44 km away, yet a whole new world

Mauritius is usually described as a tiny island, a dot in the middle of the ocean. Yet, for some of its inhabitants, a distance considered small can make a huge difference. That’s what Pamplemousse discovered when she secretly went from her village of Coteau Raffin to meet her boyfriend in the town of Curepipe. As is she had crossed to another, larger world…

 

During the holidays, boredom started creeping in. My village, Cotteau Raffin, is peaceful —maybe too peaceful. Nothing much ever happens there except for the Tournoi Vilaz, the only time the place gets crowded and lively. I needed a change of scenery, something new, something different. So, on a whim, I decided to take a trip to Curepipe, a town I had never set foot in before. Our island is super small, but we’re not even allowed to take the bus to go far, to other towns known as too far away. So we just keep going around in circles! People from other places call us zenfan vilaz, like we’re dumb or something!

 

Alex, my boyfriend, lives nearby, so I asked him if he could show me around. He agreed, and I set a date. Of course, I couldn’t tell my parents the real plan—they would never have allowed it. Instead, I told them I’d be at Trianon commercial center for the day (only one bus to go there). A harmless little lie, but a necessary one.

 

My parents don’t let me go far without my brother. “The world is too dangerous now,” my mom always says. There are crimes happening everywhere, people disappearing, bad things lurking around every corner. She worries about everything, and sometimes, I feel like my freedom is slipping away because of it. I know she’s just looking out for me, keeping me safe, but it’s suffocating. Deep down, I also feared what was out there, but my curiosity was far stronger than my fears. If I had told my mom the truth, she would never have let me go.

 

The journey was long—two and a half hours of travel. The bus ride seemed endless, passing through landscapes that slowly changed as I got closer to the center of the island. When I finally arrived, the first thing that hit me was the cold. The air was freezing. I was only wearing a t-shirt and light pants, thinking it would be just another ordinary day. Big mistake. I shivered as I stepped out of the bus. The town looked nothing like what I was used to. Moss covered every corner of the old buildings, clinging to walls, creeping up staircases. The streets were mostly empty, the sky a dull shade of gray. Back home, near the coast, the sun shines almost every day, the air is warm and salty. But here? The sun barely made an appearance. It felt like stepping into another world.

 

Alex took me to the bazar first. Stalls were packed with clothes, accessories, and random little trinkets. Everything looked unique, different from what I was used to seeing in my part of the island. People were polite but not exactly friendly — a quiet kind of coldness, much like the weather. Then we walked past Sainte-Thérèse Church, a towering structure standing solemnly before St Joseph’s College. I wanted to take pictures, to capture the moment, but my camera wasn’t good enough. Frustrating, really, because I felt like I was somewhere entirely new, and I wanted to remember it all.

 

By lunchtime, we decided to grab something to eat. We had planned to go to Va Bunny, a place everyone seems to love, but it was closed. Disappointed, I looked around and spotted a shop I had never seen before — Tealive. The name didn’t ring a bell at all. We don’t have that where I live. Curious, we went inside. They sold sandwiches and bubble tea, something that felt completely foreign to me. I tried it anyway, embracing the newness of it all.

 

As the afternoon wore on, I checked the time and realised I needed to head home. I lived far — really far. Another long journey awaited me, and I couldn’t afford to get home too late. But as I stepped off the bus back in my village, a new kind of anxiety hit me. What if my parents found out? My dad visits Curepipe often to see his friends, and my mom used to work at St Joseph’s College. If they had seen me there or heard anything… I would have been in so much trouble. But nothing happened. They didn’t suspect a thing. Relief washed over me, mixed with a strange excitement.

 

That trip made me realise something—I love discovering new places. Curepipe felt like a different country, a place filled with mystery and hidden corners waiting to be explored. Compared to it, my village suddenly felt small, almost too small. All we have are a football field and a few “tabagies.” 

 

There’s a 44 km distance between my village and Curepipe, but it felt like two different worlds.

 

And I’m not done yet. Next time, I want to visit the botanical garden. There’s so much more to see, so much more to experience. I do feel a little guilty for lying to my parents, but one day, when I’m older, I’ll tell them everything. For now, I just want to keep exploring, keep chasing that feeling of stepping into the unknown.

 

Pamplemousse, 17 years