A few weeks ago I received a delivery which took me back in time, I’ve been remembering Mauritius and a trip I made there 21 years ago.

You might have seen my Facebook page telling you all about the wonderful competition that See Mauritius ran recently, it certainly brought back memories of beautiful beaches, blue skies and wonderful spicy food.

I visited the Indian Ocean island in 1994, I married my first husband there (sadly not with the fairytale ending), flew over the island in a helicopter (a new love was born!) and I walked on the bottom of the ocean!  Yes me, terrified and unable to swim (as I was then) but I did it.

I worked in Export too, so got to see where my distributor worked in Port Louis and to see a few of our projects (yes I really did look for our fire alarm and emergency lighting systems where ever I went in those days).  I saw a volcano, wonderful plants in the botanical gardens, ancient tortoises, temples and the Chamarel coloured earths.  North, East, South and West, I tried to see as much of Mauritius as I could.

So, I will never forget my trip to this wonderful diverse island, it holds lots of memories for me.  Weirdly, it’s also where Daddy P went on honeymoon with his first wife some four months earlier in the same year.

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been enjoying remembering Mauritius – the tastes and flavours of this vibrant land.  From Vanilla tea to an ice-cold beer.

Today I’ve been baking using the lovely cookbook from Shelina – Sunshine on a Plate, and it’s taken me back to lazy afternoons snacking in the sunshine!  I’ve made her Chocolate and Cardamom cookies and they are good.  I’m not sure they will last too long around here.  The recipe is really easy to follow, using an ice cream scoop to size the cookies is a top tip too.

I may not be sitting in a tropical paradise today, far from it, but at least I have memories and cookies to remind me!

If you’ve ever fancied visiting Mauritius for yourself, and trust me, there is so much more to see than just the beautiful beaches, then why not follow them over on Facebook.

disclaimer:  I was sent the items mentioned in exchange for this post