Mauritius and Pamplemousses garden

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Splendid birthday 4

 

Red Sea now our blurred memory (altho Splendida had second thoughts and is going the long way round, from Durban to Las Palmas this week). Next port last November was Mauritius. Named for Maurits of Orange. Maurice for French. We had three days to amble at leisure from Port Louis. Jogging track signposted along the waterfront.

 

Long walk back to the ship, ahead is open water

For me it was an untethered, mostly 'lass dich überraschen' (let yourself be surprised) holiday. One thing I asked for was Pamplemousses garden. Disconcerted to find a very large funerary monument (Samadhi) to the first Prime Minister of Mauritius.

In the medicinal garden. Yellow Allamanda cathartica from Brazil. Asparagus umbellatus from Canary Islands. Ravenala madagascariensis (Strelitzia family) traveller's palm. Frangipani (Central America) covered in moss and lichen - while I think of it as a 'dry' garden plant. Olea lancea endemic to Mascarene Islands. Noni fruit of Morinda citrifolia from Indo-Malaysia.

 

Traditional medicine garden at Pamplemousses November

Pink and white lotus each have their own pond. That fruit which looks like a showerhead.

 

Pink and white lotus Pamplemousses November

Amazon lily, young leaves concertina open, shares its pond with water lilies in pink, white and blue. White spike is water banana.

 

Amazon and water lilies Pamplemousses November

We criss-crossed the garden. Bois benjoin in Mauritian Creole. Buttress roots. African giant land snail. Bridge of sighs - Pont des Soupirs, even the stones grow green in this climate. Tapeworm plant has segmented leaves with tiddly flowers. Furled orange trumpet Cascabela thevetia Apocynaceae.

 

Pamplemousses garden in November

Grateful to be on our balcony when the afternoon brought a tropical downpour. Then we understood the stepped stacks of pallets against the warehouse.

 

Tropical downpour

Shopping for Mauritian tea. I found herbal and Earl Grey as well as Bois Cheri. Blue string of stars. God is looking after these people! - said the young Black ship photographer who needed my birthday for the Splendida app.

 

Blue string of stars in November

From the ship we watched the light rail train climb the hill. Where does it go? Helpful staff at the ticket machines - where, how much, yes you can use your card. Employment for school leavers? We travelled inland to Curepipe, and up 580 metres. Comfortable way to enjoy the inland scenery - altho we were the only tourists or expats to use good public transport both ways.

 

Sleek modern train on Mauritius

Mauritian sega (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) dancers performed for us on the ship. Wide full skirts to swirl and flourish. The dance is both slave heritage from the many countries flung together, and protest against slavery. Drum, washboard and triangle are the musical instruments. Intercontinental Slavery Museum was on our walking route into town. Mask of Dhiahilila dit Jasmin from Tanzania, from the ethnographic collection of Froberville. Mauritian Creole is a recognised language, taught in schools and the university, with a first dictionary in 2009. Sited at the former military hospital as a symbol of 'healing memories and souls'. For more justice in society - 'honouring the contribution of enslaved people'.

 

Intercontinental Slavery Museum Project

We watched the island ferry loading. Mauritius Trochetia.

 

Mauritius Trochetia ferry

On the right side to look across the city to the mountains, we left as the sun set. Ship staff have 8 month contracts. Bibi told us she usually flies away, a clean sharp break. But watching her mother weeping on the breakwater, was hard.

 

Sunset departure from Mauritius

Dedicated to cruise ship staff

 

Mauritius has had some rough weather since.

 

1 Our ship and Trieste

2 Cruising around Greece

3 Suez Canal to the Red Sea

5 will be Reunion

 

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Pictures by Diana and Jürg Studer

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