Ile Aux Cerfs & The Speedboat From Hell
After yesterdays boat shenanigans it was back onto the water today as we headed over to Île aux Cerfs, an island near our hotel which is said to have the best beaches in Mauritus, and is referred to as the local Paradise Island.
Our trip started late and so when we got to the island, we only had an hour there before we had to leave to go on the second part of the trip. So we didn’t have long to enjoy the white sands and still waters. Because the hawkers charge you for using the sunbeds we found a spot on the rocks where we could dump our stuff while we had a wander into the waters.
ll the idyllic postcards of Île aux Cerfs are a bit misleading as they don’t show the hundreds of people that descend on the island every day meaning space is at a premium!
An hour later we headed back to our boat for the next part of our day trip which was a visit to a waterfall on the Grand River. Along the river we spotted bats in the trees as well as a number of monkeys in the trees (le singe est sur la branche). We made it as far as the waterfall (not that impressive but I have been to Niagara and Iguacu!) and then we turned around and headed back down the river and returned to a different part of Ile aux Cerfe for lunch.
We had some time to kill beforehand so we went for a swim and returned to our dinner table for some chicken and fish which had been barbecued for us. A couple of beers and some dodgy win helped wash it down.
The journey back to our hotel proved to be a bit lively though as we got into a different speedboat that appeared to be driven by someone with a death wish. We should have known something was up when he told us that he couldn’t go slow or else the engine would cut out! He took off at breakneck speed and as we were sat at the front we seemed to get the worst of the bumps as the boat jumped over the waves.
After a stop back at the main island to drop off and pick up a couple of people he stormed off once again, and this time went faster! The four of us that were sat at the front tried to wedge ourselves between the seats but it didn’t help and at one point the girl next to me flew off her seat into the air and then came crashing down smashing her teeth into my knee!
The driver obviously didn’t notice this and carried on like a madman before we got near to our hotel when he yanked down on his steering wheel, throwing the speedboat into doing the water equivalent of a car doing donuts!
it was a bit of a breathtaking end to what had been a relaxed and enjoyable day, and so we headed to the bar to try and come down from that rush. Two boats in two days and two injuries to go with them. Great!