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Paul Et Virginie Monument

Poudre Dor, Mauritius

Paul et Virginie Monument, Poudre d’Or

The most famous story in Mauritius folklore, ‘Paul et Virginie’ was inspired by the shipwreck of the St Géran, which came to a watery end just off the north-east coast at Poudre d’Or. A small monument marks the spot where the boat sunk.

Legend has it that while Paul, the son of a slave, waited for Virginie, his bourgeois sweetheart, to return from overseas, her boat the St Géran floundered on the rocks. Paul apparently swam out to his lover, but she modestly refused to remove her clothing to swim back to shore with him. Eventually her Victorian clothes dragged her down into the depths and she was drowned. Paul subsequently died of a broken heart.

 

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