It rained on and off for much of last night. The sound of the drops was delicious – not at all like the often grim patter one gets in Europe.
In the morning the weather settled a little and so we decided to catch a bus to visit the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic gardens. Named after Mauritius’ first president, the ‘father of the nation’, it’s situated in the town of Pamplemousses (French for grapefruits)
.
The gardens hold a rich collection of plants especially palms and are the oldest such garden in the southern hemisphere having been founded in 1767 by Pierre Poivre the governor of the then French island.
Among its spectacular specimens are the giant nenuphars or Victoria water lilies growing in a very long pond. They are said to be able to support a human but we did not wish to test this theory.
Other aquatic plants include sacred lotuses and nymphaea.
The old governor’s mansion, named ‘mon plaisir’, stands near the nation’s father’s samadhi. From here a long avenue is lined by trees planted by world politicians and royalty including one by Princess Margaret.
Corners of the gardens are dedicated to medicinal plants, orchids and spices.
Perhaps the finest plants in the gardens are the collection of palms including a magnificent specimen of corypha umbraculifera. Living up to eighty years this palm dies shortly after it blossoms with buds that can reach over twenty feet in length – a true creational amalgam of Love and Death.
I loved the way the gardens were laid out in largely French classical fashion with long straight avenues. The ponds, on the other hand, are more influenced by the English landscape garden in their ‘natural’ layout.
The gardens also house a collection of animals including deer (cervus timorensis),
giant tortoises (aldabrachelys gigantea)
and a lively assortment of water fowls.
Along the avenues is a smattering of memorials. I was particularly pleased to see one dedicated to Bernardin de Saint Pierre, the author of that proto-romantic novel based in Mauritius where he lived for some years, ‘Paul et Virginie’.
Fortunately the rain stopped during most of our visit. We only had to overcome one hurdle in order to return to our hotel: finding a bus back. Without any numbers shown on bus stops and even on buses, without any bus route maps, with little knowledge of the local creole patois and without any timetables to consult this proved a bit of a challenge but the Mauritians are a very helpful people and we managed to get back just in time to avoid a further tropical downpour.
