Sorry Kenya

"Due to Terrorism, the fourth leg of our journey has been cancelled". The message was read loud and clear by the Executive Dean a few days ago. Kenya, the place of wild safaris, Mnt. Killamanjaro and beautiful balloon rides has terrorists looking to sabotage American Maritime Vessels. The code-red alert came directly from Washington and not a minute too soon. Captain Jeremy and the organizers of Semester at Sea scrambled into action to find another country we could dock at. All of Eastern Africa is listed as potential problem spots so it came down to Madagascar, Sri Lanka, the Shayshells or Mauritius Island. Students pleaded for an island paradise to frolic and have fun on - I was hoping to help victims of the Tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka. The students won out. Tomorrow, we dock in Mauritius, a volcanic and mountainous island where the exotic Dodo bird flew before it's extinction. The 205 mile coastline is surrounded by the largest unbroken coral reef in the world. There's scuba, snorkeling, shopping and Sega, the national dance. There's galleries, gardens and great food. There's anything anybody's heart could desire. Ok, okay, twist my arm, I guess I can succumb to living large for the next couple days.