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Health & Fitness

Five Hours On An Indian Ocean Island

Shelby almost didn't make it to one of the countries on her itinerary, but at the last minute, managed to salvage the experience.

On March 3, our Assistant Executive Dean Stuart Saunders came on the loudspeaker as usual to give us the evening announcements at 5 p.m. Usually he tells us about how much food we’re consuming, how much water we’re using and how we can reduce that amount, what events are happening that night, etc. On March 3, however, he came on to say:

“To avoid inclement weather in the Indian Ocean, the Spring 2012 voyage has proceeded at a significantly reduced speed between the destinations of Cape Town, South Africa and Port Louis, Mauritius. As a result of the delays, the captain of the MV Explorer and ISE senior management have resolved to cancel the voyage's call on March 6 to Port Louis, Mauritius in order to arrive in Cochin, India as scheduled on Monday, March 12.”

This was not pleasantly received among the shipboard community. Most students had already booked catamaran trips; I had a Semester at Sea adventure trip planned where I would be able to spend the first half of the day participating in a tree top obstacle course of sorts and the second half of the day relaxing on a tropical beach. I was pretty upset, considering that I hadn’t felt a tinge of seasickness during the past days—the “inclement weather” issue was news to me. Nonetheless, I conceded that missing out on Mauritius would surely get us to India in time.

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The administration planned a number of festivities to compensate for our loss, including a dance on March 5 and a barbecue on the top deck and a special “Are You Smarter Than a Dependent Child?” game on March 6. While we all sat on the top deck, savoring the barbecued ribs and chicken, baked beans, and macaroni and cheese, gazing at the brilliant sun setting over the Indian Ocean and enjoying a drink or two, Dean Saunders came on the loud speaker again to tell us the administration had managed to get us five hours in Mauritius!

It was blissful.

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Mauritius is a small island off the eastern coast of Madagascar, known as the erstwhile home of the dodo bird. Most of us probably only know about dodos from the iconic race scene in Alice in Wonderland, but in a more influential context, the dodo is the poster child for extinction. Within a matter of about 80 years, dodos were discovered and then subsequently eaten by the domestic animals of Dutch sailors or killed by the hungry sailors themselves, illustrating humankind’s ability to induce the disappearance of animal and plant species.  

On a lighter note, it’s also known as an ideal tropical getaway. As a matter of fact, when I told my friend, Charlie from London, about this voyage, he looked at the itinerary and was most jealous that I would be visiting Mauritius because many European university students spend their spring vacations there.  

We arrived in Mauritius very late that night and rose very early to complete the immigration process and by 7:30 a.m., I was off the ship and in a taxi on my way to a beach called Trou aux Biches. Because our stop was brief and I knew that I probably wouldn’t see a nice beach again until we arrive in Hawaii, I wanted to take advantage of the paradisiacal landscape.

Trou aux Biches was farther away than some of the other beaches, and I didn’t know what to expect, but the drive was enjoyable. The taxi driver turned up Rihanna’s “We Found Love” on the radio as we rolled the windows down to enjoy the scent of sugarcane in the damp air. I’ve heard American music in every port so far, and when I visited a school in South Africa and asked the students what they knew of America, their first responses were Beyonce, Drake, and Lil Jon, so I think it’s safe to say that might be our legacy.  

When our driver stopped in front of a small forest-like park, we worried that we’d been taken to the wrong place, but we got out of the taxi, walked through the trees and sure enough, caught glimpses of the cerulean ocean sparkling in the morning sun. You know those stock photos that came pre-loaded on your computer? The ones that display small gazebos on stilts surrounded by shimmering blue waters, with long, planked walkways linking them to soft, white sand beaches? If so, you’ve already seen Mauritius.   

Mark Twain said, “You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.” There’s nothing I can say to top that, so I’m going to let the photos my friends took (I forgot my camera on the ship) speak for themselves. Enjoy!

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