Mahé, Seychelles

            Sunday, 25 Feb 2018 – Seychelles is an archipelago and sovereign state in the Indian Ocean consisting of 115 islands, of which Mahé is the largest.  Victoria, capital of Seychelles is located on Mahé and lies 932 miles east of mainland Africa.

Our 3.5-hour “Northern Highlights” excursion left the pier at 8:30 AM, with Johnine as our guide and Evon, driver.  Only a few minutes earlier, it had been raining.  Although clouds hung low over the island and the humidity was heavy, it didn’t rain on us.  However, gallons of perspiration were streaming from our pores.

First stop was the botanical gardens, well-kept, full of streams, flowers and birds.  A star attraction is the coco de mer palm tree, which grows exclusively in the Seychelles.  Although it has other names, such as the sea coconut or double coconut, its correct name is Lodoicea.  If a person believes that all trees are boring, he might find this one interesting; the male tree lives only one year but pollinates the female tree, which bears very large fruit.  Johnine told us that enough food grows on this island that no one here needs to go hungry.

Large than Life Tortoise

Also in the botanical gardens are a spice grove; a patch of rainforest, complete with fruit bats hanging from its branches; and a pen of giant tortoises. After standing for five minutes watching the tortoises, one of them finally started, very slowly, crawling along.  No wonder they live to be 100 years old!  Part of our walk was uphill, making it more exhausting.

From the gardens, our bus drove us to the Victoria town center, where we walked for perhaps 20 minutes.  We saw a clock tower, a replica of the one outside of London’s Victoria Station; the old Courthouse; and some Colonial buildings.  We also passed two Catholic churches (where Mass was in progress) and numerous shops.  Since this was Sunday, the shops were closed except for a few convenience stores.

Next, our bus drove through the countryside in the central and northern parts of the island, much of the time on a mountainous road.  At various points, spectacular views of granite peaks appeared next to the ocean, and then the Insignia far below came into view.

People living in the Seychelles islands speak two languages: French and English.  The French had come early; then the islanders were under the control of the United Kingdom until 1976.  According to Johnine, the Africans who were brought to the islands spoke different languages so that they couldn’t understand one another; therefore, they ended up speaking “Creole French.”  Creole is spoken by most people, but in school they learn both French and English.

Johnine told us about their life in the Seychelles.  Education is required up to age 16 and free through secondary school until age 18; after graduation, if a young person wants to move away, he/she must work for the government for four years (to pay for his/her education) before leaving.  Although a few apartments are available for young people, most residents are expected to purchase a house from the government.

We stopped at a beach hotel, where we were served soft drinks.  Then, for 40 minutes we relaxed and chatted with Gary and Carol until it was time for our bus to return us to the ship.

Realizing that it might be a good time to swim, as soon as we reached our cabin, we donned our swimsuits.  Sure enough, we had the pool to ourselves for a half hour before going to lunch.  After that, Sally took a very long nap – almost until time for dinner!

Although that same tour to the botanical gardens was offered in the afternoon, it started raining by the time we finished lunch.  At dinner, we sat at a table with Christine and Spiro, while enjoying Greek food night.  Dinner was great, including the baklava!  During our meal, we could see lightning filling the sky behind the café windows.  Heavy rain still fell.  After dinner, we danced for a half hour.