There's nothing to do. Starting the day with the birdsong filling the air, the high sun and the sea with such a bright blue that it almost blinds you is something special.
If you then find yourself waiting for a breakfast of coffee, mango, papaya and passion fruit, you will understand that this is the right place for you.
After breakfast, I stop to watch a couple of men pruning a palm tree and picking up its coconuts.
When we are all ready we set out to discover the northern part of the island in the district of Pamplemousses, first commitment of the day: visit to the factory / sugarcane museum Adventures Du Sucre.
To accompany us throughout the day are the very kind and efficient guys of the Promotour La Difference. From the outside, you will be enchanted to see this huge factory surrounded by lush vegetation including the flamboyant with its flaming flower tree typical here in Mauritius.
Inside, the pier on which the sacks of cane sugar were prepared, ready for shipment by sea, is reproduced in full scale. The museum offers the opportunity to discover the birth and evolution of the techniques of processing the "sugar cane".
Our friendly guide tells us that in the past the first source of income in Mauritius was the cultivation of coffee, which was then destroyed by sugar cane. He also tells us that green tea is also of great economic and cultural importance and that a delegation of Chinese experts described it as being of excellent quality. The Mauritians drink it all the time, so much so that it becomes the most consumed drink on the island. But beware, not the cold one, which for them is equivalent to a real scandal! If you ask "a cup of tea" they will give you a warm tea with milk, flavored with vanilla, even in summer!
Sugar testing, of course, could not be missing. There are twelve different qualities of sugar that are offered to us. The denser and darker ones with hints of licorice are really a sight!
One industry directly linked to the sugar industry is the rum industry. There are two types of production of this alcohol that lead to two completely different flavors: one is the "industrial" while the other is the "agricultural".
In the first one, sugar molasses are used as an ingredient, while in the second one, sugar cane juice is used. In the museum shop, there is also a rhum test bench, which we have not let slip for anything in the world. The quality rum was really a fantastic surprise and obviously at home with me there will be a bottle of "agricultural", could I miss the opportunity?
The second stop of our tour to discover the North of the island is the Sir Seewoosagur Aramgoolam Botanic Garden.
Trees and plants from all over the world have been collected over the centuries in this extraordinary botanical garden. You don't need big words, because all you need to do is get the images to speak.
Lunch is served in the Le Table du Chateau restaurant by Fabio de Poli, the Italian chef. Fabio tells us that his cuisine is a reinterpretation of traditional Mauritian cuisine. It's been so long since he moved to the island that he starts to have some small difficulties in speaking Italian. The clientele of his restaurant is made up of 65% of Mauritius' inhabitants.
Next to the restaurant stands the beautiful colonial villa Chateau Labourdonnais which seems to come out directly from Quentin Tarantino's Django.
We visit its interior and after a quick tour of the restaurant rumerie we return to the resort.
The evening starts with traditional dances and songs of the island. The costumes and music are not affected by the Asian influence that can be found elsewhere in Mauritius. This is pure Africa.
Even the buffet dinner is composed of typical Mauritian dishes, and so much is the choice that we find ourselves almost disoriented.
Now I'm here in my bed writing the last lines of this post with my eyes heavier and heavier, but I can not stop thinking about the phrase of Mark Twain that I read on the walls of the museum this morning "Mauritius was created first and then came to Paradise; Paradise was copied from Mauritius".
I think you were right, Mark, goodnight.