Saturday, March24, 2018

Saturday – March 24, 2018

Today we arrive at Victoria on Mahe Island in The Seychelles. This is the capital of Seychelles. Because we have never visited here before we are taking an all day ship’s tour. We will visit the botanical gardens, the town center and a craft village. Then we will stop for lunch at a resort where we can also use the beach. We will continue on to complete the road around the island.

We left the ship with our tour group at 10:00. Our transportation was a 20 passenger bus for 18 passengers, a ship’s escort and our guide. We would later learn why there were 4 of these rather than larger coaches with more passengers.

Our first stop was the botanical garden. English is compulsory in school as is French. Our guide’s English was excellent with very little accent. She did a fine job of explaining the significant plants to us.

We joined the Saturday traffic for the drive into the city center. The place was jumping. It was almost noon. The market would close around 1:00 because it was Saturday. We were given 30 minutes to tour it, and told the souvenirs were upstairs at the back of the building. Alice and I spent most of our time walking the aisles of the food and fish portion of the market. Everything was fresh. The fish looked beautiful with clear eyes. Some varieties were very large. If we had more time we would have liked to engage a fishmonger to learn more about what these creatures were and how they got to market.

We boarded our bus and started toward the cathedral only to learn that we were missing some people. After 30 minutes of searching and some anxious moments, all were found. We headed south on the main road. We would end our day passing through the city again. The ride was beautiful. This island is formed from granite not volcanic rock. The cliffs are shear and the roads are steep and narrow. This is why the buses are so small.

After visiting a craft village that is being renovated, we drove to the stop. This was a Doubletree resort by Hilton. The building and grounds were very nice. The dining room was open air and comfortable. We wish the food had been as good. After eating we used the free internet for a while. Then we walked down to the beach. Alice shed her shoes and waded in. I am still protective of my feet. Infection is something I must avoid. I am just grateful that I can walk the many miles a day that we have been going.

At 4:00 we left the resort to resume our circumnavigation. The road got steeper and we often had to stop to let approaching traffic get past us. Our guide was excellent at explaining the history of Seychelles, its economy and its culture. The principal religion is Catholicism. Everything closes on Sunday. She was also very good at getting our driver to stop at prime locations for photo opportunities. As the sun was going down we reached the highest point on our drive. This offered beautiful views of the city as the lights started to come on.

We made our way down the “mountain” and passed through the city center again. Soon we were back at Amsterdam. It was 7:00 and almost dark. We bid our guide and driver farewell, and headed toward the last open kiosks along the pier. We were hoping to purchase some local soap, but could not negotiate a fair price even though it was late in the day. Not all of the booths had electricity. One man used his iPhone light to show his wares.

We soon boarded Amsterdam empty-handed. After cleaning up we proceeded to the dining room for dinner. It was great to sit in comfortable chairs and let our dedicated servers fawn over us. They all strive so hard to anticipate our needs and satisfy us. They succeed quite nicely.

At 9:30 we attended entertainment provided by a local song and dance troop. Their indigenous rhythms and their enthusiasm were great fun. We have not seen the audience get so much into clapping the rhythm as they did tonight. The spirit of this group was contagious. We were sorry to see them go, but happy to get to bed. Sail Away was about 11:00.

We could not find anything to dislike about Seychelles. We hope to return some day.