Granitic Landfall.
We are here.
After 20 full hours of flight time and connections that ranged from a relaxing overnight in Lisbon to a 20 minute dead sprint through the monstrous airport in Dubai, we landed in Victoria, Mahe, the capitol of Seychelles, at sunrise.
After the hustle of immigration and taxiing through the bustling town to the ferry terminal, we caught our first meal in the islands before boarding the ferry for Praslin, the island where our charter will begin.
On the crossing we had spontaneous conversations with a dapper man born and raised on Praslin who also has experience as an elected official in the Chagos Islands (to the east of Seychelles, also isolated in the Indian Ocean). The perspective of island people is always unique and fascinating. They understand life on the edge - how fragile it can be, how much they need each other for things we mainlanders take for granted. How much living in concert with the natural world matters when you are surrounded by a massive body of water. We asked questions and listened intently until bowed with exhaustion from travel, we each fell asleep to the rocking of the boat. Heads down on the table, three lights out for just 20 minutes.
The fast ferry power nap bought us just enough oomph for the final leg of today’s journey which was getting ourselves and our gear to a teeny tiny rental car and then navigating for Richie as he drove the steepest twistiest road to our rental flat where we lugged all our stuff then collapsed into proper beds for the first time in too long. A whopper nap of three hours reset me a bit.
We woke to a dimming day - dusk comes at about 6pm here, so close to the equator, as opposed to the long and lingering days we are enjoying up north this time of year. It occurred to me that I will have to take the shorter periods of daylight into account as we plan our daily swims.
Food. We needed it. Piled into car, set out in the dark and twisting. Searched for a local joint, passed many, but had to move on as we didn’t have rupees (Seychelles currency) yet and needed a place that would take a credit card. And so we landed in a lovely upscale restaurant that wowed us with curries and fish dishes and some sort of coconut dessert that knocked my flip-flops right off. Lisa just about licked her curried plate.
At the start and end of a trip, it’s nice to be able to treat our crew with a cushy place to stay and a decadent meal. We retired to our rental flat which includes a big princess bed draped and mosquito netting for me, and lisa and I took to the giant swanky tub to go over plans and details and more plans and details.
We’ve only been here a few hours, but already some impressions:
The granitic makeup of these islands is so unique in the world. Visually it looks rugged and exotic, with large, smooth strewn boulders surrounded by dense jungle.
We stuck our toes in the Indian Ocean in the dark of night. The water is warm and the sand is like silk, white and fine.
Culturally, I feel closer to India than Africa. The air is full of the mingling scents of jasmine and spices and an salty aroma unique to the Indian Ocean.
While the island feels and is wild and rugged, it also has pockets of swanky-ness. High end resorts and beautifully garnished dishes are tucked into corners of the island in between the boulders and dense thickets of palm. Even our flat, with its princess bed, marbleized surfaces and generous tub, sits just meters from an authentic and gritty market, rich with the scents of jungle and really local cuisine.
I like this mix of fine and rough.
I like it here.
Lots to do and people to see and tons of provisions and details to sort today. I’m not into the flow of blogging yet and am only fitting it into the cracks of time when I’m not making lists and crossing things off them and working with Richie and Lisa to make this experience spectacular for our guests.
Zack and Alina are in the air somewhere as I type and will join us tomorrow. Tomorrow night we’ll board our boat. Our guests are all en route and we will do our best to give them a soft, delicious and unique landing in this place so very far away.
Just taking a deep breath of the air coming in off the sea and stone, being somewhere so new and so far is definitely worth the trip.
Love from the middle of the Indian Ocean,
Heather
PS. I should add that I do not know what internet will be like once we are out to sea. It’s possible I won’t be able to post our adventures until we return. I hope you’ll find it worth the wait!
