Sumptuous Seychelles and Fruit Bat Curry

Don and I have visited our share of beautiful places and beaches during both this trip and in our previous travels. The Seychelle Islands have leap-frogged to the top of my list of favorite places. We spent an amazing week there in November, made even better by the fact that our good friends, Lisa and Denny, flew half-way around the world to join us.

We spent five days on Praslin Island. Our hostess was incredible in directing us to great places to go and things not to miss. Her newly built self-catering apartments were right across from a beach.

Our first full day, (my birthday!), we took a boat tour to two different islands, Cousin and Curieuse.  Cousin is a wildlife preserve with only guided tours available and then only in the morning. This allows the abundant native wildlife to be undisturbed in the afternoons and evenings.

Ferry Tern:

White-tailed Tropic Bird:

Seychelles Magpie-robin:

Seychelles Skink and Bronze Gecko:

Aldabra Giant Tortoise:

We had lunch on Curieuse, went swimming at this gorgeous beach and then walked across the island through mangroves to a land tortoise sanctuary. And yes, we were very excited to see lots of Aldabra Giant Tortoises.

We then went snorkeling.

On the way home, we noticed some large birds flying over the island. They turned out to be fruit bats. What a great day.

The following day we got up early and took the ferry to nearby island, La Digue. Don had found on-line a guided, rigorous hike to some very secluded beaches on that island.  We rented bikes to get to the beginning of the hike.

The hike was beautiful but quite challenging. Denny was told his height of 6’7ish” would be an advantage in places but that really wasn’t true for a lot of the hike.

We survived!

And celebrated with drinks at a fancy hotel. After the whole day hiking, we may not have met their usual standard for guests.

 

There is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve,  in the center of Praslin. We visited there and the Fond Ferdinand  Nature Preserve. These areas are so green and lush. Walking the paths, you feel like you are in Jurassic Park.

The pride of the island is a palm tree known as the Coco de Mer. This tree is found naturally only on Praslin and Curieuse Islands.

There are male and female trees. The female produces the largest and heaviest nut in the world. The nut can weigh up to 30 kg so they warn you not to park your car under one of these trees. The fame really comes from the shape of the nut, revealed once the husk is removed. It is illegal to take these nuts although they can be bought from licensed dealers. Each has it’s own identification number so it can be tracked. The “sexier” the nut, the more expensive. Need I say more?

Let’s not forget the male tree. It reportedly has the largest catkin in the world. The flowers, remarkably, smell just like popcorn.

We chose not to bring these souvenirs home.

One hike was all uphill and ended with a spectacular view of the area.

After hiking, we were ready to hit the beach again. Our hostess arranged for us to have access to a private beach called Anse Georgette. We drove there, parked our car, were cleared by security at the guard gate and then walked 20 minutes up and down through the only golf course on the island.

We then arrived at the best beach of our visit.

The sand was white, the water was turquoise and warm, there was shadow (shade)available and it was possible to body surf.

And there were more fruit bats as we walked back to the car at dusk.

As Lisa and Denny were fond of saying, “Another best day ever”.

We spent our last two days on Mahe Island. We have been continually surprised by our accommodations on this trip, mostly booked blindly on-line. We found ourselves staying in a guest house of the Danish Consulate to the Seychelle Islands. It seems like a pretty sweet posting to have.

Across the street was anither nice beach. Am I getting repetitive here?

We rented a car and explored the island. The driving was terrifying. The roads are very narrow, they drive on the left, and there is no shoulder, only a deep ditch or long drop off. I did not enjoy that part at all and I didn’t have to drive. We visited a market in Victoria, the capital and largest city of the Seychelles.

We did find this beautiful view on top of a mountain at the Venn’s Town site, where there had been a school for the education of children of freed slaves.

And some more beaches.

And sunsets.

My most memorable moment on Mahe was at dinner one night.

We had seen fruit bat curry at a previous restaurant and so I decided to be brave and try it.

Don’t! They put the WHOLE bat in it!  Really gross. But memorable!

What a wonderful week. If you ever can, go visit the Seychelles!