Pont Bondieu - Mauritius
It started in the south east of the island in a village called L’Escalier. It was just a ‘randonnée’ from L’Escalier to Le Chaland along the coastal lines. It was the ‘longest’ never ending trek that I have been in. Almost a 4hours walk but it felt like a lot more cause of the treacherous Sun. It was surely a wonderful sightseeing along the coast but it was burdensome.
It was an easy trek at the start amid the sugarcane fields into the forest until we reached the coastal path. Walking in the sand was excruciating. It was all fun until I found myself cursing the radiant star and yelping out of despair for freshness. The humidity increased and dizziness was lurking. We paused just to hydrate ourselves and take a few pictures.
After walking miles and miles (making it sound more dramatic) we reached The Pont Naturel or Pont Bon Dieu as we call it. Modelled by Mother Nature to demonstrate her wonderful abilities and keen eye for beauty, Pont Bon Dieu is a natural volcanic bridge caused by eons of erosion. It is a component of the Gris-Gris precipice.
The bridge itself it about 4-5m long and 2m wide. But standing on the bridge feels heavenly with the waves bashing just beneath you forming a whitish foam. When the water comes from the small holes from the rocks you get readily picture the image of the pressure cooker whistle and if by sheer coincidence, you have a four Leaf Clover in your pocket, you can actually hear it hence, its other name “Le souffleur”. They are so forceful that you can get completely drenched or slip if you’re not careful. Whilst Gris-Gris will always be my favourite place to watch the waves rolling and crashing against the cliff, Pont Bon Dieu remains just better because you can actually be above the waves watching the splash sploosh. Which gives you a weird feeling of both fear and excitements.
The place actually recharged our batteries which allowed us to reach our destination Le Chaland where the first thing we did, was to buy coconut water from the sellers present which was invigorating.
As the Korean Proverb goes
At the end of hardships comes happiness.In our case was Delo Coco.
