Leaving the Seychelles behind, our next port of call was Mauritius, an island nation off the East Coast of Madagascar, which itself is an island nation off of the South East Coast of Africa.

Mauritius, unlike the granite island of the Seychelles, was thrust up from the sea floor as a volcano 10 million years ago. These three islands: Seychelles, Mauritius and Le Reunion were all uninhabited at the time of European and Asian discovery and therefore rich in biodiversity with indemic species of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world–most famous– the Dodo, sadly extinguished by human contact.

Our day started off with high hopes. What we could see of the island from our cabin deck looked spectacular.

We had originally opted for a catamaran tour of the coast with a snorkeling adventure, but we had already been on a couple of these on the previous islands so we opted for an inland tour which looked promising on paper.

It was another spectacular sunny day and the temperature was delicious (Still with us Martha?). We were 12 of us heading off to an excursion of the Mauritius interior, a cultural overview of Mauritius.

We headed into the mountains, taking in some interesting sights along the way, most notably, the landscape which is so dramatic and evident of once being an active volcano, where a mountain can have a sheer drop off that looks cleaved from the landscape around it, but was once the wall of a caldera.

Our first stop was a colonial home called Eureka, built in the 1830’s and expertly preserved with the original furniture and furnishings.

They truly do not make homes like this anymore, evidence of what is not being taught in architectural design these days. Upon walking onto the property, you are greeted by a rather modest carriage house, whose simple frame design conceals the grand home behind it.

The carriage house acts as a portico to the property, so simple and modest in design, yet serving a purpose of being welcomed and maybe a minute to collect oneself from the steep climb up mount Ory.

You pass through the carriage house into a courtyard, well curated with fruit trees and pathways lined with exotic species of the island.

Separate from the home is a free standing cottage dedicated as the kitchen, where spices are ground, flower is milled and clothes are washed and scrubbed.

I had taken several images of this and other structures throughout the property, pinning them to my design folder on Pinterest, should we ever build in the future. Walking this property, studying the architecture one realizes there are so many features lost to us in the new world with the advent of technology— features that are still useful and esthetic in design. Simple features like decorative split-transom panels above the doorways to allow airflow throughout the home yet affording privacy.

Entering the main quarters, there were a series of four doors off the front porch. From Left to Right: Main bedroom suite with on-suite bathroom; Stairway to the second story where the children/guest bedrooms are; Main entry to the home; Sitting room for waiting guests.

There are over 109 doors and windows keeping this home cool. I so want to design a home with these concepts.

The second part of our trip was visiting an open air game preserve, where the images far exceeded our experience. I felt as if we humans were on exhibit for the wildlife within.

The highlight for this part of the excursion was a coaster ride and even that was hampered by riders in front of us too timid to move.

But it gets worse. We still had a lunch planned and had to climb up a series of steps as steep as the Great Wall of China under the full sun of the day, then sit down to a lunch no one wanted.

Getting back to the ship, many of us ended up at the Crystal Cove in need of a drink. This excursion should have gone the way of the Dodo…..

At least we have the dress…. Next… La Reunion….