Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune

We arrived in Port Louis yesterday morning after an overnight flight from Mumbai, India. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in India, but were really looking forward to getting back to the Viking Neptune — felt like we were going home.

Mauritius is the first port of the new itinerary and an island we had never heard of. It is an island state located in the Indian Ocean approximately 1,100 nautical miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, east of Madagascar. Mauritius was an uninhabited island until around 1600 when the Dutch attempted development of a permanent settlement with the aim of establishing a fueling stations for ships bound to and from India, to exploit the local forest and establishing sugar plantations. The Dutch abandoned the island in the late 1600’s, and the French claimed the island in 1715 renaming it Isle de France. The island was seized by the British in 1810 along with a number of outer islands. The island was Britain’s main sugar cane producing colony until it achieved independence in 1968.

Today the island still produces sugar cane and textiles, but the economy has also grown to include financial services, information and communication technology, healthcare and tourism. It is one of the most affluent African nations. It is also a major luxury tourist destination receiving roughly 2 million visitors per year. Known for its beautiful white beaches and barrier reefs.

We spent most of yesterday exploring the capital city of Port Louis. It is a beautiful city with very active port area, large shopping arcades and great street markets.

We stayed at a lovely Hotel that was right on the harbor, the Le Suffren Hotel and Marina. We really enjoyed the accommodations and the views of the harbor.

Upon our return we were greeted warmly by our stateroom attendant and found our little Easter basket waiting for us.

This morning, we managed to unpack and get all of our laundry done before lunch. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the nearly empty ship, as the ship had been at sea for five days and most everyone got off for the day. We spent two hours in the spa relaxing and reading and even managed to get a haircut.

We have three days at sea before our next port of call at Richards Bay, South Africa.