Mauritius!

So the only thing that sucked about Mauritius is that we were only able to be there for one day :(.

Farrah and I woke up around 5:45 AM to get off the ship ASAP, being able to leave at 6. We got off around 6:15 and caught a water taxi into town, which was really cool. We walked around a bit trying to find food or an ATM or something, but we didn't really have any plans set in stone. We walked around a small market which was clearly not fully running yet. About a half an hour into our journey, we ran into a few other SAS people who were talking to a taxi driver about how to get to the north shore, which is the direction we wanted to head into. We were able to convince a taxi driver to take us around the entire say for $40/person, so we hopped into two separate taxis and headed out. We stopped quickly at a little food cart and got some deep-fried food, which is a traditional Mauritius thing. It was pretty delicious and insanely cheap, 2 rupees per item (29 rupees=$1) Our first stop was at this really small beach, and we walked a little ways along the shoreline. It was absolutely pristine. The water was so beautifully clear and the mountains were amazing. Me and one of the girls we were with decided we wanted to go parasailing, but we wanted to wait until we got to grand baile, which was an area that we heard was really amazing. We got there and realized that parasailing was way more expensive there, so me, Farrah, and the other girl (who's name I can't actually remember right now... we'll call her Michelle) headed back. Michelle and I chose to go parasailing, and Farrah didn't really want to so she came along the boat with us. I decided to go up first, which I was pretty stoked about. I've gone parasailing before but not since I was a lot younger. They loaded me up and sent me on my way. IT WAS AMAZING. Mauritius is insanely beautiful. I got this crazy adrenaline rush and I was so far up in the air and everything was just so fantastic. The water was the most amazing shade of blue ever and I could see so much of the country.

After parasailing. we headed back to meet our group, and enjoyed the beach there a bit. We then went out for lunch at this small restaurant a few minutes away. I wasn't super hungry, but I did have delicious, fresh-squeeze pineapple juice. We then went to another beach which was a bit less touristy and so incredible. I snorkeled for a few minutes and then went back to shore to hang out with people. When I got to shore, Woody, Michelle, and Farrah were talking to this guy about this awesome thing where you put on an astronaut-like helmet and go about 20 meters under the water and walk along the bottom of the ocean. We decided to go for it and we headed off in the back of a pick up truck. When we got there, we got a quick briefing and walked around the area a bit, and ran into some other SAS people. We headed off in the boat on a 5ish minute ride to the place we were meant to walk around. My group went first, and I of course was the first in the water. The helmet was extremely heavy, but it was SO cool. I felt like I was in a bubble. I saw a bunch of fish and some really cool coral. The guy gave us bread to feed the fish, so I had fish nibbling all over my hands which was awesome. Then the guy CAUGHT A FISH with his bare hands which was pretty badass. We were down there for about 10-20 minutes, and then we came back up to let the other group go down. While they were down there, we were allowed to jump off the top of the boat into the water. It didn't take long at all for people to start doing flips and other such tricks, which I thought I should try. Fun fact: I cannot do flips. Woody tried teaching me and I tried... seven of eight times. And I failed pretty miserably every time. I was in quite a bit of pain by the end of it, but I had an absolute blast. On the way back we were able to sit on the very front of the boat which was awesome. We then headed back to meet up with our friends, again via pickup truck. We got there and I bought a pineapple which I ate off the stem, which was AAAAAMMMAAAZZZIIIINGGG. I had been craving fresh fruit for about three weeks so I died a little. We then headed back to port because it was getting late and we had to get back. Our taxi driver dropped us off at the market, where Farrah and I did some really quick shopping and I bought a dress and some food stuff. We got slightly lost on the way to the ship, but we wound up finding a water taxi and making our way back successfully.

Overall: Mauritius was an incredibly beautiful place, and I wish I could have more time there to explore that beauty, but I think it's probably very similar to any other island country. While I was there, I came to the realization that I would definitely like to live on an island some day, so I think I should go to a few more before I pick one :)