Even if you've never been to Mauritius, you may well have seen the most famous sight Cap Malheureux has to offer. It's on almost every postcard and tourist brochure ever made, and has probably inspired many a destination wedding. I'm talking about Notre Dame Auxiliatrice, the church with the red roof.
This is what it looked like when I first visited Mauritius in 2012.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Obviously I wasn't expecting to see clouds like that on a tropical island, but also the church didn't look anything like the pictures I'd seen. I'd clearly just been fooled by the result of someone's Photoshop effort. From a distance it looks like there are a lot of tiles missing on the roof but, if you get a bit closer, you'll see that the roof is actually made of wood, and has suffered a lot from its exposed, seaside location.
Since that last visit, they've restored the roof, plank by plank, to its former glory. I guess they must do it quite regularly, and we just came at a bad time. In any case, now it looks more like this:
A lot of couples either get married here, or just come here to take some pretty photos after their wedding. Last time I was there, there was one lady in full white wedding dress, white sparkly beach shoes, bouquet and everything, posing for pictures on the beach. Apart from the photographer, there was another guy with her, who we assumed must be his assistant, telling the bride where to stand etc. He was wearing khaki shorts and a fluorescent green rain jacket, and carrying a backpack. As we stood watching, he put his arms around the bride and posed with her. It turned out he was the groom! They made an odd couple, that's for sure. I would have taken a photo but my camera had no battery left so you'll just have to imagine the scene.
This is the inside of the church, which I love. The altar is carved from a huge piece of rock, and the holy water font, which you can see on the left, is a large "bénitier" (clam shell).
Other than the church, there's not a lot to see in Cap Malheureux. There isn't much beach, and there are a lot of fishing boats. In fact, when the fishermen land here, they clean their fish on the beach and throw the fish guts back in the water, so it's not a place I would like to swim! You do get a great view of the "Coin de Mire" and the other islands off the north coast though.
In case you were wondering about the name Cap Malheureux (The Cape of Misfortune), it was given by the French after their defeat at the hands of the British (woo hoo!) in 1810. Mauritius was a strategic spot on the trade routes, and the British decided to invade. However, they didn't approach from the south as would be expected, but from the north where the French defence was weakest. They won and ruled the island from 1810 right up to its independence.
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