Winter sun in the Seychelles

It was a long cold winter in Scotland and we decided to get away for some winter sun.  We wanted a laid-back, relaxing holiday, so after a lot of research and debate we decided on The Seychelles.
The Seychelles (officially the Republic of Seychelles) is a country consisting of 115-islands, 932 miles east of the mainland of Southeast Africa in the Indian Ocean.
Seychelles has the smallest population of any African state with a population of 90,024.  The granitic islands are considered the oldest and hardest granite in the world.  The majority of the islands are uninhabited, with many dedicated as nature reserves.

We flew into Mahé, the largest island of the Seychelles.    

We rented a condo in the resort of Eden Island.   The island is built on a reclaimed coral reef, off of Mahé, between the airport and the capital of Victoria.

Days were spent relaxing on the veranda, reading, sipping on cocktails, soaking up some sunshine, watching sunsets and enjoying the local wildlife. 

Madagascar Red Fody


The "Streets" of Eden Island.  The only mode of transportation allowed in the resort are electric carts.

We enjoyed exploring the resort's pools, beaches, tropical plants and wildlife.

We even enjoyed Starfruit straight from the tree.

Sunrises and Sunsets were beautiful!

The Resort has 2 pools and 4 beautiful beaches for residents only. 

We did some shopping and had a few lunches, dinners and cocktails at Eden Plaza on the island.

We had some amazing food and drinks.  We really enjoyed having seafood everyday! 

We hired a tour guide to give us a 5 hr tour of Mahé.

The Mission Ruins of Venn's Town is situated in the South-West of the Morne Seychellois National Park.  Missionaries ran a school there for liberated Africans landing in Seychelles after 1861.  The ruins are a reminder of Seychelles’ role in the campaign to stamp out the slave trade in the region following the abolition of slavery in 1834.  It is now a scenic viewing platform and used for events. 

The Aldabra Giant Tortoise, native to the islands of the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world.  The Male averages 47 inches in length with an average weight of 550 lbs, while the females are generally smaller, with average of 35 inches in length and weighing 330 lbs.

We stopped at ‘SeyTe’, The Seychelles Tea Factory

 and the Takamaka Rum Distillery.

We drove through The Morne Seychellois National Park and checked out some amazing beaches.

 We ended our tour with the viewpoint overlooking the resort on Eden Island.

While enjoying the view and taking pictures we were photobombed by the local wildlife.

Every evening the Seychelles Fruit Bats or Flying Foxes come out from their roosts in the mountains to forage for food.  The bats are among the largest in the world with an average wingspan of 39 inches with some reaching nearly 48 inches.  We could hear their screeches from the balcony at night, it was a little unnerving but fortunately they are strictly vegetarian.

We took a day trip to Victoria to browse, have lunch and do some sightseeing.

We chartered a boat for a half-day of fishing.

We really enjoyed our boat captain aboard the Aqua Vita and had a great day offshore.

Now that we were thawed out, suntanned and relaxed, it was time to head back to the Northern Hemisphere.  We had a wonderful time relaxing in The Seychelles.  It really was great to be back on island time and enjoying some of our favorite things.  Although the island was absolutely beautiful, we didn't find it to be the most friendly and welcoming place.  We still enjoyed our week, grateful for the adventure and marked it off our bucket list.

Look for our next blog about our Easter weekend trip to York and a short visit with our friends Katelyn and Sadie. 

Love to all of our family and friends!

Cheers,

John and CJ