MAURITIUS, the Green Isle, home of the rare "Twopenny Blue" postage stamp, rises like a floating garden above the surface of the Indian Ocean. The sugar island with its strangely fissured mountains, turquoise blue lagoons and beaches that stretch for miles, is a holiday destination to dream about. The island is home to Indians, Creoles, Chinese and Europeans. The people and their festivals make a visit to Mauritius seem like a tour of the world"s cultures. Michael Friedel has captured it all brilliantly with his camera.