A recent post I added stated that we would not be going to the island nation of Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar. This will clear up the confusion.

We were supposed to travel to Mauritius on Tuesday, March 6. However, 3 days before we were supposed to arrive, it was announced we would not be allowed to leave the ship once we did arrive on Mauritius. Due to the harsh weather conditions we had experienced because of a hurricane not too far from the ship, we had been forced to slow down significantly and had been rocking like crazy in the ocean after leaving South Africa. We were nearly 24 hours behind schedule and would not arrive in Mauritius until 10pm on March 6. Because of how upset everyone was, many events were planned for the day to ease the pain of not being allowed onto the beautiful island.

The morning of March 6, we got to wake up early to brunch! Normally breakfast is served from 7-8:30, so brunch starting at 10:30 was a great thing. After brunch we went to lay out on the top deck for a few hours. Then, just before 1, we headed down to get workout clothes on for Zumba. Right as we were about to walk out the door, a “Special Mauritius Announcement” came on. After a lot of talking between upper officials, the staff on board, UVA employees and more, it was finally determined we would be able to stay in Mauritius for the morning of March 7. We would still arrive at 10 p.m. but instead of just refueling and moving on to India, we would be allowed to get off the ship the next day after clearing immigration around 8 a.m. and return to the ship by noon. Malia and Katy and I literally started jumping around with excitement in our room. It was a great announcement to hear after the disappointment of not going at all had already set in. Zumba was great that day, that’s for sure. That night we had a big barbecue already planned, so everyone was very happy and excited, especially with ribs and chicken wings in hand.

So the next day we got ready for immigration, which started at about 6am, and thanks to everyone getting up on time and getting ready to get off the ship, we cleared immigration an hour early. So at 7 a.m., it was announced we were allowed t get off the boat. As part of the first 30 people who got off the ship, we headed straight for the waterfront to get some shopping done, with no beach plans in mind. A smart taxi driver told us nothing would be open until after 9 or 10 a.m. anyways so we decided to go to the beach instead. We were one of the first groups who arrived at Flic en Flac beach, but after a while the beach was filled with SASers. We decided to go to the grocery store down the street and found a few touristy items like shirts and postcards, in addition to food to stock up on. After a little more time at the beach, we decided to head back early to go back to the waterfront and shop for a little while before getting back on the ship. After the 30 min. ride back, we arrived at the Caudan Waterfront and found a few cool things at the small craft market attached to the mall there. We were all starving so we grabbed a delicious meal at a small Indian food to-go place before practically running back to the ship. A taxi driver stopped us and told us to hop in his cab because it would have been a long walk back and thank goodness he took us because we ended up in a long line and got back on the ship with 4 minutes left to not get “Dock Time.” Dock Time is what happens if you’re late for on-ship time in a port. You then have to stay on the ship for a certain amount of time once we get to the next port.

Overall, our Mauritius time was WAY too short but we still packed a lot in and had a great time. Then we began our 4 1/2 day trek to India!

India blog coming soon! My time there was absolutely amazing and I hope to go back one day and see all the things I missed out on.

Until next time!

Mackenzie