March 18, 2007

Our first day in Mauritius was an easy one. We weren’t able to get off the ship until 1:30, so we decided to find a beach called Flik et Flac and spend the afternoon there. It’s kind of a cute situation: we have to take a water-taxi from the port to the shore in order to get anywhere. It took us a little while to figure out how to get there and what we were doing, but we eventually found the right bus stop (thanks to some very friendly Mauritians) and made our way to the beach. It was so nice after we got there. It’s one of the less-touristy beaches so there weren’t many people around at all. We ate a late lunch at a little hotel on the beach and just hung out and swam until about 5:45 when we had to make our way back to the boat for our first night out.

Our port area is somewhat smaller than the rest of our cities. There’s a waterfront with an outdoor mall and a few restaurants, but no big city life like in South Africa. Our first night out we went to a Chinese restaurant in Mauritius’ Chinatown, and it was so good. Eight of us went and sat at a big table, so we just bought a whole bunch of food and spun it around the table, everyone grabbing at whatever they could get a hold of. The food was so good and for someone who loves Chinese, it was a fantastic meal. After that, we went to a local bar and were actually able to watch one of the first NCAA games, Washington State vs. Oral Roberts. There’s only one or two more bars in the area, so we just stayed and hung out and watched some basketball for the night. The next day we explored the city (which is pretty small) but made our way through the markets and saw what busy street life was like in Mauritius. Shopping in the markets is basically impossible. Anytime you walk past someone’s area, they bombard you with prices and shove things in your face and they think it helps with business, but it does nothing for them at all. It just makes you want to get out of their faster. I think they have a very different idea of personal space compared to us. I did find a Zidane jersey in the market for only $13 which is fantastic. I’ve always wanted one but they’re very expensive (when they’re real) and I really didn’t want to pay $70 for one in the states. So that was my great buy for the day. James bought Casino Royale, the new James Bond movie, from a street vendor and assured me that it would be in English, but sure enough we turned it on and Daniel Craig was there, speaking to me in French. I guess it’s not that bad to have a ruggedly handsome man speak French to you, but I’d prefer to understand Bond when he’s saving the world from terrorists.

We found a different bar on our second night that was located on top of the Pizza Hut in the waterfront. It was advertised as a sports bar and grill, but once we got inside they’re were neon colors and music videos playing all over the bar. We had a great time and a bunch of SAS kids were able to start a nice Mauritian dance party. We always seem to become entertainment for locals when we all go out together. I think they admire our groovy dance moves and free spirits.

The next morning we had a snorkeling trip on the Catamaran , which consisted of us spending an afternoon on a sailboat, getting some wonderful sun, eating Mauritian BBQ, and swimming in the India Ocean. We got to see a lot of dolphins splashing around and the coast of Mauritius is gorgeous. It was wonderful and we all had a good time just hanging out and not having to worry about classes or anything coming up in the next week. Despite what everyone may think, we do have hard classes and lots of work to do on the ship. Being on the ship actually makes it harder because there are a lot of distractions and many people find it difficult to study and work properly on a rocking ship.

Today we had the Sea Olympics all day, from 9-8. Everyone on the ship lives in a designated sea, so for every 40 or so people, there’s a Red Sea, Bering Sea, Adriatic Sea, etc. Today the seas competed in a lot of different categories, such as Synchronized swimming, Juice Pong, Tug-of-war, Dodge ball, and a lot more, but the best competition of the day was the Lip Syncing. This consisted of 7 people putting on funny outfits and making great dance routines to great CD mixes. It was hilarious.

So now we have to get back to classes, but we’ll hit India on Sunday and start our Asian adventure!