In total, we slept for a good 14 hours before waking up with the sun, around 6:30 or so. Surprisingly the nap we took the previous day wasn’t enough make up for the three day sleep debt we had. With a full night’s sleep and any jet lag risk behind us, we were really to fully immerse ourselves in our new home for the next week.

Mauritius is a volcanic island which lends itself to a very diverse terrain with white sandy beaches in the north and mountainous jungles in south, Our hotel for the first half of our stay, Lakaz Chamarel, is located in the southwest side of the island, embedded deep with the jungle but surprisingly only 30 minutes away from the coast by car. Our villa for this stay resides on the northwest side of the resort, at the highest point of the area with breathtaking views of the coastline and Pinot Canot.

Holiday is a curious thing, where habits of the real world tend to fall by the wayside and temporary routines become the norm. One of which that we embrace, particularly in the tropical destinations is morning yoga and fortunately, Lakaz offers it for guests for free. Our first full day in country began in the most idyllic way, with an hour of yoga and meditation with Aurelie, rediscovering our inner spiritual sides while maintaining flexibility and in my case, the little flexibility I actually have.

Piton Canot, the mountain that overlooks the resort and our villa (hence its namesake), is a popular hiking excursion that can has a trailhead right on the property of the resort. Having spent the last few days confined to tight airplanes and congested airports, Lauren’s and I decided to conquer this particular mountain during the afternoon.

The trail isn’t particularly long, but what it lacks in distance it makes up for in elevation. There’s over 800 feet of elevation gain in the 3/4 of a mile it takes to trek to the top, mostly covered in jungle flora with many rocky sections that require all fours to successfully pass. According to my watch, we competed it in just over an hour and we’re rewarded with a beautiful panoramic of the southern part of the island.

The weather in Mauritius is delightfully consistent, ranging between 74-85 degrees, everyday but given its geography, is unsurprisingly humid, especially inland. Our hike didn’t last terribly long but it was enough to break a decent sweat. As it so happens, our villa includes our very own infinity pool, which we made great use of to recover from our jaunt up the mountain.

Travel/Post Details:

• Post includes activities on May 16, 2023
• Featured Image – the panoramic view from the top of Pinot Canot
• Accommodation – Lakaz Chamarel (Piton Canot suite)
• Met with Summertimes (local travel/transport company) rep to book excursions for the rest of the trip