September 1, 2016
Two weeks in Seychelles
Seychelles Photo Album
Since I was in the
general vicinity & since the Seychelles have been famous for great SCUBA
diving it was easy enough to catch a plane from Antananarivo, Madagascar to
Mahe, Seychelles via Nairobi, Kenya.
It's about a 3 hour flight from Nairobi and there is not a thing in the
Indian Ocean along the way, but flying into the Seychelles island cluster is a
great experience. The Seychelles is made up of numerous very small mountainous
islands with beautiful white beaches which are bounded on one side by clear
turquoise water & coral reefs & on the other side by lush tropical
forests cascading down steep mountains.
I had the chance to
visit both coasts of the main island and the capital, Mahe. On the southeast
coast I rented a comfy 2-bedroom AirBnB house just a couple short blocks from
the beach. Judy, the owner, is super friendly & since she was doing some renovating
on 2 other units on the property we got to visit every day & she gave me
great insights into life as a Creole on Seychelles. I also spent a week in a self-catering studio
on the northwest coast where there were more dive options than on the west.
Traveling Mahe is easy easy - there is a very convenient public bus service
that is the only inexpensive thing on the island. You can get just about
anywhere on the island for a dollar or less.
But - I was able to
find other distractions… well, if sitting on the beach reading, taking long
beach walks, watching sunrises & sunsets count. There are also some
challenging mountain hikes on the island; the one I tackled was a steep hike up
Copolia for a great view of the east coast.
Life is simple on
Mahe but oh so expensive! I managed by cooking for myself and using the bus
system to tour the island. There is not even one spot on Mahe's coast or
central mountains that is not gorgeous.
The sand is soft & white & clean. The beaches are bordered by
those lovely curving coconut palms & lush foliage. But - except for diving
I am not so content with beach life & so I started looking at travels in
Uganda; 2-weeks was a good enough stay in the Seychelles for me.
Traveling without a
specific plan or timeline allows me lots of flexibility. So far I make flights
just point-to-point, one way between nations but I am careful to research visa
requirements as they can vary dramatically by country. I don’t even have a travel
book (the Lonely Planet Africa was just too huge to carry) so I rely on
conversations with other travelers & Google searches. I had hoped to travel
to Ethiopia this fall to meet up with Jodie whose NGO, Humani Villages, is
under development. Unfortunately, there
are currently some political issues there that are yet to be resolved so that
plan is on hold. Jodie & I remain in
contact & hopeful.
After talking with
an Israeli on a dive, I am now considering Egypt, Israel, & Jordan. And,
after a Facebook posting of a
friend-of-a-friend, I'm also considering the Azores! And what the heck, I hardly know Europe so
should think about that as well. So… if you have travel suggestions for me
please send them along. Thanks - Carole
for the tips you have shared about the Middle East so far.
Stephanie 
Since I was in the
general vicinity & since the Seychelles have been famous for great SCUBA
diving it was easy enough to catch a plane from Antananarivo, Madagascar to
Mahe, Seychelles via Nairobi, Kenya.
It's about a 3 hour flight from Nairobi and there is not a thing in the
Indian Ocean along the way, but flying into the Seychelles island cluster is a
great experience. The Seychelles is made up of numerous very small mountainous
islands with beautiful white beaches which are bounded on one side by clear
turquoise water & coral reefs & on the other side by lush tropical
forests cascading down steep mountains.
I had the chance to
visit both coasts of the main island and the capital, Mahe. On the southeast
coast I rented a comfy 2-bedroom AirBnB house just a couple short blocks from
the beach. Judy, the owner, is super friendly & since she was doing some renovating
on 2 other units on the property we got to visit every day & she gave me
great insights into life as a Creole on Seychelles. I also spent a week in a self-catering studio
on the northwest coast where there were more dive options than on the west. 
Traveling Mahe is easy easy - there is a very convenient public bus service
that is the only inexpensive thing on the island. You can get just about
anywhere on the island for a dollar or less.
The dive operator,
Big Blue, is wonderful. A very small center with super friendly staff &
great service. Though it had been about 3 years since my last dive I was so
thankful to find that diving came back to me easily. The dive-masters at Big
Blue are great and really take the time to spot out the creatures & make
sure everyone has a wonderful experience. Because there are many islands, most
of the divers I met were island hopping & so with limited time to get to
know each other, we packed our time with conversations about life & travel.
Though I had planned to complete 10 dives over the course of the week I stopped
after only 4 dives.
The fish were great
but the sad state of the coral was really depressing. The Seychelles have
suffered terribly from several years of warm waters caused by El Nino; the
result has been significant coral bleaching caused by the loss of normal algae,
the coral then turns white & will die if cooler temperatures don’t return
soon. It appeared to me that over 90% of
the coral was affected.
Though I cut my
diving short I did have the chance to see some of the beautiful sea creatures
of the Indian Ocean: shoaling Bat Fish & Coronets, lots of Angel &
Butterfly Fish varieties, Lion Fish, large numbers of schooling Jacks &
Snappers, White-tipped reef sharks, Manta Ray, and turtles.
The fish were great
but the sad state of the coral was really depressing. The Seychelles have
suffered terribly from several years of warm waters caused by El Nino; the
result has been significant coral bleaching caused by the loss of normal algae,
the coral then turns white & will die if cooler temperatures don’t return
soon. It appeared to me that over 90% of
the coral was affected. 
Though I cut my
diving short I did have the chance to see some of the beautiful sea creatures
of the Indian Ocean: shoaling Bat Fish & Coronets, lots of Angel &
Butterfly Fish varieties, Lion Fish, large numbers of schooling Jacks &
Snappers, White-tipped reef sharks, Manta Ray, and turtles. 
But - I was able to
find other distractions… well, if sitting on the beach reading, taking long
beach walks, watching sunrises & sunsets count. There are also some
challenging mountain hikes on the island; the one I tackled was a steep hike up
Copolia for a great view of the east coast.
Traveling without a
specific plan or timeline allows me lots of flexibility. So far I make flights
just point-to-point, one way between nations but I am careful to research visa
requirements as they can vary dramatically by country. I don’t even have a travel
book (the Lonely Planet Africa was just too huge to carry) so I rely on
conversations with other travelers & Google searches. I had hoped to travel
to Ethiopia this fall to meet up with Jodie whose NGO, Humani Villages, is
under development. Unfortunately, there
are currently some political issues there that are yet to be resolved so that
plan is on hold. Jodie & I remain in
contact & hopeful.
After talking with
an Israeli on a dive, I am now considering Egypt, Israel, & Jordan. And,
after a Facebook posting of a
friend-of-a-friend, I'm also considering the Azores! And what the heck, I hardly know Europe so
should think about that as well. So… if you have travel suggestions for me
please send them along. Thanks - Carole
for the tips you have shared about the Middle East so far.
Next stop … the
mountain gorillas of Bwindi National Park, Uganda!
Sweet Seychelles 🌴🌴🐠
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