Port Louis - Aapravasi Ghat

Mauritius is an island of hope, where today westerns were looking for their tropical paradise to get away from the stress of the modern world. But Mauritius was already loaded with hopes since workers arrived from India, Africa and even China to search for a better life working in the sugar cane fields and serving the colonists centuries ago. Therefore the mix of cultures on the island is wonderful: Indians, Chinese, Africans, Westerners just people from everywhere call themselves Mauritian. The heart of the multi-ethnic island is Port Louis, its capital. I was working myself through the bustling crowded streets of the central market area, where everything produced on the island was on sale down to the harbour. Vegetables, fruits and all kind of clothing filled the narrow streets and in between the colourful clientele looking for some bargains. Most of their ancestors arrived on wooden boats after week-long journeys at Aapravasi Ghat the old harbour of Port Louis, where they were registered and distributed to the sugar mills over the island. When I was sitting at Aapravasi Ghat and watched the boats on the horizon I could feel the hope of this island by myself.