Once home of now extinct flightless bird dodo, Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, geographically belonging to Africa. It is promoted as the most beautiful paradise island, one of a kind. There is a well-known quote from the nineteenth century, “Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.”
Unfortunately, these words by Mark Twain, who visited the island, are no longer relevant today. The island with over a million inhabitants ranks among the most densely populated countries in the world. With crowded cities, heavy traffic, thousands of people on the beaches, paradise is lost forever. The island lacks any unique features; extraordinary beauty is absent. It is just another popular vacation spot hard to distinguish from many beach destinations elsewhere in the world.
