Le Cannonier Hotel

Ok at last some interesting stuff fors ya.
we [in Mauritius] had a 'bank holiday week'!!! yep only on our sunny ilse.
it came about being due to the respect for the interracial mix of communities found here - that all religious and important dates for each community is celebrated with equal importance.
Now I don't think that its really due to we [Mauritians] having some sort of advanced democratic empathy towards peoples beliefs . But rather because the holiday's are sanctioned by polititians in power in order to appease some segment of the community and therefore claim some votes. Anyway whatever....
well as it turned out this week we had Divali, All saints day, and Eid in the same week. This left only two work days left in the week. And what most people did was not to go to work on the remaining two days. And of course not wanting to go against the flow ... Nether did I.
I booked the two remaining days as holidays .. Which resulted in me having nine days consequent off work whoopee Doo!!!!!!

the very first thing which we did was to book ourselves in a decent hotel.
we [me & Jen] had stayed in Le Mauricia (which is a beachcomber hotel)previously , and had had a really good time.
so we decided to take the next step up to Le cannonier Hotel which is situated in Point Aux Cannonier;on the very northern tip of the island.
the view is wonderful with a breathtaking view of Gunners point Island .
we had a very good time but didn't find it that much difference to Le mauricia.did the usual Nirish fare of deep sea snorkeling , etc. Got to say that I saw an octopus wild..... in the sea ... And I'm not ashamed to say that it scared the ish out of me. :)
Ok two links on this one. the Cannonier title will link you to Le Cannonier hotels own web page.
And as usual the PIC LINK will take you to the Photos of Nyeshka. i have included photos from other outings not posted before; in the slideshow.
Enjoy.
PIC LINK

Leonado Da Vinci- The Flights of the mind.

ok Book Review time.
At the moment I am reading the biography of Leonardo da Vinci- entitled "The Flights of the Mind".
This [book] seems to have created a bit of a stir in literature circles on the web.
I even read some review on UK Amazon saying that the book is just a copy- and therefore not as good as "the da Vinci Code"!!!!!!
I have read the da Vinci Code- in a weekend-and it is a good book. I liked that the story (and yes story as in fictional) was gripping, twisting, easy digestible stuff.
Because that s what it is.
I was talking to a wannabe writer about this same subject during dinner last week sometime. And when trying to put across my point I came to this assimilate- that is 'the da Vinci Code' is akin to a McDonald's Lunch.Quick, to the point , and fun.
'The Flights of the Mind' is more of a gourmet dinner at say...? The Zafferano's restaurant in Knightsbridge.
Don't get me wrong; they both have there place, I mean there have been times where I have craved a McDonald's Cheeseburger or two.( or a Burger King Bean Burger for that matter....), but its not quite the same as a proper dinner is it?
'Flights of the mind' is -to me - a well researched and nicely chronological biography of one of the great minds of all time.
I think that intellectual circles should be thankful for the increase in interest in this and other complex histories, which -lets face it- has been very much made fashionable by the success of the da Vinci Code.,[ No I,m not talking about Harry Potter and wizard of whojamacallit whatever].
But ( yes there is a but)..I am of the mindset that we should appreciate that each of the books have only one thing in common- that is that the crux of the respective works claim to be about Leonardo Da Vinci.
I thing that the reviewer of the Flights of the mind on behalf of the Observer Newspaper put it best when she said "....If you read one book with da Vinci in its title this year, make it this one.....

Guess Who's Back !!!!

Hi peeps, I know that my excuse never changes, but Really it has been a very busy few months.
From the visit of my dad, to Mits's & Mona's Holiday, to Family from UK, To the cousins visit from around the world.
To of course Jen's sister's wedding. !!!! I'm Knackered.
so get ready for a whole lotta pictures.
as usual just click da links and off you go.
Luv's Yas.
Nirish Jen Nyesh

Piclink

New pictures

Ok guys new pics fors ya.
It includes a couple at the Yakshi welcome back dinner, held at uncle Sundar's house.
Also I have updated the links for the previous Nyeshka pics, as well as for the Mits & Mona photo album.
Remember they are temporary, and after a period of 2 weeks they will cease to be valid.
Any how all the best all of you who are checking this out.
regards neen, Jen, Nyeshk.
PIC LINK

Pictures of Nyeshka.

Cutie Pie

I've just uploaded this album, and it represents some of mine and Jen's fave pictures of Nyeshka.
obviously this will be regularly up-dated, and eventually I will simply place a link in the links list .
Ahh!!! She's just too cute- but then I'm biased.
Just click the link. It should take you straight to the album slideshow.
PIC LINK

Mits Visit

Hey guys, one of the the things which has been going on over the last month, was the visit of my best friend Mitul Patel and His wife Mona.
Mits and myself have been friends since about the age of about 19. And I can't think of anyone who knows more 'stories' about me than he does. (thankfully he didn't spill the beans.)
Mits & Mona stayed only a week , but I feel that they have managed to do more than most people do in a month.
From swimming with dolphins in Riviere Noir, to walking to Coconut Island during low tide, to going out on the razzle in Caudan to , Staying at 'Le Residence Hotel. From dinner at the'One And Only Touesrock Hotel, to swimming at Pere Bere at sunset , followed by drinks at Cafe-Pere bere, followed by dinner at Don Camillos Grand Bay.( After which I don't remember much....)
PHOTO LINK

Sony T7

First of all, sorry for not posting for so long, there has been so much stuff going on.
I just purchased this baby. Most of you know that I've been lusting over the J.V.C Everio 500 since J.V.C started to advertise it about May, but due to me not being too confident about buying the cam over the Internet then getting it shipped to Mauritius ( the shipping part worries me ), I decided to get this for the time being.
its soo small, I can carry it anywhere, the memory stick allows me to take over 100 pics at 5 mega Pixels... Its perfect for me to keep track of all that we get up to.
till of course t get my Everio 500.

Hey peeps

I know its been a while. But sooo much has been going on. Anyhow I promise that by this weekend I'll fully update the blog.
including Chinese Guava- berry picking in the forests of Mtius, Tuv's Baby.... And of course Nyeshka.
p's does anyone know of a free photo album posting which is compatible with this blog??
NB

At the other end of the spectrum

At the other end of the spectrum is this. Me (Leena) on Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, in mid April. (I'm the one in the middle). I think I'd rather be with the dolphins!

Dream Machine.

JVC Everio 500 Dream machine.

WOW!!!!
I have been lusting over this machine for the last 3 months.
we've been looking for a camcorder now since our Cannon camera ceased working. An eject tape message kept coming up , and a quick search on the net showed that this was a common problem with Cannon DV cameras.
so that put me off Cannon- I don't think that I will buy another cannon product.And that put me off a cassette based cameras.
The logical step was a camera that recorded straight to DVD. But there are many arguments against that; less control over editing. Can only use DVD once etc.
Then I came access this baby.....
This baby records direct to a removable 4 gb hard disk. That translates to 1 hour of DVD quality pictures ( that can be played on large and plasma screen without pigmentization which occurs with lesser quality recordings).
Its also capable of 5 megapixel still pictures. This is achieved through the use of the 3 ccd's. One for each primary colour. This with what JVC calls 'pixel shifting technology' can take pictures with real depth and excellent colour representation.
also the fact that it records digitally to a hard disk, is that the transfer to PC takes only as long as it does to cut and paste files. That's it.
the negative points , from what I can see is that you are restricted to one hour one go recording, then you have to download to a PC or other storage method.
but I don't think that's too bad a compromise for what you get in return.
Unfortunately there is no release date as of yet for this Baby. JVC originally implied that the release date would be in march 05. But this has yet to materialize.
of course this then means that there are not yet any USER reviews of this camera. I think I can safely say that I have scoured the net-via google- and am yet to find a review from anyone who's actually got one.
if anyone reading this knows of a site or blog or whatever..... Let me know.
Either way its the future of home recording.

WELCOME TO NYESHKA'S WORLD

Hi People,, thought it was about Time to jump on the bandwagon and start 'bloggin'.
the main aim of this site will be to keep everyone updated on fun stuff that we get up during our time here in Mauritius.
its aimed predominantly at family and close friends, but everyone is welcome to have a nose round, and even comment if they want.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING 

SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS AT RIVIERE NOIR

PHENOMENAL!!!!!
it truly was, I would recommend it to everyone , locals as well as tourists.
The day began at 8.30 am at the shores of Riviere noire (Black River), where we met the skipper and crew of the catamaran who were to be our guides for the day.
we boarded at about 9.00 am , and were greeted with a light local breakfast (Baguette, butter cheese, jam , tea, coffee etc) and we set off.
In an obvious case of expectation limitation; the skipper pointed out to us that an appearance by the dolphins was not guaranteed may not be able to swim with them , but hopefully we will see at least one.
we thought what the hell.... It was a beautifully sunny day, we were on a boat .... On the open sea it wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't see any dolphins...
but we were extremely fortunate, another catamaran had sighted a group of dolphins not far from us.
we darted towards where the other catamaran had indicated there may be dolphins... And WOW!!!!
A group of about 30 dolphins swimming and darting around us.
my first impression was that they were massive. Much larger than one would assume; having only seen them on TV.
so we stopped ship, and literally just dived in.
some of the tourists who were with us actually got to touch some of them..... But I found that impossible. They were unbelievably fast.
it was an amazing experience. So much so , that myself and Jen are seriously considering going again, this time with family, and friends. So if anyone's interested let me know. And as soon as we get about 25 or so. We'll go again.