Mauritius: The Day No One Remembers

We were very lucky to be able to go to Mauritius at all.  After South Africa, a cyclone formed in the Indian Ocean and the Explorer had to reroute in order to avoid it, so we lost time.  Originally they told us that we had to skip our day in Mauritius, but then, due to the master navigational skills of our crew, we salvaged four hours out of the day, only a day later.  It was a bonus because they gave us the original Mauritius Day off, planned a BBQ for us for dinner and gave us a dance party on the pool deck at night in order to make up for missing Mauritius, but we were able to go there anyway.

We were ready to get off the ship at 7:45AM as to not waste any of our four hours there.  We took a boat taxi to the other side of the port, where the shops and things started.  None of the places were open yet, except a stand that sold fresh-squeezed fruit juice with rum in it.  They were charging $10 a drink and there was a long line of Semester at Sea kids there, a precursor to how the rest of the day was going to go.  Our first mission was to find an ATM.  We did and headed straight to the market.  Lots of kids went to the beaches, which I hear are beautiful, but we decided not to spend a chunk of our time traveling to and from.  We went to the market, which smelled terrible.  I thought Perri was going to throw up at one point.  I think it was the mixture of spices and sewage that really did it.  We ended up buying lots of things anyway, surprisingly a lot of things with Indian influence.

We walked around some more and Perri and I picked up some street food.  I’m still not exactly sure what I ate, but I think it was some kind of mashed up chick peas baked in some dough.  It was good though, and I’m still alive so I guess it was a good decision.  We then decided to follow some signs that pointed the way to a world heritage site called Aapravasi Ghat.  A ghat is a series of steps that lead down to a body of water, usually a holy river, where religious rites are held.  The ghat we saw was crumbling and led down to a body of water that no longer exists, and it seemed sort of sad to me that such a holy site, a site which was supposedly a “world heritage” could be left in such massive disrepair.

Next we ended up in a mall, with lots of fancy-schmancy stores.  I was distraught at the thought of spending much time there, so I walked around pouting as Alyssa and Bailee wandered into store after store.  I told them that I would split off from them if they wanted to shop at the mall.  After we got some ice cream (I got sorbet of course), we decided to do just that.  Perri and I headed back in the direction of the market, and the others stayed back to find whatever it was they wanted to buy.  We climbed to the second story of the market because the word on the street was that that was good, but it ended up just being rows upon rows of souvenirs.  I came across a henna tattoo stall and I tripped over myself trying to get there.  I got a massive henna on my foot and leg, which looked pretty badass when it was finished.  With time running short, we made our way back to the ship.

Apparently most of the people from the ship had spent their limited time in Mauritius drinking themselves silly, because there were many people getting carried onto the ship and thrown into the drunk tank.  They spent the precious hours we had handed to us getting completely wasted and missing the quick experience that was Mauritius.  I do not pretend to understand why drinking so much before noon in a port where we only have four hours was a priority for some, but I am trying not to judge.  I just know that I personally did not have enough time in Mauritius to see the splendors it had to offer, and I plan on one day going back (soberly).  On to India…

 

Marimba and Tolerance: South Africa Day 6 Part 2

The ferry ride back to mainland Africa was even bumpier than the ride to the island, I even think we caught air a couple of times on the waves.  Back on terra firma we caught our bus that took us out to Langa Township, the oldest township in Cape Town.  There we stopped at a restaurant run by a lovely old woman that did not have many teeth and liked to tell stories, and we ate the best food I had had on the voyage thus far.  I tried ostrich and who knows what else, and it was all delicious.  A live marimba band played us their music and I ended up buying their CD, and it reminds me of tropical beaches way back in the Caribbean when we started the voyage.  After lunch, we drove to the District Six museum.  District Six was an ethnic area of Cape Town before its 60,000 residents were forced out of their homes by the apartheid regime in the 1970s.  The museum was small and touching, although I do not believe it did the area residents justice for the hardships they endured.

By then the day was waning, but the tour was not over yet.  The bus took us to the Malay neighborhood, where we were to take a walking tour of the area.  A few of us elected to sit down at a café near where the bus stopped instead of walking around.  Some got coffee and juice, but I just sat and chatted.  Apparently there was a mosque around the corner from where we were sitting, because as the late-afternoon sun slanted across the brightly-colored buildings, the sound of the call to prayer made its way to our ears.  I was moved by this because it’s on my “bucket list” to hear the call to prayer, even though I had wanted to hear it in a primarily Muslim country.  I thought the moment seemed right for me to cross it off my list however.

We headed back to the ship just in time for on-ship time.  I was sad as I took the step from the groun onto the gangway, because South Africa was my favorite port we had visited yet.  I knew as I sat on Deck 7 and watched Table Mountain slip away that I would be back to South Africa someday, back to find those elusive lions, back to try and figure out a place that is trying desperately to put itself back together after a history of ripping itself apart.  South Africa, you have my heart.  On to Mauritius…

From Prisoners to Penguins: South Africa Day 6 Part 1

Unfortunately I had an FDP today.  I was excited about it though, it was a trip out to Robben Island, which I wanted to do anyway.  Although I could have done it way cheaper, I figured why not snag the opportunity to do it for a class.  I met Perri at breakfast, as she was also on the FDP, and we made our way to the bus.  It was a short ride to the ferry at the V&A Waterfront.  Our guide gave us all our tickets and we got in line.  Our guide then decided that it would be a good idea to lead our group to the front of the line, where we were then forcefully told that we would have to step aside and wait for everyone else to pass.  It was an extremely embarrassing situation, considering we were there to learn about apartheid and there we were, a bunch of spoiled college kids, mostly white, who thought that they had the right to push in front of everyone rather than wait.  I felt ashamed to be a part of it.

After that drama, we were able to get on a ferry.  The half-hour ferry ride was one of the bumpiest boat rides I had ever been on, but of course I had fun while other people tried not to get sick.  We got on another bus on the island and it transported us to the Robben Island prison.  Our guide there was a former prisoner on the island, and was very interesting and informative.  He told us about what life was like in the prison, what it was like to live with Nelson Mandela, and how they were treated during their time there as political prisoners.  I found it particularly interesting  that their mail was highly censored, so they devised ways to write in code through their letters without ever having arranged it with the people on the outside first.  I thought that was pretty ingenious.  We toured the grounds of the prison as the guide explained about this and that, and somehow I completely missed Nelson Mandela’s cell.  I wish they would have pointed it out to me, as that is one of the main reasons for visiting the prison in the first place.

Our tour ran 45 minutes over the time it was supposed to, meaning our time to see the rest of the island was extremely limited.  We were supposed to see how the island was used during the second World War as well as the infamous colony of jackass penguins, but we were too late to see any of that.  The only thing we were able to see was a restroom that had a nice view, and even then we only had five minutes to do our business and take a photo before we were rushed back to the ferry.  I really wanted to see the penguins, since I’ve never seen them in the wild before, but it didn’t happen.  I was lucky enough, however, to be looking out the window of the bus when we drove by a solitary penguin chilling under a tree.  So I guess I can say I saw a penguin in the wild, even though that doesn’t sound as cool.

A blown-up version of a former prisoner’s identification

On the Road Again: South Africa, Day 5

Usually I don’t like to miss out on things, but there was supposed to be a nature walk this morning at 5:45, and I just didn’t have the energy to wake up for it, so Perri, Alyssa and I slept in a little bit. When everyone got back, they said that they had talked mostly about plants. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning, but I was tired and there was virtually no chance of seeing any cool animals out on the walk. We ate breakfast and packed up our stuff, and climbed aboard the bus yet again.

We drove for a while, and made a stop at Blyde River Canyon, the second largest canyon on Earth and considered to be one of the wonders of Africa. It was a wonderful place to stop and take a breather, and wonder for a second about just what we were doing there on a different continent than our homes. We took lots of photos of the three of us with the canyon as our backdrop, and we continued on our way. We traveled all day, taking the same route we had taken on our way to the park. If I could do it all over again, I would fly into the airport that is right outside of Kruger. Spending almost an entire two days traveling when you only have six in the country is totally not worth it. I am definitely glad I had the opportunity to safari in South Africa, though.

When we got back to the ship, we were exhausted. We had planned to meet Sean and Will out somewhere on the town, but we had no idea where they were or how to get ahold of them, so we decided to stay in. Will came by my room when he got back to the ship and told me that he had left us a note on the big pad of paper in Tymitz Square (the sort of lobby of the ship), where everyone leaves little tips and tricks they’ve learned in the current port. Oh well, maybe next time.

Finals on the Sea

All right, I’m going to ‘fess up: I’m a little behind on my blog. I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but in real time, it’s been a while since I was in South Africa. I’m sorry to be so behind, but I just want to put it out there that I’m trying to make my blogs as good and as detailed as possible, and that’s not always easy when you’re going from port to port every two days and you have finals coming up, as well as packing and saying goodbye to your friends.

I have four more days left on the ship, but I will continue to blog about my ports after I get home. I want to share with everyone exactly what happened during my time in port, and I realize that while trying to do this, I’ve neglected to write about ship life. I wouldn’t ever say that ship life was particularly exciting. Sure, living on a ship is pretty cool when you can go lie on a lounge chair in the sun and do your homework, while the sea breeze cools your hot skin. I love doing that when it’s sunny. Otherwise, life on the MV Explorer can get monotonous. We eat their crappy food when they tell us to (I’m never eating pasta and/or potatoes again), we have no internet except e-mail, no TV except for the looped movies on four channels, and we have no way of getting away from anyone that annoys us. Because of those things, though, we have all developed strong relationships with each other, because there’s not much else to do but hang out.

These last days after Hawaii have been filled with studying and packing, as I guess the last days of any semester are. My classes haven’t been too challenging, so I haven’t needed all the time I have to study. I’ve been putting off packing because I’m dreading making a customs list, just because it’s annoying. I am going to miss this old ship, though. As much as I’m ready for home and to move forward, I know that after the novelty of being home wears off, I’m going to be longing for the Piano Bar and Dean’s Memos and for my friends to be just down the hall. It’s really a bittersweet feeling, to have traveled the world and now have to stop and start my normal routine once more. I know that this has been the greatest adventure I’ve ever had, but I know that the Big Adventure is just beginning.