Mahe, Seychelles - pt 1

This morning we arrived in the Seychelles (sounds like “say shells”). Another one of those places I didn’t even know existed! We were on the island of Mahe today and tomorrow we will be on a different island. Mahe, the largest and most developed island in the Seychelles archipelago is located in the Somali Sea part of the Indian Ocean. It is a popular tourist destination due to its natural beauty, clear blue water and white sandy beaches.

 

skies threatened rain while boarding the catamaran

 

view of port from our ship

 

aboard the Anahita catamaran

 

very $$ homes on the island

Mahe is the largest and most developed of the Seychelles islands. It is the only one that has an international airport. Seychelles is ranked the 19th most expensive country to live in in the world out of a list of 132 countries. It is home to 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

 

Mahe Airport

a windy boat ride

 

whoa! look what passed us!

hanging out on front deck

Our excursion today was called “Corals and Spices.” We selected it months ago, so we were both very surprised when I read the description last evening. Neither of us realized it included snorkeling and I assumed there would be a heavy emphasis on spices. Anyway, instead of boarding a bus we boarded a catamaran for an hour+ ride to an area that is popular for snorkeling. Ronnie took his swim suit and swam/snorkeled with most of the group. I don’t wear a swimsuit in public anymore so I only got wet from sweat. HA!

 

one of the many smaller islands we passed

a little snorkeling

Ronnie headed down for a swim

Church Anse Royale Mahe Seychelles

blue on blue

archipelago is made up of many small islands

 

view of catamaran from dingy

After maybe 45 minutes or so, we all climbed from the catamaran into a dingy and were taken a short distance to a beach where we disembarked and got into a bus. From there we were driven only a short distance to Le Jardin du Roi Spice Garden. I wish we could have spent more time there but our guide was very conscious of having us back to the ship on time. He sort of rushed us through the garden, making a large circle and pointing out different plants or trees along the way. Of course I lagged behind taking photos. I'll post the spice garden separately.