Wednesday wilds & chats among the rocks.

Lisa directs Margon as she signals the anchor position to Richie up on the helm.

Well hello there, again, Seychelles. I remember you.

I remember you can be wild and bumpy. I remember your blue depths can be clear and inspiring. I remember your wildlife is weird and wonderful. I remember you are capable of an impressive weather tantrum. And I remember that your rocks - your gorgeous, granitic boulders, some pink, some orange, some dark gray, are a wonderful place to play.

Today was that day, when we got everything this place can give.

We started at a new site for us - the southeastern shore of La Digue. Completely out of reach to us last time, La Digue is the third largest island in the Seychelles and our dedicated crew got our yacht there first thing in the morning. We arrived under threatening skies, and with a bouncy swell that seemed to come out of nowhere. But after a great night’s sleep, our intrepids were ready to go and embraced what we were given. We swam to the gorgeous orange boulders at one end of a little bay. Bobbed around for a while with two or three turtles, some technicolor reef fish and even the bizarrely textured porcupine ray. This guy is covered with little spikey nubbins, and he’s huge. He had a small fan club of pompano jack in tow. Wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about us, just doing his stingray thing. We headed along the beach to the rocks on the other end of the bay and promptly lost Simon to his explorations for secret rooms, pools and swim throughs. A little too rough for any of these today, but I love that he’s always looking.

Here we ran into unique characters like the spotted drum, a unicorn surgeon, many moorish idols and the local yellowmargin triggerfish (which look quite a bit like our Humu Humus from Hawai’i). Yes, our collective fish list has begun, and we are rapidly making entries.

Most of us stopped at this point, making group photographs in the sporty swell, but Catherine and Simon went off with a case of “Corner fever”. This is a term Simon and Kendra came up with in Greece, where you just can’t help but swim to see what’s around the next corner. And the next one. And the next. The rest of us met one more turtle then headed back to the yacht, where the water was crystal clear and such a juicy blue above a white sandy bottom. The sun came out and I decided this was a perfect time to get my new underwater camera rig in the water and wow it did not disappoint. The mermaids played and dove and bobbed for my camera, and I love the way this thing works. More to come in the days ahead!

Catherine and Simon finally showed up, having covered a total of about 2.4 miles. Wrung out and beaming, they climbed aboard.

We had a fantastic lunch of quiches and salad and thank goodness we hadn’t eaten ALL the brownies last night.

Richie moved the yacht back to Praslin for our afternoon swim in one of our favorite spots last trip - Anse Volbert. Here, the boulders are pink and clustered together in a mid-bay playground in just a few feet of water. As we arrived, a proper soaker ensued. Thunder, lightening, the works. A nice little tantrum. We waited out the fireworks then jumped in. The ladies requested a “short, fun swim”. Happy to oblige! Margon piled her tall hair into a special silicone swim cap and joined us, and we made for the rocky amusement park. 

This place looks like it can’t be real. It’s like a movie set, a dreamscape, a world built in the imagination of the most creative child. The fine sand here makes the water a milky greeny blue, and the rocks are smooth and beg to be climbed.

And so we did. Buoys ditched, we made for the top. Many of our tribe scooted right up with ease. The second I leave the water I’m out of my league, so I was the lagger in reaching the small summit. Photos, giggling, glee. Can we really be here? Can I really be back?

Yes.

We returned to the pastel pool below and the ladies just floated around and chatted. No one was in a hurry or had any kind of agenda. It was just easy, light, perfect. The sky began to dim and we made our way back, reluctantly. The return was worth it though, for Lisa’s fancy figgy appetizers served on swanky spoons brought from Portugal were accompanied by a fine jug of Richie’s Pimm’s punch, full of fruit gorgeousness.

Lou Lou really out did herself with dinner which involved 4 different entrees to accommodate the many allergies and dietary preferences we have this week. Some got chicken with mushrooms with or without prosciutto, some got baked stuffed aubergine. All of us cleaned our plates and celebrated her accomplishment over rum soaked poached stuffed pears. To quote the chef - pears and nuts are so healthy, it’s practically a salad! Fantastic! More, please!

Things got really showy at sunset. More dark clouds and a schmear of rainbow, then brilliant yellows and golds fading to purple before lights out. 

And so the lights are also out on our yacht tonight, as everyone was in bed before 8 after our first full day here. And full it was indeed. 

I’m the last one awake, just trying to get it all down. These amazing days among the rocks, where the wild things play and mermaids make the most of it all under skies of every mood.

Love,

Heather