Monday means the end is near.

I write today from a comfy bed in a little apartment in Mahe. The breeze (ok it’s still a stiff wind) is rustling through the palm fronds outside my wide open window. No screen. I can see a flying fox soaring around out there. There is the kind of birdsong you only hear when a tropical forest is close. I can smell plumeria in the air. I love it here.

Monday was our last day of swimming. We had overnighted at Anse Pasquiere Bay and jumped in during an absolutely howling wind. Our swimmers didn’t even blink at the wind by this point in the trip. We cruised in the chop over to the granitic shore line - a final wade in the shallows, a final lean against the cool, smooth boulders. We were all scooting around in the shallows and Celine sliced her finger on something - a shell or other natural thingy in the seagrass. She was ok but needed to wash it out and bandage it up, so I towed her back to the boat so she could keep it out of the water. She kicked and I stroked. So mad at myself for not doing a fun selfie of that unexpected moment we both actually enjoyed.

Alina took the other ladies all around and across the inside of the bay. I saw them bobbing around wayyyy on the other side for a while - I knew they must have found something awesome. I deliberated too long about sprinting over there to join them and then they were on their way back. 

Excitedly they told me I had to come see. So back through the wind and waves we went. 

There (after waving hello at the spotted eagle ray) was an enormous reef of staghorn coral -  maybe the size of a tennis court - positively teeming with juvenile reef fish. There must have been 40 or 50 different species, thick schools of each just mingling and schooling and pulsating in and out of the reef’s natural nooks and crannies. All of this in just a few feet of water, meaning we hovered just a foot or so over the nursery. A little ecosystem of the very young. The vibrant, hopeful future of the marine life of Seychelles. 

When we finally pulled ourselves away, we got about 25 yards on our return before stopping at another, deeper reef. Here we saw the larger versions of all of the babies we had just left. They were all being overseen by the granddaddy of all stingrays. He was huge - probably 4 or 5 feet across. I dove down to look him in the eye. He was unphased by my presence, and finally left when he seemed to have had his fill of a benthic breakfast.

The reef, its young inhabitants, the big papa ray, all of it; so unique, distinct and compelling.

So unique, distinct and compelling. 

And wild.

If I had to sum up these islands in a few words, I suppose that’s what I’d say.

Throughout our time here, Miriam has asked me if I am happy, if Seychelles is living up to my dreams. Yes, I have been very, very happy here. And Seychelles has exceeded my expectations in ways I didn’t see coming - in the way that a place does after you dream about it from afar for so long. I knew I would love it, but I didn’t really know it. It wasn’t exactly what I expected. It was harder. Better. Truly amazing. 

Seychelles did not handle us with kid gloves.

It gave us big winds and some serious sea lice in its most protected corners, almost as if to say, get out there. Be brave. There are rewards where the going isn’t easy. We did, and there were. In the end, I’d say this place reflected the true nature of ourselves - each one of us - back at us. It pushed us as water people, and stripped away the limits we may have imagined for ourselves before now. 

Marianne commented to me that we travel with the most extraordinary people. Of course our crew fit this description, but also, our guests. They all lead pretty interesting lives at home, but what I find most intriguing about them all is a willingness to fly far from what they know, gather up with strangers, strip down to next to nothing and jump into a wild ocean. An openness to whatever the waves will bring.

The very seasoned guests on this very special SwimVacation came open and ready to swim what we were given. When I worried it might be too much, they showed me they were excited for it. They wanted even more. They all embraced what we were here to do - to explore this wild and wonderful place, so far from anything, just beyond the edges of the familiar. These women are so strong. Without question, after 27 years of wondering what if I had come here when it was first offered to me, I have been here at exactly the right time, with exactly the right people. Without question, I will go home better. 

The rest of the afternoon and evening was just ours, with a very bumpy ride back to base, a fun walk through the small town, Celine manned the anchor, helping us bring the yacht to rest for the final time. We ate, laughed, toasted each other. We sang happy birthday to both Tara and Marianne, 34 and 70, respectively. We watched the slideshow of our incredible time together in the water. Everyone glowed with the fatigue and satisfaction of an adventure well met.

I cannot thank the people who helped me make this trip possible enough. Hopper had faith in my idea and my ability to pull it off. Richie and Lisa made new waters and flavors possible, kept us safe and well fed, brought us to places I would never ever have seen without them. Zack made everything better, for our guests and for me. And Alina was a perfect friend / confident and support to our swimmers and me, both in the water and out.

Miriam, Myssie, Celine, Tara, Marianne and Caroline, thank you for your trust in us to come swim the Seychelles. Thank you for your strength, endurance and company. We will always have what this place has given us.

I’ll enjoy my last few days in this Eden, and hope the waves will bring me here again.

Love,

Heather


PS. Roll Call! Here is a list of most of the species we saw in the Seychelles - most of them SwimVacation firsts! Thank you to Myssie for compiling this list!!

Species List Indian Ocean, Seychelles, June 2022

Pacific Green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas

Giant Clam, Tridacna maxima

White-spotted Guitar Fish, Rhynchobatus australiea

Geometric Moray eel, Gymnothorax griseus

Banded Snake Eel, Myrichthys colubrinus

Meyer's Butterflyfish, Chaetodon meyeri

Threadfin Butterflyfish, Chaetodon auriga

Porcupine Ray (Lare boukle), Urogymnus asperrimus 

Spotted Eagle Ray (Lare sousouris), Aetobatus ocellatus

Brown Butterflyfish, Chaetodon kleinii

Schooling Bannerfish, Heniochus diphreutes

Sergeant Major Damsel, Abudefduf Vaigiensis

Nine-band Sergeant, Abudefduf septemfasciatus

Yellow-tail Sergeant, Abudefduf notatus

Golden Trevally (juvenile, pilot fish), Gnathanodon speciosus

Gold-spotted Trevally, Karang ferblan

Silver Batfishes, Monodactylidae sp.

Round Batfish (Poudo), Platax orbicularis

Golden Batfish (Poudo), Platax boersii

Long-fin Batfish (Poudo), Platax teira

Powder-blue Surgeonfish (Sirizyen ble), Acanthurus leucosternon

Clown Surgeonfish (Sirizyen are), Acanthurus lineatus

Convict Surgeonfish, Acanthurus triostegus

Moorish Idol, Zanclidae sp.

Bullet-head Parrotfish (Kakatwa ver), Chlorurus sordidus

Yellow-margin Triggerfish (Navitol), Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus

Golden-tail Damsel, Pomacentrus caeruleus

Emperor Angelfish (Nyas), Pomacanthus imperator   

Needlefishes, Belonidae sp.

Remoras, Echeneidae sp.

Pinstriped Butterflyfish, Chaetodon trifasciatus

Long-nose Butterflyfish, Forcipiger flavissimus

Semicircle Angelfish, Pomacanthus semicirculatus

Regal Tang (Korn ble), Paracanthurus hepatus

Pale Surgeonfish (Sirizyen navi), Acanthurus mata

Dusky Surgeonfish, Acanthurus nigrofuscus   

Indian Gold-ring Bristletooth, Ctenochaetus truncatus

Orange-spine Unicornfish (Korn lewa), Naso elegans

Spotted Unicornfish (Korn bef), Naso brevirostris

Queen Coris, (female)

White-cheek Parrotfish, Chlorurus capistratoides

Four-saddle Grouper (Vyey zourit), Epinephelus spilotoceps

Picasso Triggerfish, Rhinecanthus aculeatus

Wedge-tail triggerfish, Rhinecanthus rectangulus

Black triggerfish (Bours nwar), Melichthys niger

Blotched Porcupinefish, Diodon liturosus

Blotch-eye Soldierfish, Ilyripristis berndti

Common Lionfish, Pterois miles

Yellow Teardrop Butterflyfish, Chaetodon interruptus

Blue-green Puller, Chromis atripectoralis

Scissortail Sergeant (Bweter karo), Abudefduf sexfasciatus

Gold-bar Wrasse (Kakatwa lezar), Thalassoma hebraicum

Saddle-back Hogfish, (juvenile) 

Bullet-head Parrotfish, (female)

Blue-barred Parrotfish (Kakatwa blan), Scarus ghobban

Long-nose Filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris

White-tip Soldierfish, Myripristis vittata

Saddled Pufferfish, Canthiqaster valentini

Half-and-half Wrasse (Madam tombe), Hemigymnus melapterus

Golden Anthias, Pseudanthias squamipinnis

Sailfin Tang (Sirizyen taba), Zebrasoma desjardinii

Three-spot Squirrelfish, Sargocentron melanospilos

Sabre Squirrelfish (Lyon parasol), Sargocentron spiniferum

Seychelles Squirrelfish, Sargocentron seychellense

Striped Cleaner Wrasse (sp.)