Walking under the sea in Mauritius: Day 5

 Ile aux cerfs Island and Under the sea walk

A day full of fun activities and excitement was in wait for us… we started our day with a boat that took us to this privately-owned island called Ile aux cerfs, which is a picturesque island and is famous for its white sandy beach, turquoise blue lagoon, shallow channels, black rocks and it has a lot more to offer. It is a hub for wild parties and adventure sports. Of course, with 4 small kids we had to forgo the wild party part, but we went wild with our water sports.

While our speed boat was taking us to the island, we did cross a few catamarans where youngsters were parting with beer and bare clad bikini. The guys in our boat had started drooling over the crowd in it, and as quickly as Neha and I saw that happen, the kids were handed over to the fathers; a reminder of the stark reality that lay before them.

Our first visit was the Grand river south east waterfalls. The beautiful waterfall surrounded by the verdant jungles is a sight not to be missed. From there we continued our boat ride to this floating deck in the middle of the ocean, from where we were to begin our adventure sports. 

We started with the donut ride. While one set of parents went crazy, the other babysat the kids. The kids were baffled at how crazy their parents could get – screaming and cheering loudly like small children, may be even embarrassed a little. I am glad that I did everything at the right time, how things change with health is unknown. I have always believed to do all the things I can and as much as I can now. Live for today, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Never knew that 6-7 years down the line, I would have to think about my back, aches and pains that these thrilling rides could cause. 

Next was parasailing. All of us went so many times that we don’t even remember… solo, with kids, just kids, couples, father-daughter, father-son, mother-son and mother-daughter…. We did all the different permutation combinations of people that could be done for parasailing. 

We finally headed to the beach where the kids enjoyed making their sandcastles and dipping in the sea, while we were fishing out sea urchins and star fishes to show to the kids. After lunch, it was time to get back on our speed boat and head back to the mainland.

But the excitement was not over yet... we were looking forward to our once-in-a-lifetime unique experience that had our adrenaline pumping.  This was a first for all of us. We were going to walk under the sea. The latest family additions of both families couldn’t do it since they were very small, so we left them on the boat, and we all went in together. Once submerged, for the first few seconds I tried to calm my panic-stricken mind till I realized that it was more of a psychological scare. After taking in a few long breaths of air, I realized that I was not going to drown. After calming my nerves, I started noticing the vibrant fish all around and suddenly it felt like the time had stopped, breathing underwater got conceivable and that’s when I started to notice the lovely flora and fauna around.  

After the full day of water fun, we came back to our resort, freshened up and had dinner. All the kids were dead tired and ready to hit the bed. The parents didn’t want to call it a night, so after dinner we all went for a walk and sat at the beach, slowly retiring back to our rooms. 

Departure

The next morning was our final day in this beautiful country. We dedicated it to the sun, sand and the sea. The motto of the day was relaxation, sipping pina coladas, enjoying the resort, kayaking and spending quality time together to make memories that we will never forget.  It’s not so common and, in my experience, I would call it rare to find like-minded people with whom you gel so well, like an extended family. I will say this was our first international holiday with our now family friends and it couldn’t have been better.