Rodriguez an Island 650KM north east of the main island Mauritius is known affectionately by its residents and visitors as the Island ‘No Stress Island.’

Having travelled to various parts of the world, I have never found a place that gives you such a feeling of relaxation, peace and harmony as the Island of Rodriguez. After staying there for 15 days, I had the feeling of being totally disconnected from the rest of the world, I had no idea, what is going on anywhere else.

The people of Rodriguez enjoy the simple things we seem to have forgotten in the western world; they have very little, most people here have a salary of less than 150 Euros a month. But with that they are content, they do not seek to earn more, and are not interested by the latest fashions or going out at night. All the citizens of Rodriguez are given a plot of land when they turn 18 on which they construct their houses and raise a hand full of domestic animals. Almost each household raises a few chickens, a goat or two and maybe a cow.

The rhythm of life is slow here, there is no such thing as being in a hurry to get somewhere or do something, they take their time to do everything, even the buses and cars rarely drive fastest than 20KM per hour. Life here is dictated by the sunrise and sunset, people wake up when the sun raises around 5am and life starts around 6am, the day ends at 3pm, all the shops, offices, and other activates end, by the time the sunsets at 6pm, you can hardly find anyone on the streets, and almost nothing is open, except a handful of restaurants and a bar or 2. By 10pm all the restaurants close, and there is nothing at all left open on the Island except on the weekends, when the Islands only nightclub is open until 5am, and even then it is amostly empty enjoyed only by a few young people and the tourists that are visiting.

If you want to get rid of your stress and connect with nature I really recommend making the effort to get to Rodriguez, a short flight of 1h30 from the main land of Mauritius and you will be in a forgotten paradise in the middle of the Indian Ocean, waking up with the sound of birds, spending your days gazing at the clear turquoise blue lagoon that surrounds the island, walking along one of the many trails that wined around the coast, bumping into goats and chickens that are not afraid of you. Sounds like paradise? Well, for the moment it is, time is forgotten on this island, if you come here you may never want to leave.