The city of Port Louis is dwarfed by mountains capped by the towering Le Pouce, which provide a dramatic backdrop to the harbour. Firstly we had to go alongside the 'Customs Quay' - actually a promenade beside some restaurants with only railings to make fast to - where we were cleared reasonably quickly. We moved to Le Caudan Waterfront, which is a recent development of designer shops, restaurants, hotels and casinos etc. based around some of the old dockside buildings. We were banished to the backwaters behind the marina however, as the main basin had been reserved for the World ARC fleet, a rally for people with large yachts but little time, who circumnavigate in 15 months.

Walking into town from Le Caudan is something of a culture shock. After passing along a precinct shaded by colourful umbrellas and through a subway under the main road, one emerges into an Indian city, or so it seems. Not too surprising perhaps, as the majority of the population is descended from indentured labourers who had come to work on the sugar plantations after the abolition of slavery. One finds oneself on uneven pavements hemmed in by noisy traffic, a crush of pedestrians, street vendors, beggars and stray dogs. Ramshackle shops and small businesses are interspersed by spacious squares, wide avenues, elegant parks, grand buildings and statues left over from the colonial era, as well as modern office buildings. We found a couple of small supermarkets within walking distance, though they were geared more towards the locals rather than expatriates. The main market is an old stone building which is jam packed with stalls on two levels. As usual in such places, they sell the most wonderfully fresh, locally grown fruit and vegetables, as well as imports from South Africa. We peered into dark, pungent sheds round the back, each of which specialises in meat from a different animal, but, after taking in the sight of carcases being hacked into joints, we weren't tempted to enter.

The national emblem of Mauritius is the dodo, the extinct, flightless bird that was unique to the island. The Natural History Museum houses the only complete skeleton in existence, found in 1904. The Blue Penny Museum holds two of the world's rarest stamps, the red one penny and blue two pence issued by the Mauritius Post Office in 1847. They are said to be the most valuable objects on the island. More appealing for anyone other than philatelists is the superb marble statue of Paul and Virginie, characters from a sad tale of two lovers based on a real life shipwreck, written by Mauritian author Bernardin de St. Pierre. The sculptor, Charles d'Epinay, was also Mauritian, although he executed the work in 1884 whilst in Rome. Remarkably, the island has only recently been able to raise sufficient funds to buy the sculpture and bring it home. This museum also has an excellent collection of antique nautical charts, maps, engravings and photos.

We took a ride from one of the sprawling bus stations to the village of Pamplemousses to visit 'L'Aventure du Sucre', a sugar mill which has been turned into a museum. One can view close up the giant machinery including crushing cylinders, clarifiers, evaporators, crystallisers, vacuum pans and centrifuges. There are also fascinating, as well as disturbing, displays about the history of slavery and indentured labour on the island. The mill still processors a small amount of sugar for making rum. The entry fee includes a tasting of every grade of sugar and also of as many blends of rum as we could drink. After lunch, we walked to the botanical gardens. A set of magnificent wrought iron gates opens onto a world of tropical trees interspersed by avenues, secluded paths, streams and lily ponds. An old house, the Chateau de Mon Plaisir, has an exhibition of faded photos and cuttings about the life of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolan, the first prime minister of Mauritius after independence, to whom the gardens are now dedicated.

Another bus ride took us to Eureka, a pretty, long and low manor house with dormer windows and verandas, built in the 1830s for a successful sugar planter. An enthusiastic young guide led us through the numerous rooms and talked knowledgeably about the curios and period furniture, including some made of local ebony or sandalwood. We then took a pleasant stroll to the cascades at the bottom of a wooded valley in the grounds, before returning for a relaxed and delicious Mauritian set lunch on the veranda.

After a few days in Port Louis, we sailed 18 miles down the coast to Grande Rivière Noire Baie, a sheltered and attractive anchorage. Morne Anglers' Club allows visitors to use their jetty and facilities, and even has fuel pumps so that we could top up our diesel tanks. There is a pretty village with some small local shops - something of a haven between the big resorts on either side. There was a bit of traffic from tripper boats heading out on snorkelling or fishing expeditions, but otherwise it was very peaceful. The water seemed clean and safe enough to swim, so we spent a day giving the hull a much needed scrub below the waterline. On another day, we took our bicycles ashore and rode to the visitor's centre of the Black River Gorge National Park. From there we walked up to and beyond the Macchabée viewpoint, reaching a height of around 500m, providing a magnificent panorama. As we sailed back up the coast to Port Louis, we watched the World ARC rally fleet disappearing over the horizon towards Réunion.

Although now in the marina proper, we were beginning to mark time as we also wanted to move on to Réunion. We had e-mailed the harbourmaster at Le Port who had told us that there would be no space until at least the end of the month, after the ARC fleet had left. The alternative harbour at St. Pierre was also reported to be full and there are no bays with enough shelter for anchoring. Whilst waiting, we hired a car to visit a few places we hadn't seen before, initially following the 'Tea Route'. This starts at the Domaine de Aubineaux, a colonial mansion, where a guide, who clearly had better things to do, showed us round, then brought us hot water and a range of teas to taste. We drove on, and eventually found ourselves passing between fields of tea plants with small groups of pickers wearing conical hats. At the Bois Chéri Tea factory, we were given a whistle stop tour of the production line before being left to look around the small museum. We decided to give the last 'attraction' on the tea route a miss, and headed instead for Vieux Grand Port, on the windward side of the island. This is a large natural harbour which had been the site of the first Dutch settlement, but there is little remaining apart from the ruins of a fort dating from 1640. We followed a winding coast road through a string of small towns and villagers, with the surface getting more and more pot-holed and the rain getting heavier and heavier. Eventually we reached a string of major resorts, where we turned inland, passing between fields of sugar canes and over a range of hills. We stopped at a modern mall to top up our ship's stores, before returning to Port Louis.

A number of our cruising friends were now in the marina, having been holding back from Mauritius until the departure of the ARC, and it was good to meet up with them all again. We organised a pot-luck supper ashore and ten boats worth of people turned out, making for a very lively evening. The next night, the Hungarian boat "Norvik" cooked up goulash for everyone. In the end, most of us reluctantly decided give Réunion a miss, as we were all anxious to complete our crossing of the Indian Ocean to South Africa.