Seychelles - General Thoughts

Bottom line? The Seychelles is not quite the mythical paradise we thought it was. It has great physical beauty in its combination of mountains and water and beaches, and a great variety of interesting rock formations. The climate is warm and the people are friendly. But for those focused on snorkeling, as we were, it did not match many other easier-to-reach places we have been. The corals have not recovered from the 2004 devastation by El Nino. The food was not particularly memorable and the prices were outrageous.

The rock formations of the Seychelles are fascinating. And the beaches can be beautiful if the tides are right. Unfortunately, the legendary snorkeling in the adjacent waters turns out to be disappointing after trying 12 different places.

The flowers are not disappointing.

The Cannonball Tree is unbelievable. Fantastic aromatic flowers and melon-sized fruit that stink when they fall and split.

As a general rule it is not a good idea for snorkelers to go out on a boat with a majority of divers. They get priority and the tendency is to go to areas that are not ideal for snorkeling.

A horizontal horizon line makes a photo more enjoyable. Note snorkeler in the middle.

Hotel greetings written with leaves can be tolerated but an excess of useless pillows is a pain in the ass.

Bird Island. Tropical beaches generally look good in photos. But the photos tell you nothing about many important factors ---

Such as the tides - which were so low at the world-famous Anse Source d'Argent on the island of La Digue that we couldn't even swim, let alone snorkel.

The Valle de Mai on Praslin is the only place in the world where the sensuous coco-de-mer grows, a shapely coconut which some people think resembles part of a female body.

The coco-de-mer is grossly overused in souvenirs and decoration but it's hard not to love this oversized example

Landing strip, Bird Island. The De Haviland Twin Otter 300 and its later model the 400 are great small planes for short dirt and grass landing strips. The two engines get you up in the air in an unbelievably short distance.In the Seychelles it took us from Mahe to Bird Island to Praslin and back to Mahe.

The giant Aldabra Tortoises of Bird Island were unforgettable.

Raffle Hotel, Praslin. If there is a more wasteful thing than a private infinity plunge pool in a hotel I don't know what it is.

Tiny ants manage to penetrate even the most luxurious hotels. more power to them!

The villas at Raffles are mostly unwalkable. You must call an electric buggy to go anywhere.

Electric buggy transportation

Internal roads at Raffles

But still much confusing walking

And walking. Life in this hotel is much too isolated from the natural location.