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I It was this inspirational beauty that sparked the spirit of adventure in the Mauritian Beachcomber group in the 1950s, spurring them to build up tourism on the island, and breathe the island’s magnificence into the in- dustry over the years. Nature’s infinite beauty is not ours to own: it is our responsibility to preserve it, so that we can pass it on to future generations. The Beachcomber Group has always endea- voured to elevate day by day the natural splendour of the sites nature has lent them. From north to south, the island’s idyllic land- scapes live and breathe the legendary kind- ness and goodness of its inhabitants. The multicultured people of this nation are known for their warmth, and their sense of hospitality – and of celebration too. The island has been independent for fifty years now, and the date coincides with that of the sixty-fifth anniversary of the creation of Beachcomber, which in just a few decades has risen to the peak of perfection in exclu- sive hotels. It is a sign for these two histories that are in- tertwined in the art of beauty and respect, that of its inhabitants, and of its visitors. The independence of colours Mauritius is also known as the “Star and Key of the Indian Ocean”. The motto is borne out by the rainbow flag, adopted in 1968, com- prising four horizontal stripes: red for the flamboyant red flowers on the trees so typi- cal of the tropics, but also the bloodshed and violence at the time of colonisation, blue for the sky and the ocean, yellow for the sun and the golden sandy beaches, green for the lush fields of sugarcane that cover most of the island. The standard of liberty has waved over the island for fifty years. Never has this little island nation been so grand, so vast...