Mauritius {Part 2}

Holy Cow! Is it only me or has this week been dragging?
It's ONLY Thursday! *yawn* I hope you guys enjoyed my Part 1 of our Holiday in Mauritius. And in case you have missed it, you can go find it HERE. But seriously now, even if you did see it, I know you want to see it again, so HERE it is.
After days of Christmas festivities, late nights and a memorable date night, Cedric and I were tugged away and halfway on our way to dreamland, when I could feel Cedric toss and turning. Now we have to wake up in a few hours and this woman needs her happy sleep or she turns into this ugly misserable blob of a thing to deal with. But the tossing continued. Eventually I fell asleep with it and as our alarm go off I hear. "I didn't sleep well" My mind responds with "no sh*t sherlock" but I kept that to myself. {que misserable blob}
Me: "I noticed you didn't sleep well boo boo, but why?" Ced: "We forgot to give Aimee and Sev my address and contact details to give to custome" Me: "Oh bleep! {me frantically texting Aimee praying that their roaming is working}"
As we arrive at the airport we wait....and wait some more. Tring tring. Ced: "Hello...yes this is him. Yes Aimee and Sev are coming to stay by me...bla bla bla"

And a few minutes later these two faces came walking out. Sighs of relief between Cedric and myself. So it ended with them being questioned and treated a bit like they have bombs strapped to them at customs till customs finally believed them and let them through. Note to self: ALWAYS remember to give ALL neccessary details to travelling partners. And that's the story of how Aimee and Sev were minutes away of being interogated by Mauritian Customs. But they arrived safely, they are through customs and now their / our holiday can begin!

With another Cyclone warning on it's way we made sure to take full advantage of the days that were filled with sunshine and warm weather. We spent our days lying by the pool and eating and drinking WAY too much! They arrived the Friday and we had beautiful weather.

The Saturday the boys joined some of Ced's friends for their annual boys get together. And murphys law. Aimee and I were stuck inside while watching the rain fall. But that didn't stop us from eating, catching up over some tea and snapping some gorgeous nature photos. After giving up with our cameras and their self timers while running up and down the terrace trying to get nice photos of us.

The next day it was crystal clear and sunny. Perfect! The guys were off to play some golf at Anahita and Aimee and myself took advantage of the yummy breakfast buffet and then hit the beach. Get our tans on you know! Whahahaha. Utter fail! We for one did NOT put suncream. And after a good hour and a half I would say we decided to hit the shade a bit. Shock and Horror as we looked at each other. We looked like bloody lobsters! So we decided to hide take a break from the sun and go watch the guys finish their game instead. With the sun eating us and cheering on our men we worked up quite and apetite and so we ended our day with a yummy lunch overlooking the ocean and drinking more wine.

Sev is a big fishing fan {FF?} hehe, and he and Cedric used every opportunity to do some fishing. I'm not such a big fan, well I can tolerate it. What I CAN'T cope with are the mozzies. Thousands of mozzies seeking my sweet South African blood! They were all over Aimee, Sev and myself. The more Peaceful Sleep and Tabard we would put on the more they will attack us. We seriously looked like weirdos doing some sort of monkey dance trying to get away from the blood suckers! So yes, that is why I only managed to go fishing once. But Sev did catch us a nice Kingfish which we cooked and ate that night for dinner!

And then all hell broke lose. Yes. The mean, moody and bitchy Johlet emerged. I don't know why but my moods do sometimes get the better of me and I want to apologise again to Aimee and Sev for having to put up with it! But in between the hissy fits and rainy weather we squeezed in a trip to Ile aux cerf. The most popular beach in Mauritius. With crystal clear water and a white sandy beach we spent the day floating in the shallow water, while staring at watching 2 ladies go topless accross from us. Not a pretty sight as I prefer mine to stay cozy and snuck hidden behind pretty colourful bikini tops. The guys sure didn't mind and Aimee and I had a good giggle while watching them "try" to do the whole subtle I'm looking at the "view" thing. FAIL! kwahahaha

Then on the night before entering 2014, the weather started turning on us once again. The wind picked up. But that did not dampen our party moods. We had a great dinner at Cedric's parents house which they generously offered to us for the night. We watched a spectacular display of fireworks from Le Touessrok. {I wanted to put up a video I took but I cannot sensor some of the words of amazement that pops up} Cedric's parents invited us to join them after midnight at Four Seasons and then we went to end the night at Anahita. The hotels were lit up in the prettiest colours! They sure know how to throw a New Years bash! I can tell you that!

I would say we looked pretty darn good for people who went to bed at 05:30! And no my eyes are not red because I'm tired. I actually got a eye infection the 30th! Itchy burny eyes while on holiday is horrible! Trust me. I had to go get S4 drops from the doc when I arrived back in SA and after already sitting with this for 10 days it finally started to get better. As we entered the new year so did the cyclone.

Cedric and I went for a drive just to go see how bad it was getting outside and this was the result. It wasn't THAT bad. But it was only warning 2. And I can only imagine how much worse it looks when it hits warning 4. Thank goodness the Cyclone hit Reunion Island {sorry for the people there} and this was only after affects of it. This still did not stop us from having a massive braai with friends the evening and making the most of our holiday.

Strange to think just 2 days later the weather was like this...perfectly clear. And murphys law that this was on the day we left. Murphy you suck! Big time! But still, even with all the ups and downs {that would be my moods and the weather} we had a great holiday.
Thank you to my boo boo for the perfect holiday and to your family for always going out of their way to make it extra special!
Thank you to Aimee and Sev for joining us! Sorry we did not do more but there's always next time....

Airline Ticket Prices - R5 000.00 - R10 000 {depending what period you go}

Best time to go from MY point of view? May - Sept

Why? The weather is still nice but it's out of season so it's more affordable.

If you are going to stay in a hotel. I would suggest take full board and shop around for prices.



Remember you can follow us on Instagram #ojte_travel

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Disclaimer: All expenses were paid for by us for our trip to Mauritius. As always, all thoughts and opinions are our own. All of the content and images posted are my own unless otherwise specified / linked to the original source. Please feel free to share photographs and material from this site but please link back to the original image or post. 

Make-Up is her claim to fame....Gina Myers

Hello Journeyers,

I have never been this ecstatic over an interview. I mean, I've been very excited about my previous interviews, but this one takes the cake! :)
Since the day I found out about her (thank you Twitter and Shashi Naidoo) I have been a tad obsessed (in a non freaky way - I promise! hehe) with her work. She is extremely talented and I know she will still take the WORLD by storm! Working with the likes of 30 Seconds to Mars, Sashi Naidoo, Lee-Anne Liebenberg and Trevor Noah (and that's just to mention a few) and she's the National Make-Up artist for the wonderful Elizabeth Arden. I love their products!

Yes, October's interview is none other than GINA MYERS, celebrity Make-up artist and National Make-up artist for Elizabeth Arden!!!

I truly am looking forward to this interview and hope to one day be able to experience Myers' magical makeup artistry!!!

Firstly I want to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for taking time out of your hectic schedule to do this interview.

JS: Your work is truly amazing, where did your passion for make-up start and what did you do to pursue that?
GM: Ahhh thank you so much. I've always been extremely fascinated and intrigued by make-up. I've always been more creative. And love colour. I actually did a make-up course so I could just have it. I had just studied a year of corporate communication and I hated it. So many goals was to take of a year. Do a make-up course. Travel. And then go back to studying the next year. But alas.... By the end of the year my passion has become a career opportunity.

JS: That's a sign! I see your name pop up in magazines and celebrity photo shoots quite often. How does that make you feel? 
GM: Hahahha. That's quite funny. I think for me, I still love what I do. I love where I am. And I love the people I have met. I was given a very important lesson in the beginning of my career. An amazing photographer named Kevin Mark Pass told me I must "aim to make every photo/make up look the best make up of my life" ... In other words. It doesn't matter who or what a person is. Where they have come from or what they do. I've used every job as a learning curve. Every learning curve as an experience and every experience as an opportunity. I've seen amazing things. I've also seen some hard stuff too. But I am blessed. I love everything about my job. 

JS: I loved interviewing Kevin, he is such an amazing person and photographer. If you got stranded on a island, what 3 Things would you want with you?
GM: I would want my photos. I'm very big on pictures. You will always have the memory. But nothing beats a picture. I would definitely want a toothbrush. And I would try take my mom. Moms know best. Is that an option?? Hehe

JS: That's definitely an option to take your mother! haha. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, what would you say is your biggest strength and weakness in life?
GM: My biggest strength is definitely my love for people. It's he biggest reason I'm doing what I'm doing. I've always wanted to be around people. 

My biggest weakness. Most definitely my impatience. Although. It's a toss up. I can procrastinate too. Haha. 

JS: What advice would you give to young aspiring make-up artists?

GM: Exactly what you feel. Do! And like I said earlier. Take every job as an opportunity. Every opportunity as an experience. And love what you do. A lot of people told me I was wasting my time. My heart knew different.

JS: You are taking the world on with full force, where do you see yourself in 5 years?

GM: I would like to know that I've grown. That I've worked to my full potential. And that I've challenged myself. I want to donate my time to some causes. And know that even if it's slight and minuscule I can somehow make a difference. I don't know how or what yet. But I will. 

JS: WOW, I love this. If you could choose one celebrity to work with, who would it be and why?

GM: I am so taken away by Jessica Alba. I feel as if she's a true inspiration to alot of people. She works hard and like her book title.. Lived "an honest life". Her style is impeccable and I think we should just be besties. Hahahha

JS: That's if I'm not besties with her first! hehe! What do you do to keep your skin glowing and young? 

GM: Well thank you for saying that  :) 

I do many things. 

1. I live quite a healthy lifestyle. I eat well. And I exercise a lot. 

2.  I use Elizabeth Arden. Keeping a good skin routine is more important than you know. 

3.  I ALWAYS use sunblock. 

4. And I take off my make up every night before bed. 

JS: I have millions of holiday memories, what would you say is your favorite holiday memory to date?

GM: Wow. There are so many. I have absolutely no idea. Different holidays bring back different memories. 

My favourite island is Zanzibar. I have special memories there with special people. The first time I went was my first overseas shoot. The second time was romantic and happy. And my 3rd time was for a close friends wedding. 

My favourite cities are: Buenos Aires ( the people, the culture and the lifestyle is remarkable ) 

Barcelona: it was just a perfect holiday.

And the city I would move to tomorrow is New York. I landed and I could understand how and why people feel like their dreams will come true there. 

JS: Ahh all of these places are on my bucket list! Please share 5 of your favorite memories in pictures with us.

I loved getting to know Gina better. And I hope to one day sit and share more fun moments with her over a coffee! hehe! 

You can find her here:

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

I hope you guys loved reading about Gina as much as I did! 

Have a fantastic day everyone!!!

I want to say thank you to my personal Editor and best friend Aimee Jerman! (Thank you friend)