On our way from Cape Town to Mauritius, our ship was directly in the path of a tropical storm. It had a name so must have been a bit important. Anyways, we had to take a detour and at first it was announced that we would arrive in Mauritius at night to refuel and would not be able to get off. Everyone was disappointed and the administration announced they would give us the day off and a barbeque. Where these ribs and burgers came from we do not know and did not ask.
BUT…
During our "Mauritius Day" they announced that we would in fact be able get off the ship for a total of 5 hours from 7am to noon. This was some incredible news and we still got a barbeque!
We had a great Mauritius Day that included sitting by the empty pool since seas were rough, eating as much mac and cheese, ribs and burgers as possible, laying in the sun and catching up on some much needed sleep. After our day off, it was time for our 5 hours in Mauritius.
Mauritius is a pretty interesting place; it is basically a natural experiment in evolution. Since no natives ever inhabited the island, when the Dutch first showed up they began destroying the island's pristine flora and fauna. As you may know the Dodo bird comes from Mauritius, it is a bird that lost its ability to fly over time because it had no predators and therefore no reason for flight.
Everyone was up early and ready to get through immigration as fast as possible to make the best of the 5 hours. Once we got off my small group had decided that instead of going to the beach like everyone else, we were going to hike. And hike we did, after making it to what we figured was the trailhead of "La Pouce" a thumb shaped mountain that would give us a 360 degree view of the island we hit it hard.
Never mind making it to the top, we ran out of time but found a place with a view. It had to be one of the coolest hikes I've ever done. Surrounded by jungle it was like walking through a tunnel. And the view! Quite amazing what a place, reminds me of Jurassic Park. Once we turned around, we quickly made our way back to the ship, took a quick stop at a post office and made it on the ship with seconds to spare.
After that it was time for food, shower then a quick nap before beginning homework.
