This morning, we sailed East. Away from the heat and chaos of Praslin, away from the busy tourist boats. East to the islands we have already fallen for, the ones with clear coastal waters and tons of wildlife. Our first stop, Félicité.

Félicité = Lucky, fortunate; Happiness.

Last time we were here, our single swim at Félicité was transformational for me. So when we approached it this morning, I had mixed emotions. What if it let me down? What if I let it let me down?

As swim guides, we are constantly reminding ourselves that, having done so many amazing swims in so many amazing places, our standard is pretty high. We must always remember that for our guests, their first (or even second or third) time at a place is almost always special, even if it rains, or the turtles are shy, or the sea lice sting a little. Everyone is looking for something different from every swim. And if you’re open, you can almost always find what you need.

This morning, Félicité brought enough to thrill us all. WOW. Stunning granite arrangements to swim along, around and through, crystal clear waters. A beautiful beach with a hammock and rocks for Natalie to climb. The big cantilevered rock we can all fit under. An abundance of healthy corals. Three hard to spot and rare invertebrate sightings. And the fish. My word. I think we saw almost every species we’ve seen so far PLUS some on this swim. We saw 3 different shark species at three different spots. After the first, a black tip, I was so proud when I picked up my head and the ladies were calmly discussing their observations about its behavior, how it seemed calm, how it seemed like it wanted nothing to do with us and zipped away. It was positively spectacular. We stayed in the water for two and a half hours, and even then, we were reluctant to get out.

*Dana found this Spanish Dancer egg mass and I just about cried. I haven’t seen one of these in over 20 years. Read below for explanation of what this rose looking thing is!*

Our species list for just this swim was as follows:

Fish

Black tip reef shark

Gray reef shark

Nurse shark shark

Emperor Angel fish - there were at least 5 in one crevasse

Oriental Sweetlips

Spotted drum

Hawk fish

Spotted eagle ray leaping! I was chatting with Miriam and Myssie and Samantha and I nearly choked on water when I saw a spotted eagle ray leap right into the air about 100 yards behind them! So random and rare to see!

Porcupine ray

An enormous Southern sting ray

Parrot fish with remora trying to attach to it

So many more fish I can’t even remember

Invertebrates

Spanish dancer egg mass - The Spanish Dancer is the largest nudibranch in the world and undulates in the water column like a spanish dancer’s red skirt. It lays its eggs in a ribbon of mucous stuck to a rock or reef. This mass looks like a red rose. Dana found one then brought be back to it! Rare and so exciting!

Octopus - Simon found this and even after he pointed it out I could barely see it! What a find!

Tridacna giant clam - we saw TWO big beautiful specimens just a few feet apart!

And a massive field of living, healthy coral.

So Félicité was all I’d hoped and more. We felt lucky and fortunate and it gave us much happiness.

Richie moved us to Coco Island. I’ve been yapping at him about wanting to do this island since the start of this trip. Maybe even since before the last trip. It’s a tiny, lush, rock island just North of Felicite, kind of out on its own except for a few rocky islets. We arrived there in the heat of the day but managed Lou Lou’s excellent international lunch of Greek Halloumi with homemade tzatziki. Georgian Kinkali which are pork dumplings, and a British Sausage plait - don’t ask her if the pastry is self plaiting. It isn’t. Lou Lou has been cooking herself crazy for the last week + and she seems to be getting better and better as the trip goes on!

After lunch, nap time. Everyone to your rooms for time out. It sounds like a punishment but I promise you with the AC and this blistering mid day sun, it’s the only place to be. Richie and Lou Lou took the opportunity to jump in and see what all the fuss has been about. They got up close and personal with one of Seychelles many chill turtles who do not seem to mind an audience close by.

Three thirty rolled around and everyone emerged from cabins back out to the brilliant sun. We plotted our circumnavigation of the little island and its satellite rock islet in a counterclockwise route. Almost immediately on jumping in we realized there was a significant current. Ok, we know how to handle that. We also noticed a friendly shark on the bottom beneath the boat. No bigs, we know how to handle that too.

So we set off for the island and cruised easily over stunning underwater granite scapes with nooks and crannies full of fish, the water’s push at our backs. The rock formations on this little island were stunning. As we rounded each bend, the swell began to pick up. At one point as we were all gathering for a photo op, an 8 foot wave just crashed over Alina who was experienced enough to know instantly to dive under it. At the corner (crazy corners, remember?!) a significant break formed and we took the corner wide, and aimed right for the small rock islet. Almost immediately we were fighting intense current. Everyone was in their own lane, heads down getting the work done. It’s unnerving to be working hard and stare at the same rock on the bottom, making little or no progress. I found that a swell would come and try to pull me back, requiring all of my effort to hold in place, then it would change direction and whoosh me forward a few yards. It was like this all the way to the rocks. We reached them and the work wasn’t done. The rocks had a corner too, and that had to be rounded. There were moments it felt impossible. Everyone just kept at it and we made it round. When I caught up with Alina and her group, the first thing I saw was Dana’s big smile. “Still smiling!” I said to her. I think she was feeling pretty good about what she had just done.

Thankfully the current was now pushing us directly to the little beach on Coco. What a relief, and half our swimmers landed on this perfect little beach with perfect white sand and incredible palm and a big old banyan tree FULL of fruit bats. Adults, babies, filling the branches making a ruckus. I didn’t go ashore, but Simon got some nice frames from the beach. It’s like a place from another time, another eon.

As Simon was approaching the beach, we saw a couple trying to re launch a double kayak through the break. It was clear they were not experienced swimmers and were terrified as the kayak kept getting thrown back at them, and they were getting tossed in the surf. Simon helped get the vessel past the break and I helped as they both climbed aboard. I felt a little uneasy watching them paddle away in the swell, but it seemed they made it back to their boat, thank goodness. Good deed done for the day.

As we all returned to our boat, we looked down to see 4 beautiful gray reef sharks patrolling beneath us. I noticed that when we arrived there they had been mid water. Once we got to the ladder, they dropped to the sea floor. More evidence that we are not what they are looking for. Our swimmers are seasoned now, better understanding of sharks and swimming with them in this location.

Coco was a wild ride. An adventure that pushed us to work hard, then work harder. It rewarded us with stunning views and flocks of bats and a giant spotted eagle ray and 4 endangered sharks and a memory that will last a lifetime.

A pitcher of painkillers and chickpea fritters appeared for happy hour, and everyone hung in the shade of the bow as the sun got lower and lower. The sky went from one amazing palette to the next over the course of an hour. This is our last night out at sea, as tomorrow night we will be back on the dock for our morning departure on Friday. No one enjoyed this thought, but it did prompt much photographing of the sunset. This group is pretty tight tonight, especially after almost 4 hours of adventurous water time and a parade of Seychelles best and brightest sea life. Our fish list is significant. Our connection to one another even more so.