Location: Port Louis, Mauritius
Oh, to be onshore again! Words can’t describe how crazy it was walking on land and seeing traffic on the streets. Last night we celebrated our successful passage with delicious pizza and sundaes on the waterfront, which was so much fun! Today we took a tour of Mauritius with two taxis and explored the island. Our taxi drivers took us to a lush part of the island that was dotted with tea and coffee plantations and papyrus trees! We stopped at a beautiful waterfall, which was about as tall as the Eifel Tower, and afterward, we went to an area called the Seven-Colored Earth which literally has seven colors of the land. At the Seven Colored Earth, we enjoyed coffee and cupcakes that we have all been craving on our passage. Afterward, we went to a lookout that hovered over a massive gorge. Outside of the gorge, we admired hand-carved secret boxes. Next, we went to a Hindu temple, where we were blessed and marked with red paint on our forehead. The pond at the temple was super entertaining because there were giant freshwater eels trying to eat the pieces of bread that were being thrown at them. After we left the temple, we went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and devoured loads of amazing fresh food as the locals do: without utensils. It was challenging, but by the end of it, I think we all mastered the art of eating with our fingers and naan. After lunch, we went to a colonial house, as well as a shop that is devoted to making intricate model ships. The people in the shop gave us a tour behind the scenes and showed us the complex process that goes into making each model ship. They said the body of a 3-foot ship usually takes 20 months to build! The tour was a great way to see Mauritius, and we are all excited to explore it a bit more in the next few days. The peaks and hillsides here are incredible!