-mode with my camera.



We didn't see many sailboats, but I think the other side of the island is windier.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: We got a new laptop (the bad news is that the other one died & I didn't have a back-up!). Time to start re-entering 9 months worth of financial transactions...good things it's a long weekend.

Paddling Puppies

I'm obviously a little behind on blogging, but I'm trying to catch up & won't deprive you of some Vizsla cuteness! We had an awesome float that Zoe could swim right on, but it's old and broken. She hasn't quite mastered this new one, especially with Mia trying to hop on with her.


I went for an afternoon jog twice last week with Zoe & then hopped in the pool at my parents house to cool off, which explains the totally not stylin' swimwear.



Mia likes to follow Zoe around the pool & Zoe mostly tries to swim away. Mia was doing much better last week with "OFF", keeping off me and Zoe.



Aww...the whole gang swimming! We can race from one end of the pool to the other...I'll have to get some video of that soon.



Mia knows where the steps are to get out & the fountain at the deep end of the pool is an exit too. She just discovered that she can stand on this chair on her back legs.



Out of the pool, she just plopped herself down into this float for a few seconds and flailed around.



Love the video! She's gotten really good at jumping in off the side into the pool- I just need to get some video of that.



Mom has got a cool new dog bed for them. Mia's *christened* it, but they like laying on it when the ground is really hot.



Like most Vizslas, Mia likes being up high & doesn't pass up an opportunity to scale something.



Such pretty eyes!



Little stinker LOVES mulch and has been munching on it non-stop at my house and at mom's house.

Photos taken 8/27/09, Mia 11 weeks

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: No real updates on Zoe- she's doing good & eating without any problems, but they won't rerun the blood work until tomorrow.

Hilton Mauritius

Our next stop is at our hotel- the Hilton Mauritius, one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was (mostly) a relaxing & restful place after non-stop trekking in Africa.

The hotel itself was beautiful! I really loved all the architecture & decor around the grounds, which wound around little ponds, streams and waterfalls. Below is the breakfast buffet and evening buffet area. Breakfast was included for us, but we were usually joined by dozens of birds that were pretty darn aggressive to steal stuff of your plate.



I thought the woodwork in the hallways was beautiful. I did mind the tile floor though- it was very loud when people were walking late at night or early in the morning.



There's a nice bar area upstairs, where you get complimentary drinks upon checking in & there is a so-so happy hour each evening. Great views of the ocean at sunset though.



There were tons of huge koi swimming around these ponds & that is the beach/pool bar in the background.



The entrance from the front down into the main part of the hotel is a neat staircase surrounded by waterfalls. It's lit up beautiful at night with some torches.



The upstairs bar & downstairs buffet areas. My favorite thing about this hotel was the impeccable service. I've never seen a staff more eager or friendly to accommodate us with any need.



The pool area was very nicely designed- great shapes & architecture made it feel very organic and blended into the beautiful landscaping.



We sat down one evening & enjoyed drinks as we watched the sunset into the ocean. There is also pretty good service at the numerous chairs/umbrella/table setups along the beach & a decent "snack" menu to order from.



And here's why everybody comes here! The beautiful clear blue water was mesmerizing to watch with the mountains in the background.



It was a little chilly for swimming (for us at least in the beginning of June), but it was refreshing to cool off your legs after laying out on the beach for a while. On the West side of the island, there is a coral reef way off-shore (see where the waves break?). There weren't too many waves that made it to the shore & the area is supposedly nice for snorkeling.



Another shot of the pool.



So serene & tranquil.



There was a French (I think??) restaurant & this Sushi place on the property, in addition to the buffet, but the food was VERY expensive. I think the buffet for dinner was like $50pp or something pretty pricey. It was good enough, but I'm not thrilled to pay that for a buffet. (In their defense, food was generally pretty expensive at most placed on the island.)



Because I was a Diamond member, Hilton upgraded me to this awesome suite. We had a separate living room & bedroom, which was very nice as H was working really late some night on the computer & making phone calls back to the office. That far sliding door goes out on to a lovely little balcony.



In the living area, there was a desk, full couch, 2 chairs, a full bathroom, minibar and a nice TV. When we checked in, we discovered a fresh fruit bowl & a dessert tray awaiting us in the room.



Our bedroom was super pimp too! We had his & hers closets with a walk through bathroom. We had a room attendant that would check on us several times a day to tidy up the room, refresh the minibar or see if we needed anything. They even offered to unpack our clothes!



We had a huge TV in our room & a lounge chair, plus a great view out towards the water.



We were greeted with a beautiful decorated bathroom & offered to have specialty baths drawn up for us (for a price ;).



Here is the view from our porch- I really enjoyed sitting out there & chilling out.



One other rave I have is the spa. I've never been to a *fancy* spa & we decided to indulge and get a few spa treatments. It was surprisingly really well priced- probably cheaper than US prices. The massages were great & I really enjoyed them.



They have the full dressing room & locker room area where you can take a shower & hang out in the steam room before going to the relaxing area prior to your treatment.

All in all 5 out of 5 stars for the Hilton

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Not too much good news here. It's been a rough 2 days....our computer hard drive died with some really important information I hadn't backed up (it was only 2 years old!), Zoe threw up about 46 gallons last night & we scrubbed carpets at 2AM. I took her to the vet & they are keeping her for a few days in IV & antibiotics because her liver proteins are high. Finally- my allergies have been kicking my rear the past 2 weeks. I can't get any relief no matter what drugs I take & I just can't keep living feeling like a walking sinus affliction. I went to the allergist today & hopefully am on the way to getting some relief.