Hanga Roa church. Easter Island.

Hanga Roa

Worth visiting during Sunday Mass, the Church of Hanga Roa, located in the streets Te Pito o Te Tu’u Henua and Koihu. Inside are intricate wooden sculptures that illustrate the adaptation of the Rapa Nui to Catholicism.

Caleta Hanga Roa

The moai are found across the island, but the two overlooking Caleta Hanga Roa, the Ahu Tautira probably will be your first encounter with them. The small bay is used by local fishermen, and in the mornings you can buy fresh fish.
Nearby you will find Pea Beach, near the port, which has a rock pool ideal for swimming. Beside, the area is the best for surfing, diving and snorkeling.

The Tahai Complex

The ceremonial complex of Tahai, famous for its sunsets, is located beyond the small cemetery of Hanga Roa. On a small accessible slope covered by grass, the visitors will discover many restored ahu, as well as numerous remains of houses, the well-known boathouses where the family of the notable islanders lived. The only things left of these buildings are the stone foundations and the pavement of the ground with the holes to receive the wooden skeleton.

When talking about Tahai, it is necessary to make a distinction between the Vai Uri ahu and its five statues, the Tahai ahu with its unique statue, and the Ko Te Riku ahu. To the north, over the Hanga Ki’oe ahu is located the Moai A Kapu. Not far from there, slightly dominating Tahai, was built the Easter Island museum, initially financed by Japan. The Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum exposes a very small part of the island’s lithic utensils, a collection of old fishing hooks, the first coral eye discovered in Anakena, and many other valuable pieces such as the splendid Kava Kava moai. In the warehouse remain other 20,000 pieces, which were inventoried thanks to a private foundation’s financing. However, due to the lack of bigger resources, it is difficult for the museum to expose more objects in their showcases because, like in other places, great vigilance and expensive security measures are needed in order to prevent the theft of antiques, which makes it difficult to expand the exhibition rooms.

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Map of Easter Island

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Martirius Deep Sea Fishing

Mauritius is a paradise for deep sea fishing. Species include the blue or black marlin, all types of sharks, yellow tuna, the Bonitos, the ‘emperor’, the ‘pélerin’, the ‘bécune’ or the barracuda.
Huge fishes like the Blue Marlin roam our seas and hunt around the island from November to April, and very often until May. The ocean is 70 metres deep one kilometre away from the coast. Mauritius holds several world fishing records (IGFA), including that of the mako shark of 1115 pounds, the blue shark of 400 pounds, a bonito of 41.5 pounds, a white tuna of 224 pounds and a ‘bécune’ of 125 pounds. African records (GFUA) mention a yellow tuna of 212 pounds and a white tuna of 224 pounds. Other specimens recently caught include blue marlins of 1430 and 1355 pounds. Fishing boats can be hired from almost all hotels. The most prestigious deep sea fishing competition is the Marlin World Cup which is hosted in December by La Pirogue Hotel.

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Mauritius is a blend of diverse cultures and religions which our immigrant population brought from their ancestral countries. Their festivities are celebrated in a spirit of peace and harmony throughout the year.

Cavadi
This festival is celebrated in January/February. Bodies are pierced with needles, tongues and cheeks with pins, devotees in a trance carry the ‘Cavadi’ on their shoulders as a penitence. The ‘Cavadi’ is a wooden arch, covered with flowers and with a pot of milk at each end.

Divali
The Festival of Lights is celebrated in a spirit of pure joy, in the month of October or November. Small clay lamps line the walls, balconies and yards. They are lit at sunset. Their golden light, which is believed to guide the Goddess of wealth and good fortune, can be seen everywhere. Divali represents the victory of truth (light) over ignorance (darkness). The Festival of Lights, Divali, is a celebration of joy, happiness and for many Mauritians, a time for sharing.

Father Laval
Every September 9, Mauritians of all faiths walk or drive towards the tomb of the Blessed Jacques Désiré Laval, the «Apostle of the Black People» at Ste-Croix, Port-Louis. The belief in Père Laval, to whom powers of healing are attributed, reminds us of the Lourdes Pilgrimage in France.

Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated on the 4th day of the lunar month of August/September by Hindus in honour of the birth of Ganesha, God of wisdom.

Holi
This Hindu festival is as colourful as the many legends from which it
originates. It is above all a festival of joy during which men and women throw coloured water and powder on each other and wish one another good luck.

Id-El-Fitr
The Id-El-Fitr festival signals the end of the Ramadan - the fasting
period for Muslim people. Prayers are said in mosques all day long.

Ougadi
Ougadi is the Telugu New Year and is usually celebrated in March.

Spring Festival
The Chinese New Year is celebrated each year on a different date, owing to the differences between the lunar and the solar calendars. Houses are thoroughly cleaned before the festival. No knife or scissors are used on the actual day of the festival. Red, a symbol of happiness is the main colour of the day. Food offerings are made to ensure that the following year will be plentiful and traditional ‘Wax’ cakes are distributed to parents and
friends.Firecrackers are set off to drive away the evil spirits.

Whether in your hotel or on the beach, the sega, a dance invented by mauritians of african origin, has become synonymous with «joie de vivre». The sega, its music and dance form, is specific to Mauritius. The sega, mainly based on African music originating with slaves, is nowadays played with modern instruments and features contemporary musical influences.

The rubbing of feet, the swaying of hips and Creole lyrics are part and parcel of the music. The slaves obviously began dancing the sega to forget their miserable existence. There are now several types of sega in Mauritius. Standard sega (where the instruments are the ravanne, the maravanne and the triangle) has its own disciples and devotees.

This «type of sega» had its own poet: Ti Frère, who died at the age of 92 and left us with a fantastic legacy.
«Ti Frère’s segas, said Mauritian writer Jean-Marie Leclézio, are never dull, he cannot be bothered producing holiday songs. They are tough and authentic, sensual and pagan. He knows how to tell us about Anita’s and Angeline’s love lives, and scoff at politicians who eat for the people’s sake».,
Young people and hotel entertainers now favour a more modern version of sega, which is no less attractive.

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