So we again went with obscure for M. Going with a tiny island east of Madagascar that has always intrigued us: Mauritius! While part of the African continent, most everything about it is more Asian, specifically Indian.

This once uninhabited island  was discovered by the Dutch and then long ruled over by the French and then the British. The island is most known for the Dodo bird even though it went extinct (by a bunch of hungry Dutchmen) in 1682. Once a major hub for the sugar industry, it is now one an international banking center and one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

And its beaches and landscape look amazing! We would really like to travel there one day! For more information about this tiny island nation, go here: Mauritius

–  Mama

Interesting facts about Mauritius

• The dodo bird is the national bird of Mauritius even though it is extinct.
• It is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa
• A popular tourist attraction is the “Seven Colored Earth” where sand is seven different colors in a small space
• When slavery ended the British changed the majority of Mauritius inhabitants from the African sugarcane slaves to new workers  with Indo – Pakistan origins, this was called “The Great Experiment”
• Mauritius does not have a standing army

Food

Mauritian food has a lot of Indian influence just like another her country we did: Fiji. A difference is that Mauritian food is more fresher and tropical. It includes more fruits and vegetables than India, and the food is less spicier and more milder than India. Everything, though was delicious.

Dinner

Dholl Puri Recipe –  This is like Chapati or Roti. It was very delicious and is eaten with curies. I (Isaac) made everything except for the split peas all by myself.

Coconut and Mint Chutney recipe – This was super delicious and refreshing. This is supposed to be eaten with the Dholl Puri but you can eat it on it’s own too.

Mauritian Shrimp Curry Recipe – This isn’t as spicy as Indian Curry and this also was very delicious.

Rice

 

Breakfast

Mauritian egg roti video – this was very delicious except I do not like eggs and Andrew does not like tomatoes, so we had a bit of confusion.

Pineapple smoothie.

 

Culture

For the culture of Mauritius we did the Sega dance. The Sega originated among the African slave people of Mauritius. When you dance you keep your feet on the ground at all times and dance. Women have long skirts that they hold up when dancing. Men don’t have a crazy and fun outfit like the women have so all of us decided to wear the long skirts.

For the two videos of Mauritians Sega dancing of here: Sega dance 1 – Sega dance one shows the landscape of Mauritius and Sega dance 2. And for our video:Our Sega dancing

Flag

Doesn’t the Mauritian flag look pretty colorful with its equal stripes of red, blue, yellow, and green? Its called the Four bands or Les Quatre Bandres in French. But do you want to know what it means? The red stripe represents its struggle for freedom. The blue stripe represents the Indian ocean, in which Mauritius is surrounded by. The yellow stripe represents their independence, and the green stripe represents Mauritius’s agriculture and beauty. For more information go to Mauritius Flag Wikipedia.

We promise to do our N country sooner than later, but we are keeping it a secret this time!

– Isaac