Mauritius, a Paradise

Mauritius is my country and I am proud to be a Mauritian. It is situated in the Indian ocean and is famous for having been the only home of the now extinct dodo; a fat bird which looked a lot like the ostrich and ironically enough, was easy to catch because it could not fly. It does have many other rare and endemic species of plants and animals though, such as the pink pigeon, Mauritian parakeet, and Kestrel which all came close to extinction but were saved due to intense conservation techniques. Mauritian creole is my native language.

Many tourist choose Mauritius as their holiday destination as the beaches feel like heaven  on earth as described by Mark Twain. Its white sandy beaches are unique and some of them are considered among the most beautiful beaches in the whole world.

It is also a member of both Commonwealth of Nation and 'La Francophone.' Despite its tiny size, Mauritius has numerous fascinating tourist  spots and beautiful scenic ocean views.

But unfortunately, on the 18th of March 2020, the authorities reported the first three cases of corona virus in Mauritius, which later led to ten death. It was a scary time for us for obvious reasons. The world was collapsing under the threat of the deadly virus and reasonably so, the government decided to announce a total lock down in the country. From airport to hotels, restaurants, clubs , shopping malls and even grocery stores, we were not even allowed to go outdoors.

And the 72 days of lock down finally ended on Saturday 30th May 2020 at midnight. Only the airport is still closed. It was not easy to accept this abrupt lock down and curfew protocol but still we tried our best. And luckily now, Mauritius is Covid free.