Mauritius - Step 4.1: arriving in paradise, art projects and vomiting with whales

We arrived late in the evening at the airport of Mauritius and our host sent us a Taxi to get to her place.

It was already dark so driving to the north of the island we couldn`t see a lot yet even though the texi driver explained us everthing that we passed. So Mauritius has mainly a lot of sugar cane fields, mountains, a lot of lush greenery & stunning landscapes including nice beaches.

Everything you will see the reference to the dodo: The dodo was a flightless bird native to Mauritius. It became extinct in the late 17th century due to hunting and habitat loss. The dodo is now a symbol of extinction and the impact of human activity on the environment. (definition by AI)

We arrived at a super nice house which is only reached through graveled road. The host is more than lovely and nice and she was perfectly prepared. So perfect that my friend even had to let go of some tears of happiness. Means we had our own part in the house with kitchen - ingredients for porridge - bathroom which was a big difference to the hostel-lifestyle we are used to. Next morning we could admire full beauty of the place which had a huge garden with avocado and banana trees. In addition to all that paradisey beauty, she had two cuddle-addicted dogs that could never get enough belly rubs.

One part of the garden was our project: creating a vegetable garden. Second part was a wall to be painted which I really looked forward as I love painting.

The host showed us what would be our steps in that projects but the first day we could just chill. This evening she invited her friends for dinner which included gin tonic, tequila, a lot of vegan food and laughters.

My friend and me, we couldn`t believe our luck and the gift that the universe gave us. Staying at this beautiful place with this more than lovely woman and doing creative work. (not to mention that we could use the car of her daugthers which gave us even more freedom)

The first days we had the more exhausting part of physical work to do and went shopping for the vegetable garden. In the afternoon we would drive to beaches and discover more from the island.

One thing thats something to get used to in mauritius, is the chaotic traffic. And chaotic is a understatement.

Everyone is overtaking even when they can`t, people are walking on the street when dark, cars parking on the street, many stray dogs, goats and non logicals traffic maneuvers by residents. Nevertheless I could adapt more or less to the traffic.

After some days our garden got some shape and we planted carrots, lettuce, cauliflower, Basil, Rocket and more herbs and vegetables.

We regularly visited some beaches around Grand Baie and the north of the island and did the hike to Le Pouce and Alexandra Falls.

We had a really peaceful and nice time with meditation and yoga every morning between palm trees on the rooftop. 🌴🧘🏽‍♀️

After the most in the garden was done and we waited for the plants to grow - we started with the wall to paint. It was really a lot of fun to paint with colors and create something. I enjoyed the peacefulness of painting and listening to music or a podcast together. In the end we did a butterfly and some floral pieces. 🦋

One day we went on a trip to see whales and snorkel with them. So we got up at 4 a.m to be in the south of the island at 6 a.m starting the trip. The boattrip lead us back to the north (lol) 1 hour of a harsh cruise on the water. Then finally we found the whales 🐋 we had 3 times to jump in and snorkel with them. Unfortunately I easily get seasick on boat rides so I felt so nauseous all the time with the whales and even thought I will puke while snorkeling. 🥲

Means as soon as I climbed back in the boat I needed to lean over the ceiling and vomit out the coffe I drank some hours before.

Despite the nausea and puking it was if course a magical-stunning experience to snorkel and dive next to the sperm whales and their babies. We will never forget this moments.

Time passed fast and one month in mauritius is over. This time I am not only leaving a country to explore the next, but also leave my friend that we traveled the last 2 months. We had amazing times and millions of laughs in Jeffreys Bay, survived the trip to Johannesburg, enjoyed remarkable moments in Kruger, adventured in Drakensberg and now worked together, created mesmerizing memories, enjoyed more, laughed more, explored more in Mauritius.

Saying goodbye will probably break my heart but I know it will be back in one piece as we see each other again for new (already planned) travels in the future.

After this episode in paradise, my next stop is India - and with that a 10 days meditation course (VIPASSANA). Which means 11hours meditation, waking up 4a.m for 10 days without taking or any contact to the rest of the world.

so next chapter I will hopefully tell you from my spiritual enlightenments - see you soon 👋🏽 ❤️