We forgot to mention a communication we got yesterday from the hotel manager, Henk. It was a health reminder regarding "huffing and puffing and sneezing and wheezing". Henk sure has a way with words. He has come to the conclusion that a bug is circulating among the passengers and probably the crew and the reason is we have become too relaxed with precautions. Assuming it is a common cold, we are grateful it is not Covid or some other terrible virus that attack ship guests and crew. Perhaps the funniest comment was to seriously reduce or better yet cease hugging. We used to hear refrain from shaking hands….which we still do. And of course, as Greg would say, washy-washy-washy your hands often. Message received.
Between our research and Kimberly's talk, we gathered some basic info on this port of Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles. And we have been here several times over the years, and much of it we remember. The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands scattered in the Indian Ocean. The largest of those islands is Mahe, where the capital of Victoria is located. It has the notoriety of being the world's smallest capital. The population of all of the islands is 93,200 people that speak Creole, English, and French and a mix of all three. The total land mass is only 455 square kilometers.
What do these islands offer to tourists? For starters, there are talcum powder beaches (over 65 of them), topaz waters, lush hills, a true tropical paradise. Diving and snorkeling is number one here. One of the highlights of Victoria has to be the Botanical Gardens, a 5 acre hillside treasure with 200 species of indigenous plants and trees. One of those rare trees is the coco de mer with the largest nut in the plant kingdom. Due to its shape, it has brought a lot of attention to the tree over the years. Within this park is an enclosure of giant tortoises, some of which exceed 100 years old. We may pay a visit to this garden tomorrow, depending on the heat factor.
What kind of food is served here? One of the local delicacies is called bat curry. Yep, real fruit bats in a curry. And you wonder why we like pizza….hold the bat curry - topping please. One of their favorite beverages is Seybrew, the local beer. Other favorites are fish and rice, shark, parrotfish, grouper, and tuna. Local fruit consists of mangoes, bananas, breadfruit, papaya, coconuts, grapefruit, and pineapple. All types of fruit juice are sold as well as coconut water, which is number one.
First and foremost, we have to mention that the temperature was in the 90's and the humidity factor was almost as high. With very little breeze, the heat was nearly unbearable. We set out to walk the town, and hopefully, go out to lunch. When we got off the gangplank, we were not sure we were in the same dock we normally use. Kimberly had mentioned that maps were available, but we had to purchase them. Really? That turned out to be incorrect as they were available on our way out to the souvenir stands and the street. Nice maps of both Victoria, the island of Mahe, and a separate map of Praslin, a nearby island. An so we can remember, the local currency was Seychellois rupee with 13.65 rupee to the $1. USD. Euro is widely accepted at the rate of 14.57 rupee to the Euro 1. Many items are priced in Euro here.
But before we begin, we have to mention the tours that were sold on the ship for today and tomorrow. The least expensive was a scenic mountain drive for 3 ½ hours for $150. Two excursions for $160 were the north island and Botanic Gardens for 4 hours, and a sparkling wine sunset cruise for 3 ½ hours this evening. A coral cruise for 4 hours was $170, while cruise and spice was $180 for 4 hours. A day on Silhouette Island was 9 ¼ hours for $240, and Mahe discovery was 8 hours for $250. Both of these had lunches. Last but not least was a day on Praslin Island and a visit to Vallee de Mai for 7 hours with lunch. The cost was $400.
Turning the wrong way once we went through their xray which was next to the souvenir stands, we eventually reached where we needed to be. At least the road we took was lined with big shade trees which did help somewhat. We came to the large roundabout with the Unity Monument in the center. From there we did remember the way to town. It had been printed in the Daily News letter that this walk was about 20 minutes, but we would say ……no way. Try 30 to 40 minutes in this heat. Of course, many taxis were there at the gate to offer rides to town. Some tours were offered as well, but a simple "no thanks" was accepted without quarrel. Nothing like what we experienced in Sri Lanka and even Male, in the Maldives.
We strolled up the waterfront road passing the yacht club and the marine charter. A seaside park and pond is located here too. We reached the Bicentennial Monument and the Peace Park with the tall flagpole displaying the Seychelles flag. We did want to see the cathedral, so we walked past Gordon Square field, passing the Natural History Museum and the Post Office. Across the busy street was a church, which we thought was the cathedral, but turned out to be St. Paul's Protestant Church. Pulling out the map, we continued to Sir Selwyn Clarke Market, which housed the produce and fish market. The produce was fine, but the fish display was more flies than fish. Whew….. there were even small egrets on the cutting tables looking for scraps. We did not linger very long due to the smell and flies. Upstairs facing the center market, were stalls of souvenirs and clothing. We did manage to take the stairs (one of us under protest) and checked our their offerings. There were nice swimming sarongs, dresses, tops and many beach type bags. We were not tempted because we have so much of the same at home….and only use it while on vacation for the most part.
Still searching for a pair of black sandals, we found many of them but in small sizes. And most of them were more like flip flops. We passed a Hindu Temple as well as a convent across the street. Passing what appeared to be a real "mall", we went inside to find only a few stores were in there. Going up an escalator, we saw a few more shops and many more that were not finished yet. We finally located the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at the end of a street and what looked like a very British church built next to it. That church also turned out to be Catholic. Hoping it was cooler inside the church, we walked up the steep driveway, trying to avoid the cars and people, and went inside. Nope, it was not cool at all, but dark with ceiling fans that were not operating. Staying a few minutes, we continued on our way.
We were close to Albert Street, one of the main drags and located the Clock Tower which was installed in 1903 when the Seychelles became a British Colony. We think the name of the clock tower is Little Ben. Right on the corner of Albert and Independence Avenue was a restaurant called Coco Blu, a place we had gotten pizza several years ago. By now, it was almost 1pm, and we were in desperate need of something wet and cold. Seybrew beers sounded the best. Of course, located on the top level, we had to climb stairs too access the restaurant, but it was worth it. Not crowded, we were seated at the coolest spot on the railing where were ordered two pints of Seybrew beer and one Hawaiian pizza. Relaxing out of the piercing sun was the best. At least we had a breeze up here and the view of the center of town with the clocktower.
The pizza was excellent and we added a glass of strawberry and chocolate ice cream to share. Reluctantly, we left around 2:30pm….back out into the heat and the now-crowded streets. We stayed on Albert Street until it turned into Rue Pierre de Possession, where we passed a row of souvenir tents called Esplanade Craft Village. Everything Seychellois was sold here, most all of it for the ladies. We passed by the National Library, a modern building, and the Kenwyn House across the street. We are not sure what this house was, but it was colonial and set in and among beautiful gardens and fountains. Perhaps tomorrow we will investigate a little more.
Arriving at the roundabout with the Unity Monument, we turned left, carefully crossed the street, and headed back down towards the pier. This was the correct street to use to come downtown, and all of it was looking much more familiar. On one side of the road were trucking facilities and the other had the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services. On the way, it began to sprinkle. What a pleasant surprise actually, as it cooled things off a little. Unfortunately it did not last very long, but we did get wet the closer we got to the pier gate. That's where the covered walkway started. We went through their xray and back on the ship, instantly feeling the coolness of the air-conditioning.
Back in our room, we discovered we had no power. Now that could be bad, but within a few minutes, it came back on. We cooled down further with ice cold sodas and the use of our tower fan. Luckily we are on the waterside and had no sun shining on the veranda. We were able to spend some time outside watching the boat traffic. The rest of the time was used to do photo work and report writing as always.
Dinnertime came quickly and we were nicely surprised to find the Club Orange special was the veal cutlet or veal chop. We added salads and the entrees and that was perfect. Our waiter will probably go to town with some buddies and look for Chinese food. He recalled that he was here on another cruise not long ago and found good eats in downtown. It was still warm outside, like in the 80's, but there did not seem to be any rain. At this point, we would welcome it.
Tomorrow, we shall continue our roamings. Heat or no heat, we hope to visit the gardens.
Bill & Mary Ann
