The Aisle to Mauritius

by Amzolele Mei (South Africa)

A leap into the unknown Mauritius

I left South Africa excited and expecting to have a fun, no time to rest trip in Mauritius and to some extent that is what I go but quite a bit of sleep was involved. Landing at SSR International Airport I had thought I would take a bus to my accommodation but the nerve of being in a foreign country, on a whole island made me change my mind. I called the guy who I would be staying at and he said he was on his way. Everything seemed brighter in Mauritius, the weather was welcoming and warm. The route we took from the airport to Trou d’Eau Douce was 43 km and more on the coast. There sight was beautiful, there seemed to be a few plantations, greenery we passed but the more we droves, it felt like we were approaching the rural areas which was right by the shore of the beach. Passed a few boats kept at shore and empty, the water beautiful and clear a bit of a contrast to the area. The houses was clustered together, the was running water. Finally reaching Trou d ’Eau Douce, I felt welcomed by the mother who offered me some nice and warm tea. I settled into my room and soon passed out with the windows open, I would soon learn that Mauritius is a safe place where you can sleep with your doors open, I wasn’t entirely trusting on that. The second day of my stay, my best friend arrived with her mom and we witness a parade right outside my room balcony it was wonderful. There was a marching band, the women looking stunning in their traditional dresses known as a sari. We thought of joining but because we were foreigners and didn’t know how it would seem we decided to enjoy the parade from our view and danced until we could no longer hear the music as they walked through the narrow road between the houses. We rose early on the 15 th of September 2019 to the sun rise and enjoyed some of it over the Terrence before we got ready to go to the Palmar Public Beach. We walked 2 or 3 blocks from where we were staying to the bus stop, and thankfully we didn’t have to wait that long. We got to the beach and the water wasn’t as warm as I wanted it to be and we soon left to wait for the next bus to return. However, while waiting we saw a group of people with big black plastic bags and hands covered with cloves collecting litter on the other side of the beach. We approached them and offered to help clean up while one of the volunteers let us know “Mauritius is beautiful more on the coast but inland its dirty. Truth be told people don’t look after it, just like the ocean. On the surface its beautiful but inside its polluted.” She informed us. On our way to Merville Beach Hotel for a friend of mine ’s wedding. I was excited and the weather was perfect for the celebration we would be having. Following the walkway to the ocean shore we were greeted with live jazz music, some cocktails and a beautiful view of the ocean shore and sun starting to set. “I vow to promise to lay down my life for you like Christ did for the church.”. said Phumelele who was the groom and we marveled at how he put it and of course his wife was consumed with love and gratitude and she let us know “it wasn’t about the destination it’s always been about God.” She confessed. You could feel the love and God’s presence in their relationship, how they spoke of God and how they’d gone about living their love story, with God at the center. They shared their kiss and we were off to the reception which was a few feet from where the ceremony took place, under a white tent with table surrounding the empty floor. I had leaped into the unknown in a completely different country but thankfully love had made the leap completely and without a doubt worth it.