Remember I have already shared a big hunch of our honeymoon in Seychelles, but also mentioned that the two-weeks experience cannot be efficiently resumed in one single post. I’ve preferred to expose La Digue separately, for a better understanding of what Seychelles is like, but of course, the rest of the experience needs to be narrated and presented, so people know what they should look for, if they want a beautiful journey like we had. Mahe is the main island, Praslin is the second biggest, and has kind of a fame, especially because the Coco de Mer and equally famous Black Parrot, but we will go to that, of course we have visited both, in different increments of time. But so we did take some excursions, with local guides, to deeply understand and taste the unicity of Seychelles.
Some of the excursions overlapped with Praslin, especially, but they took us on remote islands as well, most of them private, where you could not step without having a touristic tour. Given these brief explanations, this written material is aimed to be broken in three. Starting with the boat trips combined with land experience, then presenting our short “layover” in Praslin, and finishing with the last four days of our Seychelles experience, on top of Victoria, one of the smallest capital cities in the world, but the urban heart of Seychelles.
Meeting Curieuse Island
How did we choose our excursions? Simple: tried to understand what is worth the most to be seen in this beautiful archipelago, and tapped Get Your Guide, as always, for the best options. And, without any doubt, our guidance was, as always, perfect. After arriving on 3rd of May, in the first half of the day, in La Digue, we used the weekend to relax, but also to prepare, briefly, for the first trip we have booked, for 5th of May. This one, started from Praslin, at 09:00, when we should be at the ferry terminal. What we needed to do, because of this, was to get up early and catch the Cat Cocos boat leaving from La Digue. It was not complicated, only a 15 minutes journey, but… early.
No problem, though, as we budgeted the time for this, so boarded on the ferry. Please remember to purchase tickets directly from their site, which is this one, otherwise, buying them from brokers web sites will add, for sure, enough premium on your ticket, and you can relatively easy solve that. Getting back to our day trip, the pick up worked just fine, so we went with a buggy to the point where we should embark for the excursion. In essence, Praslin was just a transit point, so no time spent here. But to Curieuse and St. Pierre islands. We meet Tarzan, our guide, and then head out to the first destination. Curieuse Island is mostly a reservation and, as said, you can reach it the easiest way like this. Just to mention, for two persons we have paid roughly 200 euro, but for sure it was worth it.
Some more giant tortoises!
Curieuse Island is mainly popular for having a large population of giant tortoises, one of the landmarks of Seychelles. Of course, you can find them in many other places in the archipelago, but here they were lose and easier to interact with. Until seeing the giant creatures, we walked through a small forest, where our guide, Tarzan, explained a lot about the island – this guy is walking only barefoot, and climbs a lot on trees, this is from where he got, since childhood, the suitable nickname mentioned. We discovered how mangroves grow, a very long walking wooden passage, and even some eatable fruits, with a peculiar, but interesting taste. The walk was not huge, maybe 30 minutes or so, after a couple of tens of minutes of navigating, and finally the tortoise reservation cracked open behind the trees, and we are told we can spend some decent amount of time here, interacting with them.
Warned about… Tyson!
We were told to watch out from Tyson, a stubborn tortoise, quite “aggressive”, and even if it sounds fun, any kind of unconventional behavior from an animal which can weight 150 – 250 kilos, is for sure not a joke. First, though: eating time! An excellent creole Seychellois cuisine, with chicken, fish, rice, vegetables, bananas and plenty of water, so to fuel up before playing with the big ones. Also, we could feed cute beings with banana peels, and also leaves. They are just so cute and cooperating, even though look imposing and, in some way, helpless. The tax for the reservation, just for you to be aware, was separate from the ticket and it consists of 300 rupee / each, or around 20 EUR / person. After enjoying our time here, perhaps two hours altogether, at its fullest, the time has come to depart. We don’t necessary wish to leave, but we are aware that we will see many other tortoises on the island.
Snorkeling, not my type, but enjoyed it!
Moving on, it is mostly about snorkeling and sightseeing, because this is the way in which we are exploring the small islands, mainly St. Pierre. I must admit, I don’t like snorkeling very much, as I can’t fit my mask properly, but if you are not as clumsy as I am – for example, like Anca isn’t – you can enjoy a lot the underwater splendor, but also see with your own eyes, what global warming is doing to the corals, especially. A horror landscape we are about to witness not once in Seychelles: dead reefs, a lot, and actually most of the ones who lived in the past. Because of the water temperature increasing. For snorkeling we got, I think, around one hour, and then of we go. With some banana chips, Takamaka Rum and pineapple juice we finish the great experience, and are heading back to the ferry terminal, to return in La Digue, in our wonderful stay.
I highly recommend this experience, and if you want to try it, and be ready to pay around 230-250 EUR combined for a couple here it is, on Get Your Guide.
You can’t miss Vallee de Mai, but get a guide
Initially I was thinking to split this tales differently, but speaking about the Praslin start experience, I’ve changed my mind, and I want you to experience this mind-change live, as I am writing about it, without backtracking my initial plans. Because, in the end, we decided to spend some time on Praslin on 7th of May, because it was exactly in the middle before our next scheduled Get Your Guide excursion, on 9th of May. Everything was planned perfectly. We depart again early in the morning, because we want the best of the day, and we have one thing in mind: Vallee de Mai, the famous UNESCO heritage reservation, where the unique coco de mer grows. For two persons we pay 2 x 410 rupees, or roughly 55 euro combined. Believe me, it is worth!
A jewel of Seychelles
Of course, we spent some money also on souvenirs, but the sensation of being there, taking part of the story, is priceless. We walked around alone and discovered the wonder of the place, but we did have a mild regret that we didn’t purchase a guided tour. I am not sure how expensive it can get, but for sure it could not be more than 20-30 euros combined on top. It was just a misjudgment. The funny part was that from the ferry terminal to the location you have around 3 kilometers, mostly uphill, and we decided to walk the distance. We like a lot to run, hike and walk, so then it is understandable. But you can take a taxi / bus – check the schedule – and arrive faster, if you’re not a walk-loving person.
People from Praslin like bat curry the most
What we knew is that the way back will be more pleasant, but not by much, because the walk is on the side of the road. Of course, the traffic is not like in Bucharest, but gasoline loving cars pass by quite often, so in some circumstances, a motorized return trip can be a better idea. On the other hand, only taking this option will help you immerse the best way possible into the culture and way of living. We see the local hospital, pretty big and impressive for a small island, and also the… bats! A lot of bats passing by, all over. It remains one of our favorite activities in the Seychelles: spotting giant bats all day round. What we do learn also is that in Praslin people love most from the whole Seychelles archipelago, the bat curry. Of course we didn’t try it because, as a local from Mahe told us: “bats don’t have a lot of meat, and mostly for the flavor they are cooked, but you need to remove some glands, otherwise, the taste is awful”.
Coco de Mer, signature of Seychelles
The bats are likeable in the air, or in the trees, not in the plate. At least for us. Now, going back to Vallee de Mai, of course we couldn’t miss the entry picture with the giant nuts – coco de mer is the biggest nut in the world and it grows only here! – and then we hopped to enjoy some more of it in the reservation. But having not “contracted” a guide, made it a bit challenging to identify the seed, because, indeed, there were a lot of trees, mostly plain palms or coco trees, but in any case, the perimeter itself is charming. It is a wild corner of the world, where you can identify species that can’t be found anywhere else. Fortunately, no dangerous or venomous ones, one of the advantages of Seychelles. We open our eyes for the black parrot, we think we saw one, but after checking with the ladies from the exit, it turn out to be only a Seychelles bulbul. A beautiful bird as well, but with whom we got familiar already in La Digue, while the black parrot is a signature for Praslin, of course.
Walking through the… jungle!
In many ways, Praslin is a very unique miniature world of itself, even though apart from Vallee de Mai, we were not curious to discover something else, because Anse Lazio and other beaches can’t be better than the ones we are seeing every day in La Digue. This is profoundly subjective, but truth being said, it is very hard to argue. Back to the birds, we might not have seen the black parrot, but we found a belvedere spot, from where we can glance much better to low flying bats. They are really impressive. Like seeing a real life batman, but in the same time they are also really cute. You can state they are a beautiful being, but neither you can say they’re not. It is a paradox, yes, but this is how we feel it.
Going back to La Digue
After a couple of hours walking on the paths of Vallee de Mai, and covering almost everything possible, reading the instructions which describe all endemic plants, and maybe insects, or actually birds, we know the closing time approaches, and so does our departure schedule, back to La Digue. Of course we take the way back also by foot, and exactly before arriving at the terminal, we stop at a local shop to buy some more banana chips. They are really unexpectedly good. The heat, and humidity, make us feel tired and craving for the swimming pool back “home”. So then ho head to Le Domaine de L’Orangeraie for another relaxing evening. Like always, perfect day in the bag.
The day for seeing Sister, Coco and Felicite Islands has come
Having zipped the Praslin chapter, as we are not planning to go one more time on the neighbor island, we rather prepare to our next excursion with Get Your Guide. This was already scheduled for 9th of May. It involves another cruise, with the possibility to see other wonderful small islands: Sister, Coco and Felicite. Departure, 10:00 AM, and this time we are lucky to start from La Digue. Only meters away from our accommodation. We hap in, meet the captain and the crew, get water, all instructions, and the itinerary. It is scheduled to spent roughly six hours on this adventure, and we are more than pleased to do it, of course! The first “pit stop” happens on Sister island, where we disembark, and spend, maybe, one hour. It is a small, private island, so we are walking on the beach on one side, and then cross it, to get to the opposite beach.
More tortoises, great food and wonderful atmosphere!
This action happens rather quick, but the crossing has a pause because of… tortoises! We discover, with a lot of joy, some beautiful “samples” and spend some minutes with them. They are wonderful, as told you many, many times. Then, some photo shoot to on the beach, glancing at the breathtaking landscape, and easily back to the shore, for embarking. Time flies, we don’t leave as scheduled, but some tens of minutes later, but I am sure that is the while point. Now, snorkeling time! A much better experience, near Coco Island, in the sense that here, the marine life is slightly richer, than what we have experienced on 5th of May. We see sea turtles, sting rays, and a lot of colorful fish. Of course, we do see also dead coral reef, another irrefutable proof that global warming is not only real, but more and more dangerous.
Takamaka rum, the taste of Seychelles
I don’t remember 100% how much time we spent here, but it should have been roughly 1.5 hours. I don’t like snorkeling too much, as already mentioned, but this was bearable. While we were out at sea, our hosts started preparing lunch: fresh fish, some chicken, vegetables, rice, some delicious local deserts, and, of course, coconut slices. They are wonderful. We could eat as much as we felt like, then we were treated with a pinch of Takamaka, logic, and with some local dance and music. Everything was raised at the level of perfection, so if you want to experience this team, I 100% recommend. For two persons, we paid around 300 EUR, which was a decent amount for what we have got. Here is the link to the excursion. Try it, and you’ll understand what I am saying.
Heading for La Digue, where we spend some great days
Taking back to the La Digue ferry terminal, we call it another accomplished day. The remainders are destined to be 100% spent on La Digue and purely enjoy the island. Because, in the end, we have only three more full days, and so many to see on the great small paradise. All the details are here, our entire La Digue experience. But everything that is wonderful, comes eventually to an end. The bad thing is that we are leaving La Digue. The great thing is that, still, we will spend some more days in Seychelles: on the main island, Mahe, very near the capital, Victoria! Our accommodation here is on top of a hill, not too easy to reach by foot, but since we love walking & running it is not such a big problem. Blue Hill Guest House, with a swimming pool, great breakfast with local products, and on top of this, a small yard with four giant tortoises, was just what we need.
The epilogue, in Mahe & Victoria, capital city of Seychelles
With only three days here, we are picking up the pace and go to visit Victoria, the main town of the archipelago, but at the same time one of the smallest capital city in the world. Going downhill is easy, and given the size, only 1.5 kilometers or so to reach the center. The famous clock, and also the alignment of Christian church, Mosque, and Hindi temple. A perfect community for everybody to live in. We are hungry, though, so we stop to eat, and enjoy a squid burger. The town is not big at all, and given the rain, our concern heads to the photoshoot awaiting the day after. But we will be lucky not to be impacted, and everything goes as planned. Staying here requires also some extra activities, so then we book two. But because the “romantic” cruise ship was a half-disaster because of the quality of the boat, and the experience itself. The guys were OK, we explored a remote island, found out some information about Seychelles, but it was far from the “luxury” promised.
Jodi, the perfect guide found on… Get Your Guide
In any case, the amount of information found out while interacting with locals consolidated our impression: people in Seychelles are serious! No begging allowed. You can’t sleep on the streets, and neither can be supported financially if you don’t get a job. As well, as your children grow, you need to have a proper home for all persons to fit. Things like these look to be common sense, but I never heard this anywhere. Or at least to be formalized by the authorities. Considering in Seychelles people clean all the beaches, or most of the main ones, early in the morning says it all. It is a real heaven, not only for tourism, but I guess to live in. For the last day we target a climb, so we found Jodi on Get Your Guide. Apart from experiencing a fascinating sunset, on top of the rocks, after going thru a forest, we have listened to his many travel experiences. So if you want a guided easy hike in Mahe, and don’t have too much time, this is, indeed, perfect.
The taxi driver, came sharp to drive us to the airport
We know everything is coming to an end, but our enjoyment of what we lived in Seychelles, makes this last forever. Everything proved to be perfect, and it is a location I 100% recommend to everybody, for a quiet and fulfilling vacation. It is hard to find a better place for an exotic warm place. It worth each penny spent, and the interaction with the local culture, not only enriched our view, our general knowledge, but it provided a perfect proof that hope in humanity, in people, in general, doesn’t need to fade. The community in Seychelles, really is a wonderful one. Even not perfect, because, in the end… no human is, let alone an entire community. And to seal the conclusion, our cab to the airport, ordered by the reception came sharp, as it weas ordered, in spite the steep climb so we made it to the small and chic international airport as we wanted. Sipping some Takamaka and a coffee while waiting for the flight, ensured the perfectness of the last hours spent in Seychelles!
