Port Louis is a fascinating place but our visit was far too brief and we only gained a small snapshot of the city. This was our penultimate outing in Mauritius but Port Louis is the capital city and it may have been an error to visit for such a short time since it is full of interest. Now that I’m home and have spent much time reading, researching and learning about the places that I visited (hopefully to educate myself and my followers). I write this with a certain amount of regret for not making the trip to the capital a full day. We live and learn.
Enough of what could have been! We arrived into Port Louis to light rain and parked in what appeared to be a modern car park near Caudan Waterfront. How many capital cities in the world would you be able to park right in its heart, free of charge and with ease? Leaving the car, we walked unknowingly around the back of the Blue Penny Museum which is dedicated to the history and art of Mauritius.
Directly opposite the museum was a bust of Nicholas Baudin, funnily enough a Frenchman, a cartographic surveyor and naturalist (research reveals that he died on the island on his return from exploring and surveying the coast of Australia).
As we continued our stroll, we left the museum behind us and walked under a canopy of colour. This came from several colourful hanging umbrellas. This looked like evidence of investment that had taken part in this part of the city – a modern feel of entertainment, with shopping stores and eateries for the masses. The vibes were of a feel of a hangover as slowly but surely everything was springing into life. As we left the shopping precinct we passed a large anchor – a reminder of the city’s shipbuilding past.
Shopping precincts are, to us, boring at the best of times and we were glad to reach the harbour’s edge. We walked a while but this was soulless and barely a boat to see except for a large military ship looking old and retired yet dominating the view. This was very surprising considering the country has no military force. As we turned away to look towards the rest of the city we saw 3 statues. Our driver informed us that one was Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (see the blog on the Botanic Gardens). The other two have been researched since coming home and only then to realise that they were huge characters in modern Mauritius. Is this the reason for the three statues being together in one square? The other statues were of Sir Aneerod Jugnauth (affectionately known as SAJ, a former President and Prime minster of Mauritius, who considerably shaped the economic and political contours of modern Mauritius) and Professor Basdeo Bissoondoyal (a Mauritian social worker who played an important role in pre-independence politics. He was a man of knowledge, discipline and perseverance and is portrayed as a beacon of hope for the common people).
Leaving these statues we headed towards the underground walkway. As we were just about to go down the steps when the Mauritius Postal Museum was pointed out to us.
Sadly, this was passed by with speed as we made our way towards to the central market. As we stepped into the vibrant and bustling indoor market, we were aware of the bright colours of fresh food and the smells of spices on sale. Their rich aromas spread through the air tantalising our taste buds. Some stall keepers stood proudly hoping you would buy their produce, while others engaged in conversation with associates and there were plenty who were busily doing their much needed transactions. This all created a wonderful hullabaloo. We left the market by a different entrance and stopped at a few stalls selling some touristy bits which we picked up.
After our saunter in the market, we walked some of the local roads nearby before we retraced our steps back towards the Caudan waterfront. Along the way we passed some points of interest which included the entrance to Chinatown (I’ve never understood the fascination with these, common as they are in most cities these days) and the historic Jummah Masjid Mosque (oldest and first mosque built on the island – we didn’t know what we were looking at really so passed through quickly) and several colonial buildings. One of the colonial buildings in particular stood out, as it looked for all the world like “tin foil” had been used to repair a section of the roof. We returned back through what were now bustling streets surrounding the central market and past the main bus station. Lots of rickety, colourful old buses lined up ready to take locals to all various parts of the island. This is always a sight to behold and always action packed.
We picked up the underground bypass again and came out by the Postal Museum again. Before walking behind it to see the port police building, we noticed a rather odd structure. Tucked away in between some modern buildings was a random windmill and it looked quite incongruous but fascinating. Puzzled by this building, I made sure that it was something that was researched when time allowed (windmills were built to assist the agriculture industry on the island and in 1999 this one was converted to a museum), and definitely would not be ignored next time we visit.
We had places to be so we left the windmill and hastily returned to the car via the Caudan waterfront. As we retraced our steps we passed the 3 statues though this time from a different angle. This meant that we noticed yet another statue behind them on the other side of the main road. This was the statue of Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais (see Botanic Garden blog). His relevance not yet known he was sadly ignored, apart from a long range shot on the camera. His statue is located at the end Place d’Armes, which leads to Government house. We made our way back to the car jumped in and left for our next destination. I did make sure that we stopped at the Madurai Mariamen Temple.
Back to the regret thing. Research ahead of the whole trip makes sense. We missed the two cathedrals, the Champ de Mars (oldest horse racing track in the southern hemisphere), Fort Adelaide, Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site, hikes and viewpoints of the city and countless museums. There’s loads to see and enjoy. Time beats you on occasions and opportunities aren’t grabbed. Let’s hope opportunities aren’t spurned in the future, and life will provide us with another chance…
Port Louis, Mauritius