The group, having resolved the issue with the tiger, resumed their journey through the jungle. As it turns out, as the captain explained, the animals were being affected by the presence of magic on this island in such a way as to make them stronger and more aggressive. It wasn't even just this island, but anywhere in which there was a large community of magi.
The rest of the journey allowed the students to see ruins of what appeared to be buildings of roman architecture spread throughout the jungle. A crewman explained that this island had been founded and inhabited several times throughout history, each time by magi. The curse to ensure it was totally invisible to anyone not a mage was placed quite recently, only in the last 200 or so years.
Eventually, they wound up on a sidewalk in an area that seemed like a park, where there were benches, light poles, and people doing outdoor activities. And appearing before them, in front of the park, was the city. Merlinus City. Looking at it from the edge, where the park met the jungle, the towering buildings seemed to go on forever. It looked, however, like any large city in the US.