Doesn't it look like the ocean is on fire? We had a beautiful sunset tonight. The sea has been very calm. It is currently 2245 ship time, and we are at 13 degrees 46.68' S Latitude and 63 degrees 33.85' E Longitude. I expect we will cross the equator again sometime late tomorrow. We advanced our clocks again last night, but only 30 minutes this time. Today was Sea Olympics day, with lots of competitions between student groups as well as Life Long Learners and some faculty and staff, so there were no classes. John worked on marking the exam he gave Thursday and I did a lot of reading. On the ship during some times of the day there are DVD's that loop on the closed circuit tv, and today one of them was "Slumdog Millionaire". I enjoyed watching that since I had not had an opportunity to see it before leaving home in January.
Yesterday we visited Port Louis, Mauritius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius (Latitude: 20 degrees 9.19' S, Longitude: 57 degrees 29.7' E). We arrived at about 7:00am, had a diplomatic briefing from US Consulate staff in which students were warned that if they got arrested in Mauritius they could be held for 6 months without being charged (and that there is therefore no bail), and that if they were caught with drugs, whether one joint or several kilos of cocaine, they would be in prison for 40 years. This place is serious about drug control. We were able to leave the ship by 9:00am for a city orientation which included a visit to the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Seewoosagur_Ramgoolam_Botanical_Garden in nearby Pamplemousses. We had a wonderful guide who spoke excellent English. Although English is the official language of Mauritius, many people speak French or Creole. The island has quite a mixture of cultures, with Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and people of Chinese faiths living in harmony over many years. This island is most famous for the now extinct dodo bird http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo. We had a very entertaining lesson on that in Global Studies on Thursday.
We were happy to leave the ship for awhile -- John has been trying to recover from his respiratory ailment, and I'd had the worst seasickness yet the evening before we arrived. It was good to be on solid ground. The weather was warm and humid, but very shady in the garden with some lovely bird sounds. We came back to the ship around 1:00pm, but many of the students and others had taken beach trips and didn't come back until quite a bit later. We left Mauritius around 9:00pm and have had very smooth sailing since.
3 comments:
Theresa,
I am reading your blog with joy and envy...joy for you..envy for me! Its March and we are organizing the annual birthday celebration at Kilkenny's - won't be the same without you!
Shelagh
Hi Theresa,
Hope that you are feeling better as I'm sure that sea sickness isn't much fun (sick anything isn't fun!!). I love all your photos and descriptions which makes me feel as though I can see and hear the same things. (I have a very vivid imagination).
As you are going up the east coast of India toward Madras (Chennai)please give a little wave et bonjour to the former French colony of Pondicherry, my Mother's birthplace. No longer French of course but there are still a few family members there along with other French expats. Continued safe sailing and good health. Love, Jackie
Great stories, Theresa. Looking forward to many more. There is snow in Calgary, though melting with a warm front. We have gone skiing in the mountains. Quite a contrast to warm weather and winds at sea. Hope John will soon be back in form to enjoy all that the trip has to offer, as well.
Monica
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