The Stunning Seychelles

Day 14 and we arrived at the much anticipated Port Victoria in the Seychelles after sailing past lots of little islands on the way. Everyone was on deck to watch our big boat sail into what looked like a very tricky harbour and dock alongside the wharf, hearlded in by a band and dancing girls playing on the wharf below. 

The landscape had these big dramatic and sheer looking mountains towering up behind the city of Victoria which lacked the normal highrises you would see in a city, instead it was low and spread out on the foothills and dipping down into the azure water below. There were windmills on an island just by the harbour although I'm not sure for what purpose as there wasn't a breath of wind and the huge blades remained still and silent.

Victoria is on the island of Mahe, one of the three largest islands in the archipelago of the Seychelles situated 5 deg south of the equator. There are 115 islands scattered over 500,000 sq miles in the Indian Ocean. The French first claimed these islands in 1756 (it was actually by an Irish captain who claimed it for France would you believe) and they were named after Louis XV's finance minister.  A few years later the first settlers moved in and by 1791 the Seychelles had 572 inhabitants of whom 487 were slaves from Africa and Madagascar. The Brits took it over in 1814 and by 1835 slavery was abolished. Moving forward to the 20th century they became an independent republic with a president and prime minister in 1976. A year later there was a coup when the PM overthrew the president whilst he was overseas. There were another two more attempted coups after that but happy to say it has all settled down and is now very peaceful.

We jumped off the boat as soon as we were allowed and walked into town. The traffic is very busy but the town is very walkable with nice shops and buildings and surprisingly flat. There is a cute Victorian clock tower in the middle of town erected in 1903. Before land reclamation It use to be at the harbour front so it shows how much they must have done. The people were all very friendly and happy to help out with directions and most were very well dressed. You could certainly see that we are close to Africa and no doubt there are more than a few descendants of former slaves.

We found our way to the bus station and hopped on the #9 bus which would take us almost around the island. For only 10 rupees (approx $1) we could see most of the island from the bus whereas if we had gone on a ships tour it would have cost over $100 so we were well cuffed with ourselves! 

The bus ride was great although it did get very crowded and was hot as no air conditioning but we sat by the window and had the most amazing views. The bus first went down the east coast of the island where we saw stunning palm fringed beaches dropping into the amazing blue of the Indian Ocean and lush green tropical forests all around. It then turned right to go over the mountain range to get to the west coast. Now this bit was even more interesting as the road is very narrow with very steep hairpin bends that tested the motor of the bus as well as my nerves. There was no side to the road, just a big drop down one side (my side) and to me it looked liked the back wheel of the bus was not going to stay on the road as he swung out wide to turn the sharp corners. No one else seemed too bothered about it so I had to trust that he knew what he was doing. 

The vegetation going over the mountain was very thick with tall trees and lots of vines almost smothering them. Every now and then there would be a little clearing with a house or two nestled into the edges of the forest. We then turned right again and headed back up the west coast which again had even more stunning views of beaches and oceans. 

The bus eventually stopped at the terminal on a north western beach where we had to get off, being one of the last ones left on the bus.  There was nothing there besides a big resort (apparently the largest in the Indian Ocean), a van selling hamburgers and a beach to die for. We bought a coconut from one of the vendors on the beach and sipped on the juice as we wandered down the beach contemplating what to do for lunch. We did go into the restaurant of the resort but when we saw an Australian hamburger on the menu for $30 decided we would try the van on the side of the road. The Seychelles is renowned to be very expensive and apart from the bus trip, everything we saw there seemed to confirm it. The van however was cheap and a hamburger there was only $5. So much for trying the local food tho, hamburgers was not what I really wanted but didn't have much of a choice.

Then we had a swim in the sea and all was forgotten. It was just amazing, sea temp was 32 deg, sands were silky fine and white and there were no waves, just a gentle swell that lifted you up and down. Definitely my sort of sea, even my two sisters would have gone swimming that's how gorgeous it was. It did have some seaweed on the beach and in the waters but the locals said that had just appeared in the last couple of days, normally the beaches were very clear.

Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time as we had to catch the bus back, which was another hours hair raising trip over the mountains to get back on board the ship before 4.30pm.  It was far too short a time but enough to give us a snippet of paradise.