Mauritius - the island of love letters

Adored by honeymooners, Mauritius has also won a place in the hearts of the literati. Charlotte Cripps discovers why

A local fisherman dressed in nothing but his Y-fronts stands in the shallows waiting for a bite. Nearby, security guards patrol the beach sporting pressed white uniforms. (If you squint, they resemble Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman.) The island of Mauritius, which celebrates 40 years of independence from the UK this month, is about the same size as Surrey, but unlike Surrey it has plenty of stunning beaches where you can fish, or flop, to your heart's content – and all of them are open to the general public.(...)

(...) We pass Peter Gabriel playing table tennis before settling down to dinner at the hotel's floating restaurant, where giant fish make plopping sounds as they leap in the mangroves of the hotel's natural reserve. Here, I become breathless with menu names as long as my arm ("Clove and lemon flavoured soufflé, light cream with Grand Marnier, chilled truffle with tamarind and ganache with candied orange, sparkling flaky praline"). (...)