Tag: beach

Mauritius – Day 14-Our penultimate Day

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Our wonderful holiday is almost over so we made the most of it by going to the beach after breakfast….

During breakfast we were agreeably surprised to see the person we have presumed to be the breakfast floor manager actually smile at a guest and we saw him take coffee cups to tables and pour coffee…..for once he wasn’t scowling and barking orders at staff….perhaps it was because the lovely Executive chef was on the floor doing the rounds or perhaps it was because he realised he stood out like a soar thumb and was trying to fit in with the wonderful ethos of the rest of the staff at this hotel….with this one exception every member of staff has been helpful, obliging, friendly, smiling and always goes the extra mile to make certain the attention to detail is perfect.

The beach seemed fuller than usual, perhaps because it’s a weekend. We found a couple of loungers near the fruit bat tree…..

We went for a swim straight away….it was once again as still as a sheet of glass, warm enough for bath water and extremely pleasant…

On getting out I spied the “Looky-Looky” man who had promised to make me 2 more elasticated shell ankle bracelets, the day before…alas he had failed to provide….

We lounged on the sun-beds for a couple of hours. Eventually I stirred myself into writing the day before blog. I spied another “Looky-Looky” man and realised he was the original man I had brought ankle bracelets from….so I gave him a shout and nearly scared John to death-he was snoozing….Yes!!! My man had 2 more anklelets and I also brought a necklace from him…the deal was struck ….

Another dip in the sea saw us late into the afternoon.

We wandered back up to our room, packed a suitcase and had a rest. We both walked out and took some sunset shots…..as the sun disappeared behind some cloud….

On our way out for supper we stopped to ask if we could pay for late departure from our room, but alas our room was booked the next day so we would need to be out by 12.00, midday.

Our lovely friendly buggy driver, Sanjeev, appeared from no where and drove us to Anno 1743 & Distillery

Sanjeev, the buggy driver.

We had gone early so we could have a drink in the atmospheric Distillery.

Rhubesh, the manager, was there to greet us and escort us to the Distillery. He then went to a great deal of trouble to make us the most delightful mocktail…..

The flute tops were ringed with finely chopped flowers and pomegranate seeds, a sprig of thyme added fragrance and flavour to the lychee juice with grenadine and sprite……absolutely beautiful tastes which made your mouth explode with flavours…..

Needless to say it didn’t stay in the glass long.

After savouring our mocktails Rhubesh took us to a beautifully dressed table ….

We both had the stuffed pepper amuse-bouche.

John selected a goats cheese salad to start with..

…and we both had Smile mocktails

We had fillet steak for our main course and Rhubesh spoilt us, or perhaps it was Marday, the chef, because we had 2 king prawns on top of the steak….

It was absolutely delicious, I was embarrassed that I could only manage one piece of the fillet…it was again ginormous…Marday came to check it had been ok and I explained it was perfection on a plate but in England fillet steak is a treat and we are not used to 2 large pieces of fillet….he laughed and we learnt he had visited England and stayed with his cousin at Clapham Junction….

We ordered a dessert of ice cream…. The restaurant was fairly busy and both Rhubesh and Marday worked the floor, making certain everyone was happy with their meal, service, drinks etc…..

We paid our bill which was less than £25 more than our allowance and we bid Rhubesh a very fond farewell…..what a wonderful person he is…he made us feel like royalty. We wish him much success and happiness in the hospitality business he is so passionate about. He certainly enhanced our holiday, making it a very joyful experience.

We waited outside for our buggy ride, the moon was bright and the old mill once again looked very atmospheric ..

A great end to our holiday…..tomorrow homeward bound,,

Mauritius -Day 13

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Around Maritim Resort and Spa..

As usual we started the day with breakfast …our lovely lady, Vimla, was smiling as always..

….what an asset to the resort she is…it’s no wonder she has been here since its opening in 1990. The hotel is part of The Maritim Group which extends to hotels in 7 countries, including Albania, China, Egypt, Italy, Malta, Bulgaria and here in Mauritius….so we may have to give it ago in another country nearer to home or better still just come back here😀 The Maritim also has a travel agent so they can book your flight and accommodation together. It was built and is owned by The German Company The Maritim Group which has been in business since 1969.

Anyway I digress…Vimla sorted us out a nice table on the top level, so I didn’t have to climb down steps with a full plate.

After our usual breakfast we returned to our room to play a few hands of cards…I am afraid to say the lead I’ve had all holiday is greatly diminishing and I fear John may win the holiday challenge !!!

Quitting whilst I was still slightly in the lead we headed to the beach. Passing by Le Maree we thanked the Manager once again for the lovely meal. We get the feeling that it is extremely rare that the food falls below its usually exquisite standard…the Exective Chef had once again stopped me at breakfast and apologised and I had said there was no need they had gone far beyond our wildest expectations to make the matter right.

Finding a couple of loungers, we settled down for the day…catching sight of a fruit bat in a nearby tree…

We had a lovely swim, the water was a little more turbulent than the usual mill pond calm…and there were actually a few tiny waves and a little bit of seaweed…but still idealistic…

Some 4 hours or so later we made our way back to our room, snacked on cashew nuts and had a rest…after all swimming in the sea, people watching and snoozing on a lounger can be exhausting !!!

John went out to take some sunset shots….

We got ready to go to Anno for supper arriving in reception we waited only a couple of minutes for the buggy to come and collect us and whisk us off to the the restaurant…..it was a young Lewis Hamilton driving so we hung on for dear life !!

We were greeted by Rhubesh at the door of Anno. Selecting to sit outside again we perused the menu…

We decided to try a couple of fruit mocktails to start with…we went for “Smilies” …and they did make us smile

We both chose crab and scallop quiche with salad to start…

The Amuse-bouche was a vegetable spring roll

Then came the quiche, it was a full meal in its self …

Very yummy stuffed full of crab and scallops….but so big I couldn’t finish it…John made a gallant effort and cleared his plate…

Our main courses were chicken breast stuffed with spinach in a cheesy sauce with a roasted cutlet of aubergine and courgette, plus salad….Wow I sware if that breast came from one chicken it must have been the size of an ostrich!! It was deliciously moist and flavoursome cooked to perfection….only trouble was I couldn’t get anywhere near finishing it and John tried his hardest but stopped in fear of bursting !!! A Mitchelin starred restaurant in the UK would be proud of the food Marday, the chef produces ….it is fine dining at its best…

Very yummy indeed …we rounded off with some ice cream…as usual I forgot to photograph it until John had nearly finished his…

Rhubesh came by and we had a chat about his superb restaurant. The waiters are all so well trained the food is brought to the table hot and in a timely manner …what a splendid duo he and Marday make …they are the heart of Anno…Thank you once again for a wonderful evening.

A buggy was called for us and we waited a few minutes for it to arrive and take us back to our room…

What a lovely day we had had…..good relaxation, excellent food…life is very good to us…we feel very blessed to lead the life we do…..

Mauritius – Day 10 & 11 – Sun, sand & Sea

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Day 10 & 11 were sun, sea and sand days.

On both days we breakfasted, played a few hands of cards on our terrace/verandah, it has a lovely view looking down to the sea.

We were visited by some lovely birds and creatures.

Later we wandered along the sea front and found a lounger. Watching the world go by is always enjoyable..

The WiFi at the hotel is brilliant and it extends to the beach ..so I lay on the lounger writing the blog from the day before…

It was not without its distractions ….

On each evening John wandered down from our room to take sunset pictures..

The first evening we ate at La Maree, the seafood restaurant. It was our 3rd visit here. It was more busy than normal and, unfortunately, that put all the staff under pressure and the food wasn’t up to its same previously exquisite standard. The pressure on the kitchen had meant the chef had forgotten to dress the risotto with any seafood, and the pressure on the waiting staff meant that the food wasn’t hot when it arrived….they were highly apologetic and offered to replace the food immediately…but as you probably know from your own experiences …the moment for wanting to eat had passed by then……

However sitting on the shoreline listening to the waves splash in and out is always a delight.

On our way to the beach the following day, as we were walking past La Maree the manager stopped us and once again apologised for the previous evenings meal and invited us for supper…as we had already booked at Anno that evening we agreed to go the following evening on day 12. It was an appreciated, kind gesture.

The second beach day was the same as the first. In the evening we headed off to Anno …..we had previously met the manager and the head chef, so we were looking forward to this new experience and it didn’t disappoint…

We went to reception and within a couple of minutes a buggy arrived to take us… it really is a beautiful setting …

We were greeted and given a choice of seating, we selected to sit on the stoop outside.

The menu was quite extensive but as we had previously browsed it we already had an idea of what we wanted to eat..

Yes!! We went for the fillet steak….we gave the starters a miss because we felt 3 courses with meat as our main would be too much … and anyway they served a lovely amuse-bouche.

The main course arrived..wow!!

It was delicious, very tender and neither of us could actually finish it…..

Marday, the chef, appeared from the kitchen to check we had enjoyed the meal…which of course we had…scrumptious, cooked to perfection.

For dessert we both had two scoops of ice cream and because I had been dithering between sorbet and ice cream the waiter had added my favourite mango sorbet to mine…talk about spoilt.

We hadn’t added up the cost of the meal as we went along because we just don’t do that, we eat what we want and pay what it costs….so expecting a hefty additional bill- they deduct the allowance we’re given for our half board and then we pay the difference….so we had to laugh when we got the bill …we couldn’t have done it if we’d tried!!!! We were spot on our allowance …wow!!!

The waiter called a buggy for us and we strolled out into the moonlight to wait for it…I couldn’t resist a few photos of the vegetation around the entrance …

What a wonderful couple of days we had had…..more tomorrow please!

Mauritius- Day 4 – The Maritimm Resort and Spa

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Today was intended as a R&R day….a do nothing day. We breakfasted earlier today with the hope that the food would be better….there was more variety available but the same as the day before items like bacon were cold and cooked to a crisp…tough and tasteless….but never mind there was plenty of other items on offer…the pancakes are delicious especially with raw pure honey dripping from the cone…I sussed out the toasting machine, put the bread in twice and if it gets stuck turn it off and carefully use the bread knife to punch it over and get it to drop,…yeah cracked it !!!

After breakfast we went to reception and asked for transport up to the animal farm and Equestrian Centre. This transport is by way of a Golf buggy.

It’s here the giant tortoises have some large enclosures to roam in….

You could go in with them and feed them leaves.

There was just one dog in the stray dog sanctuary.

We asked about horse riding. The horses were very nicely kept. However they were ex-racehorses, thoroughbreds and light-framed so not used to weight bearing…Unfortunatly I am 9kg over the very low weight limit they set for riding !!! He did say we could give it a go and see how the horse felt but as a horse lover that was not something I wanted to do….my dream of riding along a beach will have to wait until I have lost some more weight.

There was also a cow and rabbits in the “animal farm”….but that seemed about it. It was all set in nice surroundings with several mango trees …

And a little Madagascar Giant Day Gecko which is considered an invasive species in Mauritius.

We wandered down to the Ruins of Balaclava. These are protected as a national monument…all very interesting.

Then we wandered around the cascades…although I think I would have referred to it as a babbling brook, or its proper name of the Citron river, rather than cascades!!

Then on we walked past the chateau Mon Desir – the fine dining restaurant.

In the beautiful chateau’s gardens, were fabulously well manicured, vibrantly coloured bougainvillea…a picture not to be missed.

We wandered down to the Old Mill and passed by the events field.

Continuing to ramble along by the River edge watching kayaking we passed by the obligatory- because all good hotels have one – giant chess set… and The Anno 1743 Restaurant and Nest Rooftop and distillery bar.

On we wandered up to the boat house where we sat for a while. We watched a lady of slightly lesser proportions to me struggle to sit on a kayak…doable but difficult…her fit daughter hopped on the front and off they went…or did they…no they just couldn’t synchronise….ummm yes enough to put John and me off…too much like hard work.

We were thinking of asking about a glass bottom boat when we saw an sign saying none today as it was too rough…an anti-cyclone is approaching…

The “Looky-Looky man fed some birds with a bag of bread…loads of sparrows, pigeons, Myna Birds, Red Fody, Red whiskered bulbul’s, and yellow orals came flying in.

We rewarded the “Looky-Looky” man by buying two shell ankle bracelets from him…John enjoyed watching me haggle the price which at £8.00 was still a bit to much…but the sob story came out… “he hadn’t had a sale all day” and the deal was done.

Passing a local fisherman…….

We walked back to our room, donned our swimming gear and took up residency on a lounger around the pool. We had a swim even though the water was a tad chilly.

Before going for a siesta we went to reception and read the speciality restaurant menus. Deciding on the Seafood restaurant we made a reservation and then we went for a snooze.

All, too soon it was time to get ready for our 7pm reservation, fortunately the heavy rain shower had passed . We wandered along the seafront path until we got to La Maree.

A lovely thatched restaurant with tables on decking in bomas on the sea shore.

We both selected prawn cocktail with pinapple to start with

….and Seafood, butternut Risotto as our main course….

John had a lovely coconut, mango and papaya cake and I had a sponge soaked in lemongrass and ginger with fresh fruit as dessert.

It was all truly scrumptious. We both had a soda…when the bill came they had subtracted our MUR5000 meal allowance from the total and we had less than £10 to pay….great deal…lovely meal.

We had once again dodged a heavy shower… the bomas we were in were about 99% waterproof….the 1% that wasn’t dripped down the back of Johns neck! A dog came and took refuge from the rain, sitting with pleading eyes at a couples table who were eating meat …!!!!

We ambled back to our room before turning in for an early night .

Mauritius 2026 Getting there, Day 1 & 2

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Finally we are off on an Adventure. Jonathan Kilroy – Kilroy cars & Driven – picked us up at 8.50 am….we’ve used Jonathan’s companies for many years to get us to and from the airport…totally professional and reliable and although an added cost well worth it for the security you get knowing they will reroute you if necessary to get you to your plane on time…all his drivers are good and nice characters…today it was the man himself….He loaded our bulging 2 cases and 2 hand luggage’s with ease and without any pomp or ceremony we were off by 9.00 am. By 10.36: Jonathan was dropping us off at the North terminal Gatwick Airport.

The bag drop off was seamless…no queues for Emirate Air and we booked our 2 medium sized cases all the way through to Mauritius. We went through security, which gets easier and easier….no more having to take electrics out of bags malarkey…although I did have to take my watch and bangle off…why ? Who knows ….because I didn’t have to take my gold chains off…there seemed no rhyme or reason but hey ho …we were quickly in the departure lounge.

Emirate air sent me a text giving me the gate number so we strolled down. The gate wasn’t open. In fact there was absolutely no one there….the gate didn’t open for another hour. Once again it was an easy process and we were soon sitting on our plane. It wasn’t full so we moved to either side of the aisle and had 2 seats each. What a comfortable flight, with smiling service and great food.

My only criticism was that the cabins air conditioning was cold and blew right on the top of my head…but where there’s the will there’s the way so much to Johns’ amusement I turned a spare blanket into a head scarf and snuggled down to watch 3 films and a documentary.

Johns details about the flight –
We boarded EmIrates’ Airbus, A380-800 registration number A6-EED for the 3,400 mile first leg of our journey, One of the world’s largest passenger aircrafts, complete with double-deck design.

Arriving in Dubai, some 6.5 hours later, we transferred by bus to the well signed C gate. Even at 2.00 am the airport is a hive of activity. After completing another security body scan we embarked the plane a little late. It was a completely full plane but once again comfortable….the menu cards said we got a snack and breakfast…Emirate Air certainly like to feed you well.

Another 3 movies later, 6/7 hours, and we were touching down in Mauritius.

Johns flight information – At Dubai airport, we joined our second Airbus for the southerly run down to Mauritius. This time, the airline provided A380-800 registration number A6-EEN for this 3,200 mile flight.
Just over six hours later, we touched down at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. It is named after the well-respected gentleman who led the country into independence, became its first Prime Minister and, later, became Governor-General. The said gentleman can’t be responsible for his ‘mouthful’ of a name but it’s no wonder it gets shortened to ‘SSR’ by those in the know!

Coming in to land from the plane.

Passport control, seemed slow, although it seemed to be the computer systems slowing it all down, but as we were one of the first off the plane we didn’t actually queue for very long. You then go to health control. I had printed our declaration health and landing cards Q codes off…this meant unlike others I didn’t have to struggle to get internet to do it electronically….sometimes the old ways are the easiest ways…The luggage pick up was a bit of a nightmare with two conveyor belts chucking the cases out but not joined….so I stood at one and John stood at another…some 25 minutes later I spied one of our cases and retrieved it….I must say it looked very small compared to its travel mates…some 10 minutes later the other one arrived. They had both been tagged as “short transfere time”…Well done Emirate, we always breath a sigh of relief when we actually have our baggage on the trolly. With nothing to declare we quickly accessed the arrivals lounge and scoured the many company reps, all holding signs, for one saying ‘Mercury”…Got ya..a nice young man greeted us and ushered us to a taxi/ private hire. The trip to our hotel was about and hour, through some wonderfully scenic mountains and countryside.

Lovely views as we transferred from the airport to our hotel.

Driving through some pretty impressive gates we passed by lovely green manicured lawns, wooded areas, croquet lawn, mini golf and tennis courts before we arrived at the Maritim Resort and Spa reception.

We were greeted by a hostess and a porter who took our bags….ushered to a very comfortable sofa ( which actually I could have curled up and gone to sleep on!!). We filled out the formalities and were given a very refreshing glass of lemongrass infused water. Expecting to go to our room we were told our room was available from 3.00 pm on wards….oh no!!….that was another 3 hours and we’d already been without sleep for 27 hours…..never mind…we grabbed our cameras and went to sit in the bar and watch the world go by…

A couple of hours later we wandered through a wooded area, along the coast a little then circled back to reception.

We made an enquiry at the tour desk about a couple of excursions we fancied doing…..One was the highlights of the South East and the other was Port Louis and the North West…..ummm both seemed fairly expensive at €125 per person per trip….and the tours were for 15-20 people….not really our idea of fun…hanging about waiting for that one person whose always late!!!….So Nirmala our tour agent/ concierge, decided we’d do better having private tours for €170 each day including a driver who is also a guide…great !! She also told us that tomorrow was a Public holiday because it is Ganesh Chaturthi day – a major Hindu Festival…she invited us to attend a festival in a local town the next day….sounded good…at this point our lovely hostess from earlier took pity on our tired old bodies and told us our room was ready…..

Wow!! What a lovely room…and we only had to go down two flights of stairs ….. which considering the rest of the hotels’ number of stairs which are absolutely everywhere…..our room was was very good…our room has a super view of the gardens and the sea, the design is also very aesthetic, you can shut the bathroom sliding doors but why bother….the loo and the shower have doors….the former is a wooden door for privacy!!…..we were soon in bed fast asleep.

After a couple of hours of “shut eye”, I got up unpacked, had a shower, John went for a swim in the big bath and we were ready for supper.

We went to the buffet, it was really nice, lots of, freshly cooked food, variety, different tastes…etc. John was impressed with the different flavoured ice-creams he had for his dessert……we may be on holiday but his habits of trying all the flavours never change!!!!A very nice meal. The hotel has definitely surpassed our expectations…needless to say straight after supper we went to bed for a proper nights sleep.