Queen Victoria Mauritius hometown goodness
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- čas přidán 6. 07. 2021
- Queen Victoria in the Flacq district of Mauritius on a rainy day will beat out a sunny day on the beach for its warmth. The people are friendly and willing to sit and chat about football and share their hospitality with strangers. The historic sugar mill, the bonsai plants, the picturesque temple, markets, and of course Arsenal FC.
Starting in the downtown area, they weren't prepared for 2 extra people to arrive, the rotis were finished. We did manage to get some pate possion, a fish pastry, and they were great. While I was showing off the great lion's head fountain a minibus pulled up with its speakers blaring that they had fish and vegetables for sale. An interesting concept and one need in this small village with few shops.
We then headed off to the sugar mill tower that gave its name to the town. Queen Victoria chimney is well preserved and has tons of outbuildings, but the array of machinery around it is spectacular. An old pump or maybe a stone crusher has pride of place near old drills and plows. There is an entrance under the chimney, which is the first I had seen, with a strange steel roof, perhaps the old plate to hold the steam tubes. It looked a little dangerous, so I didn't go in.
One of the supporting structures looked like a reservoir for water, but the tanks were very small. The house next to it was in slightly better condition and you can look in, but not much to report. A low building with a small chimney had very thick walls and Riki remarked that it could be that they only make one size of brick and use them everywhere, which makes sense. The large building was locked, so I sort of climbed a tree stump, but couldn't see anything much.
The manager's house is still in excellent condition and is now an office. After exploring a few other buildings, one of which was probably a water tank with very skinny legs we followed the direction to the bonsai house. Out in his garden are hundreds of beautiful bonsai plants, some growing over rocks, others made into gardens, and more still with small animals on them. We had some fun at the Queen Victoria camp with its crown painting and I discovered a hidden mural to Arsenal FC.
A short stop for a bridge and we were onto the temple. They were proudly displaying their Mashivratri float, and it was made from old coconuts and bamboo, fully recyclable, nice one guys. The temple was really tranquil with the Teal river running through, it also had a dog that didn't like me. A moment of peace and we hit the bustling vegetable market of Bonne Mare.
Situated on a busy road, with lots on offer, we bought some locally grown hydroponic lettuce with the cap still on. Sweet and flavourful and really fresh. A whirlwind tour of Saint Anne's church, now a national heritage site, and then down to the rain-drenched madame Francoise River. We told the story of how the towns are prospering now they have joined and about the time Queen Elizabeth visited.
We ended our adventure at Constance Main sugar mill tower, and boy did she deliver. A wonderful example of craftsmanship. The stonework was a thing of beauty. I showed inside the chimney while a wasp crawled up my pants and then Riki did a great hip hop dance.
This area is not visited by many that don't have business there, but it was such a revelation to us that it must go down as a must vist.
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Thanks for watching
This is my dad’s hometown and he played many soccer games on that field. His team photo from the 60’s used to be on the wall of the community centre. Thank you for showing the world these hidden gems.
It is a great place,
Brought back a few memories. I grew up practically in the shadow of that chimney. Those chimney tracks ran in front of our house. During harvesting season, we would wait for the sugar cane train to go past and the guys riding on it would throw us some sugar cane. The factory itself, though it was no longer in operation, was still standing. The machinery you found were still within the ruins. My siblings and I loved exploring what was left of the building. It was our playground. I remember there was like a little field of nasturtiums in the grounds between our house and the factory. The guava bush also brought back memories. There were a few growing near the factory, big juicy ones. The bush would also harbour the odd wasp nest and I got stung one or twice trying to reach into the bush to pluck some of the fruit.
The soccer fields would be turned into an outdoor cinema from time to time when the movile cinema came to the village. My mum taught in the village school. My dad was a pay officer. The little office where he worked was still standing when I last visited. Alas all the houses which housed the sugar estate emplyees had allbeen razed.
Thank you so much for this great comment, Queen Victoria is still one of our favourite memories and we talk about it quite often.
@@BryanDiscoversWorld I lived there for the first 17 years of my life before migrating to Australia.
That was me the van fish seller👍👍😅
Awesome, that was a few years ago.
lovely footage.Thx to both of you
Our pleasure!
Hi Ricky and Bryan, many thanks for a great upload and fantastic commentary. Stay safe and take care. Steve. Uk.
Thanks 👍 It was a great place
Perhaps the village instead of the sugar mill was named after my fav queen
could be
I have a book entitled: An invitation To The Charms Of Mauritian Localities (a survey of names and attractions of places in Mauritius), published in 1993.
About Queen Victoria, the following:
"In 1841, two Britishers, namely Chapman and Barclay bought a sugar factory from Ernest Leclézio. They gave it the name of Queen Victoria, The latter was the then reigning monarch. The factory ceased operation in the early 1950's and the site is now being used for a stone crushing plant. The village is inhabited by agricultural workers who are employed by FUEL."
My down Queen Victoria ❤❤❤
Great place
Beautiful Bonsall
They were great
Beautiful video. 😍
Thank you very much!
Poisson frais poisson, legume legume :)
Hey,its me the marchant😃 feeling very happy😁 to be in ur video,👌thank you
Haha
We were so happy to see you selling your stuff thanks
Rikki @ 2.32 do you know that guy czcams.com/video/t4ocaLs_PRQ/video.html
Very interesting 👌
Thank you! Cheers!
First 🔥🥺
Hi First 😀
Do a visit in bon accueil plzz.
We will, soon, waiting for permission to visit the mosque
why you didn't pick the guava?
Never on camera. haha
Ramgoolam store ladan qui enna bon nandini soonook vend cotomili.
Thanks for the information
@@BryanDiscoversWorld Yesss, you are our Queen.... carry on....
Wai, to ti vin faire livrasion acoz sa to p dir sa பிடின் கோகாட்
To ti vinne aster nandini soonook so cotomili labas😡😡😡😡😡...oussa to mama so cotomili.🤣🤣