Posted by Amanda

Today I got my beach day. We had heard from some RDs about a good beach with no SAS kids and easy bus access. It was close by the ship at Tous au Biches, which we of course called trow the b****es. We got to the bus station and got on the bus. It cost us 38 rupees for 2 oneway tickets. That's about $1.50, much less than the taxi costs.

The trip should have been pretty quick but since our arrival to Mauritius coincides with a Hindu pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is called Maha Shivratri and it is to the southern part of Mauritius. We thought since it was in the south we would be okay heading north. Instead 2 lane roads were crowded with pilgrims carrying floats to Shiva. Our bus would dart into the right lane (they drive on the left) to pass them when it could. It took almost 1 1/2 hours to get there.

Once we got to the beach, it was lovely. There were palm trees up to the beach. The water was as clear as could be with no waves. We rented chairs and an umbrella to enjoy the day. It rained on and off but the water was so warm it didn't matter. In fact, swimming in the ocean while it is raining felt weird. Someone in the Atlantic and Pacific it seems more dangerous. Plus, with no surf, you don't get as sandy when you swim. It was weird to see the bottom as I walked; all those things you don't see in the Atlantic when you walk are much scarier when you can see them. We had to leave the beach sooner than we would have liked beacuse the bus would take so long. We didn't want to be late to the ship.

When we got back to town we walked around a bit but it was sort of pointless as we had little to no money. Then back to the ship for me while Noah went out to get some snacks and try to upload Lost.

I love the beach!!