Mauritius and Olympics

“It’s like the Bahamas for the people of Europe”

 

It was like the Spring Break for the students on Semester at Sea.

Hey, we are in the southern hemisphere and seasons are opposite, so it makes sense!

 

We only had two nights in this port and we rented out a 30 person villa in the beach area of Flic and Flaq.

 

Only problem was the weather. It was kind of cloudy for the few days we were there so it didn’t give me the tropical vibe I was hoping for, but it was still fun. We spent the first day on the beach, swimming in the India Ocean, and trying to avoid the mass amount of coral reef in the water.

On our second day, I traded the party on the beach for some sight seeing and cliff jumping. Our cab driver turned into our tour guide and he drove us everywhere all day for about $10 a person! I couldn’t even get from one end of Newbury Street to the other for that cheep! Oh and he blasted Alanis Morissette the entire day. Why? “Because American’s love it!”. Fantastic stereotype.

Anyways, we went to see the giant statue of Sheva (a Hindu God), which is located at the top of the Grand Bassin. The Grand Bassin is a large lake in Mauritius and it rests within the crater of an extinct volcano and is home to some giant eels.

Next we headed for the Tamarind waterfalls, which are a stack of about 7 waterfalls tucked away in a mountain range. The hike wasn’t bad at all and the view was incredible. At the bases of some of the waterfalls were pools for swimming. This is where we were able to cliff jump. A few weeks ago, I plunged the highest bungee jump bridge in the world and I had to be pushed off the edge of this semi tiny cliff. Isn’t it ironic, don’t cha think?

They day ended with a taste of some sugar cane (which is what the island is mostly known for) and a hot pink sunset. Then our entire villa packed into a bus that took us to the touristy night life of Grand Bay. Party bus, in a dress, tons of intoxicated idiots…Prom? Even better.

 

Our final day was spent shopping and walking around the area. The ketchup on the ship has turned itself into this bright red sweet nasty junk and you know that I can’t deal with that. Therefore I bought my own supply of that Heinz goodness. I could not go the next few months without it!

 

We have been back on the ship for about 5 days now and I was busy planning for the SEA OLYMPICS, which took place in the middle of week. I was one of the two captains for my sea and we have been spending lots of time each night over the last few weeks planning for this event. It is a big tradition for Semester at Sea.

Basically, the entire ship community was divided up into 9 different seas, depending on what floor you lived on and what not. We were the Mediterranean Sea, and each sea was given a color to represent their team. We were yellow. It got pretty intense. Everyone got really into it with props and war paint and gear. It’s amazing what we can come up with in the middle of the ocean. I attempted to paint my face yellow, but everyone kept saying that I looked like I had jaundice. Anyways, it was like a giant field day on the ship, with all kinds of events- volleyball, easting contest, ‘beer pong’, synchronized swimming, a spelling bee, board games, and much more. There was a big finish with a relay race, and I am so surprised no one got killed. I did the butt scoot in the relay race and I also competed in the ‘sweatshirt medley’ where I had to jump in and out of the pool with a sweatshirt on and ring it out in an attempt to fill a bucket the fastest. I lost. But over all, our sea took 4^th place for the entire day. Not bad.

The day was perfect. The ocean was the calmest it has ever been, and the sun was shining all day.

We ended the night with a BBQ (which is like Christmas on this thing) and the sunset was the best I’ve seen so far.

 

Oh and school is going well too. I forget that this is college sometimes…

 

Tomorrow we arrive in INDIA!!! This is going to be the most intense experience of my life. I am non stop traveling all over the country…planes, trains, and automobiles. We are going to see the Taj Mahal of course, and we are going to the cities of Varanasi and Delhi. IT’S ALL BEING DONE THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENCY. No way would I ever attempt to travel in India independently. But maybe we should just tell Dolores that I am not leaving the ship at all…

I'm going into this adventure with this quote in mind-

"If you love India, it will love you right back. If you hate it, it will hate you back twice as hard"

 

Time to pack. And watch Slum Dog Millionaire for the billionth time. JAI HO!