August 31st

We started with a leisurely morning. Breakfast of scrambled eggs with red onions and Gouda over bread. Jeff had sent a WhatsApp to our Airbnb person regarding our leaking bathroom sink and where do we put garbage. He responded immediately. I did a load of laundry- Jeff, still not 100%- maybe 85%, laid back down. He did help me hang it on the line. We finally got around about 130ish. We went to the Mauritius National Botanical Garden. Right as we got out, we were “touted” about a restaurant across the street. We digressed and went. I had local cuisine: Beef curry with green peas with sides of rice, Lentil soup, salad and starchy veggie (potato-like) with onions.  Jeff had Chicken with a garlic mushroom sauce (It wasn't, but rather BBQ-like sauce and a cream garlic sauce drizzled on chicken- was different in a good way.) with sides of rice, fries, salad and same starchy veggie. Finished we went back and entered garden.  As a foreigner, we paid more for entry. This garden has been here since… 1767!!!  How awesome is that! That's 256 years ago!   U.S.A. did not exist as a country yet!  The garden was a pleasant size to stroll through. There were three lily ponds, a bunch of very large trees, and a memorial to the man who is credited with giving Mauritius its independence- the gardens used to be named after him, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. There is also a giant turtle area (like in 7 Colored Park) and a deer area. I will add here Mauritius' giant turtles are extinct- like the dodo bird, also from Mauritius. The giant turtles here now were imported and have been successfully bred. Anyway, the garden has some Baobab Trees. These trees are from mainland Africa and Madagascar, and are quite different looking. There was also a Talipot Palm Tree, in various stages of growth, with a big placard write-up of  them. We also saw some other wildlife: frogs (which we also saw at 7 Colored Park); Red whiskered bulbul; Zebra pigeons; a momma ducks with its ducklings; at least three huge spiders with around 3 foot webs; and a Mauritius Cardinal- Jeff finally saw it too. 

We enjoyed the gardens, but it needs more gardeners!! Next, we went to a Super U, this is one of their mega grocery stores. We bought some big stuff, since we still have the car; went back to our place and had very light supper. No sunset action tonight- too many clouds. We have seen the big stuff on Isle Mauritius- which we wanted to do with the car. Tomorrow we return the car. So the rest of our time here will be beach/island time (or catching a bus/local transport to get around).