Mauritius, July & August 1979, Overview, Summary and Picture Links

I spent several weeks of the summer of 1979 in Mauritius, with my good school friend Anil Biltoo and his dad, staying with many branches of their interesting family.

I want to write quite a lot about this trip, as it was the most amazing experience for a 16/17 year old youngster. It was hugely formative for me in many ways, not least sparking my lifelong interest in travel and cultures other than my own.

This posting is a quick summary and overview piece, linking to artefacts already available on-line:

• the photographs I took on that trip, which were transparencies but are all scanned and available here on Flickr for all to see;

• a standard 8 cine film I took in Mauritius – the only holiday movie I made myself in my youth.  Nowhere near dad’s high standards, but you get a feel and there are some good bits.  For the Youtube, linked here, I have added the sound of sega (Mauritian dance music) records I bought while I was there and which still evoke the memories whenever I hear them.

All of the letters I wrote home while I was there, which doubled up as my diary/travelogue, have now been scanned, uploaded and transcribed as Ogblog entries. They make fascinating reading for me and I hope are providing interesting reading for others.

The first letter and transcription can be found through this link or below – you can work forward from this one:

First Letter From Mauritius, 16 July 1979

A transcription of my diary entry from the last day – which was a day full of gatherings and parties – can be found here and below – you could work backwards from this one:

Several Farewell Parties, Palmar, Belle Mare & Rose Hill, Mauritius, 17 August 1979

I also want to write up a few additional stories and thoughts with the benefit of hindsight, including some memories that have been triggered by going through these documents relating to matters undocumented in them.

Postscript

I have subsequently (autumn 2019) Ogblogged my journal and recollections from this whole trip, so the above links can get you started on the whole lot, if you wish to read them.