We left The Residence in Johannesburg, South Africa and flew to Mauritius Island for a ten-day stay at the glorious Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita (https://www.fourseasons.com/mauritius/), the mother of everything beautiful, peaceful and serene. This island, just east of Madagascar and south of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean,  was ruled by the Dutch, French and British before claiming their independence in 1968. Although English is the formal language, French and the native Mauritian Creole are widely spoken. The multi-ethnic/cultural blend of people and their cuisine made me feel at home from day one. The phenomenal executive chef at the Four Seasons, Chef Nicolas Vienne, made dream meals come true for us, but more on that later.

We were driven from the airport to the resort down lush green acres of sweet sugar cane and meandered around rolling hills. The only lions on this island are in the zoo (unlike my African experience), I did check. The Dodo bird is indigenous to the island but has long been extinct. We were safe in paradise.

Then there was the resort.  The Four Seasons has a culture of inclusiveness and making you feel welcomed and at home.  In all my travels, I have never been made to feel more wanted and at home than this stay.  From the initial greeting by Ana, at check in, who also served as my personal flower crown creator, to Lindley Thomen, the Resident Manager’s frequent greetings during our stay, we felt cared for and wanted.

This place had everything you would want and much more. We learned how to sail on the resorts’ sail boats, we used the kayaks, although the double kayak was a bit of a disaster – operator failure. Patrick tried the paddle boarding, that was funny and I promised not to post his attempts (at least he tried!). I sat in the lounge chair sipping on creative and delicious cocktail concoctions when I wasn’t lounging in the Indian Ocean cooling off. By the way, the cocktails were extraordinary. The Bar Manager, Avi, became our fast friend as did the creative and uber talented Chef Nicolas. We had special cocktails made from the things we love the most, every day. That’s an art staked in our hearts for sure. Our 21st wedding anniversary wine dinner was served to just the two of us in their wine vault and the five course menu created personally with Chef Nicolas. The Coq Au Vin was simply amazing.  We were in Wine & Food heaven!

So, after the big anniversary wine dinner, we returned to the suite to discover, Jogetta our housekeeper and their team, had decorated our room in a plethora of flowers. They were all around the furniture, bed, bathroom and in the hot bubble bath they drew for us. After dinner and dancing at the bar, I was in sheer amazement when I entered our suite. The flowers in my crown that Ana prepared as my surprise to Patrick for dinner that night were now everywhere in the room. I cried tears of joy. I wish I had the mindfulness to take photos but sadly I did not. We felt so very special. I know they make everyone feel special, but I still hold onto this feeling each and every time I think of our stay at the Four Seasons Mauritius Island. Check out below the short movie trailer I made during the long flight back home of our experience. Chef Nicholas, you are simply the best and of course the “freshest” chef ever. We loved your fresh and delicious special meals.

Our time outside the resort was spent touring the island with our driver, Koodruth Ali (allytaxiservice@gmail.com). You could not find a more informed driver and pleasant person to spend time with. We explored every side of the island and spent some time shopping too. Cashmere is made there and the Mauritius Gold Rum is something to bring back as a flavorful memory of the island. They also produce sugar and a wonderful Black Mauritian tea. While you can get nearly anything, these are a few of the things for which the island is known. For attractions, the Land of Seven Colored Earth, enormous green turtles, dormant volcanoes, Chamarel waterfalls are just a few of the many attractions on this island. We were in Mauritius in October of 2017 during Davali or Festival of Lights. This festival is a celebration of the return of Rama-Chandra’s victory over a battle of a demon King, Ravara. People light their houses (like we do at Christmas) to celebrate the victory of good over evil (light over darkness), eat wonderful foods and give gifts. This festival lights up the island! Another wonderful sight is Grand Basin or Ganga Talao, a sacred crater lake where over 400,000 devout make pilgrimage to celebrate Maha-Shivaratree every year. This is where the 108 foot tall statues of Lord Shiva and Lord (Goddess) Durga stand. We saw wild monkeys outside meandering about. There are sightings of  large eels and fish in the lake too.

This was such a relaxing and enjoyable time in such a diverse and welcoming culture that is Mauritius Island.  Anyone would feel welcomed here and I urge you to go visit to see for yourself.

We returned home late in October to discover I tore my meniscus in a fall in Mauritius and had to have surgery in January.  That did not stop us from throwing our annual Halloween party for the neighborhood and leaving two days after for our drive to New Orleans to visit family for six weeks.  My next post will be on the fabulous city of New Orleans (and the countryside of Opelousas) and how to experience it like a local. Patrick is from Nola and we have the pleasure of experiencing it with his family and friends from a local perspective.  It is now our second home!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!  (Let the good times roll!)