Wildlife, History, & Theology in Mauritius

In the past few days we have learned amazing things about Mauritius:

• History at a World Heritage Site called Aapravasi Ghat 
• Theology at the largest Hindu shrine in Mauritius
• Wildlife: monkeys and flying foxes!

Aapravasi Ghat was the site where half a million indentured servants were processed when brought from India after slavery was outlawed by the UK  in 1834.

Over 70% of current Mauritians are descended from the indentured, and "Arrival of the Indentured" is a major national holiday.

More fascinating history at this UNESCO page.

The largest Hindu temple in Mauritius is at the Ganga Talao, this mountain lake thought to be formed out of water from the sacred Ganges River in India. It is the scene of barefoot pilgrimages from all over the island during Shivaratri. 

We visited their shrines and accepted the priest's invitation for a blessing of health and protection, symbolized by red paint on the forehead. 

People love seeing monkeys in the forests and up in the mountains.

People are less thrilled to see the Mauritian Flying Foxes, otherwise known as Fruit Bats. Once endangered, their population has rebounded and now they are considered a pest. 

Trees are often covered by nets to protect the valuable Lychees from the bats.

These almost ripe Lychees are on the property of the Rose Hill Branch chapel where Jonathan was playing basketball 

Last Saturday the district RS organized a bus trip to the beach. 

 How's this for a setting for Relief Society activity? Palmar Beach on the east coast was balmy and the water was warm. I love how the forest grows right down to the sandy beach.

Finally, here are my two lovely piano students from the Flacq Branch: Alicia and Megan. The future of Mauritius looks promising with outstanding youth like these!

Side Trip to Amazing Madagascar

It seemed we were in another world when we spent a quick week in Madagascar. We had the good fortune to find a remarkable local guide who provided all our transportation and suggested what to see.

Outside the massive capital city of Antananarivo we traveled 3 hours on  winding mountain roads to Andasibe National Park. We saw how the hardworking Malagasy people tend rice paddies, cut bricks from red clay, and terrace their farms up the steep hills.

We hiked in the lush jungle listening to raucous screams of  lemurs, then visited crocodiles in a reptile preserve.  Canoeing to lemur island, it seemed to be raining teddy bears as the tame lemurs jumped on our heads and shoulders expecting to be fed bananas.

The streets within the big city seem unbelievably chaotic . . . 

. . . but amid the craziness we also found beauty and kindness from the wonderful people there. 

One highlight was visiting a PathwayConnect Gathering where 60 institute students participated in a worldwide devotional broadcast. 

Not enough time to see all the amazing sights; we will need to go back someday. And of course I have posted only a tiny fraction of what we saw and did in a week -- you will not believe this place until you visit here yourselves!

Many Talented Mauritians

Two fun things I did not expect to see in Mauritius:

1. an opera 
2. a basketball game

The opera was The Merry Widow, directed by one of our own branch members and performed by the community opera company, including many professional soloists. The opera takes place in Paris but as you can see it was adapted for an island setting!

Jonathan finally got his wish and played basketball with the district single adults. One of their most popular activities yet.

Some of us took a break from playing and cheered from the sidelines

And finally, here is a little Mauritian scenery, looking toward the north coast near Pamplemousses [fun fact: that word means grapefruits].