Mauritius!

We started the morning off right by pulling into this heaven of an island right as the sun was coming up over its hills. The greens from the jungles mixed well with the pinkish orange rays that bounced off the clouds and into our eyes. We were all in awe of its undeniable beauty. Unfortunately, my camera was in my cabin, so the images for the entire day are all in my mind. (I will do my best to paint pictures with my words!) I did steal a photo from my room mate though, and you will see it below!

Caitlin, McKendree, Laura, and I all met in shorts and swim suits and disembarked the ship around 9:30am. It was incredibly hot outside, and muggy. We made our way down the scorching asphalt to the end of the dock where water taxis came and went. Paying $2 US, we climbed down an awkward metal ladder and into an old wooden boat that took us across the bay and into the heart of Port Louis, Mauritius. We walked around, searching for an ATM and found one inside of an abandoned shopping center. The city was sleepy still, and not much was going on. White Americans and desperate taxi drivers were the only ones about. We found a map and planned our day. Gran Belle was the beach we would venture to, and found a cab driver that would take us there for a decent price. On the way, the scenery turned into pure sugar cane plants on both sides of us, with the green hills in contrast. After stopping for directions two or three times, we finally made it to the beach. The water was clearer than glass, and pure turquoise in color with sand as white as snow. It was small, and very secluded. We later found out that the beach we came to was a beach only for a local resort, but since there were no tourists around, we got the entire thing to ourselves, including our own day planner! A man from the resort came up to us and asked us what we wanted to do for the day. We told him that we would love to go sea kayaking and snorkeling. He left us and came back ten minutes later with our agenda: sea kayaking first and for however long we wanted to go, and then snorkeling at 3pm.

We all grabbed an oar, and sat in the kayaks ready to go. The men pushed us out in the water, and it was the most peaceful and relaxing kayaking I have ever done! The water was so calm, and the kayaks were very stable. We paddled until our arms were sore, and had a great time with one another. One of the best times I’ve had with these girls since the trip began. Soon, we grew hungry and paddled in. We were told to go to a small stand that served oriental noodles and the locals told us what to order. It was basically chow mein noodles with chicken and sauce. So delicious! Mauritius is a hodge-podge of a country and culture. The island was taken over by several different countries including the Dutch, Portuguese, French, and British as well as some Asian countries.

When we made it back to the beach after eating, it was just time for us to leave for snorkeling. A small boat pulled up and we hopped on and left. The driver stopped, and we got our gear and jumped out. No one else on that boat spoke anything but French, so I was happy that we knew what we were doing! We got into the warm water and were instantly surrounded by hundreds of softball-sized black and white striped fish. They were running into our hands and legs and stomachs, and we were all giggling like little school girls. Then we set off on our own terms to discover the reef. Most of the fishes in that particular area weren’t of radiant colors, but there were several of them that I had never seen before, and discovering the reef on your own is such an awesome feeling. It’s just like spying on a whole different world! We all agreed that we want to go snorkeling in Hawaii to compare. I know it’s going to be so much better there! But regardless, I had an awesome time swimming with the fish.



Our cab driver picked us up at 4:15pm and drove us back to the waterfront. We took our time and had chips (French fries) and a couple of beers before slowly making our way back to the water taxi area and brought back to the ship. Dinner on the ship was a barbeque where people discussed stories of their days, and talked about how much we would like to stay for longer. Mauritius was the perfect vacation from, well, my semester-long vacation!