Seychelles

I am dedicating this entry to my mother and father, who are 90 and 91 years old respectively. They made all this possible. Robert Dale Boyce and Margaret Evelyn Boyce.

I had dreamed of going to the Seychelles since I was in my early 20s. That is almost 40 years. The scenery looked like it was another planet with surreal rock formations and dreamy colored waters. At the time the cost was prohibitive and I pretty much gave up on that idea.

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Fast forward almost 40 years and I was living within a 4 hour flight from there. Still, it appeared expensive so we went many other places. After our twins were born, my in-laws came to town to help out. With my wife’s encouragement, I booked a flight with my frequent flier miles and went for four nights.

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The Seychelles did not disappoint! Wow! It is one of these places where the light seems different, the air smells fresher, the colors brighter…magical. The Seychelles has it all. Stupendous beaches, wonderful hiking trails, lush, exotic plant life, surreal rock formations and views to die for everywhere.

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Although the Republic of Seychelles has over 100 islands, three are the major tourist destinations. Mahe is the large island, where you fly in. The capitol is Victoria. La Digue is the smallest and famous for having amazing beaches and most transportation via bicycle. Praslin is the second largest. I stayed on all three. You can travel between the islands by plane or ferry. I did both of those. I recommend plane from the big island and boat between the smaller islands. I rented a car on two of the islands and a bicycle on La Digue. You drive on the left side and the car had a stick shift. Driver’s wheel on the right. A bit sketchy with large storm ditches on the side. Very narrow roads. The entire country has close to 100,000 inhabitants. It has the highest per capita GDP in Africa. It is about 1,000 miles off the coast of Africa. English, French and Creole spoken.

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It is expensive but I was able to locate small apartments where I could do my own cooking if I wished. I am not a big foody, so I do fine picking up a few things at the grocery stores. The cuisine looked marvelous but a bit expensive. I loved the topography, which allowed some physically demanding hikes through exotic plant life. 42%”of the country is designated for conservation, so they are preserving the beauty. I would drive or bike around the islands and then stop to snorkel or take a hike. One of the kind of humorous aspects of the trip for me was that I don’t recall any other solo travelers. It is a romantic place and many wedding preparations were visible.

It was an activity packed trip and truly a magical place. It has earned its reputation.
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