After the previous afternoon of heavy rains, we spent the next day exploring Eden Island and its surroundings.We rented a car and drove around the island, stopping along the way to take in the sights and sounds.
Whoops! Don’t leave me behind, Dad!
After a long day driving around the island, we were pretty hungry. Seychellois cuisine forms a unique fusion of African, French, Chinese, Indian and English flavors with most of the cooking being based on produce that is fresh and local, either from a nearby garden or the sea. Home to countless tropical fish species, you can either buy these from the Victoria market or along side the road, fresh from the fisherman’s boat and ready to cook.
In fact, it’s not unnatural to spend a whole day out on a yacht exploring surrounding islands, catching your dinner and cooking it in your villa with a glass of wine by your side. Any thoughts of a looming dissertation that needed to be written, was long gone.
If you’re not in a cooking mood, there are a ton of restaurants that open up right onto the sandy beaches. As you walk in, you can pick out your dinner and they will cut and clean it for you. All you have to do is sit back with a cocktail, watch the sun set in the distance and bury your toes in the sand.
Be prepared for some unexpected visitors during dinner. Lots of giant hermit crabs come out to play and if you’re lucky, maybe even a baby sea turtle wandering towards the ocean as the sun sets. With such an untouched pristine island cluster like this, you never know what you’re going to find.
Being an archipelago, you can’t really visit the Seychelles and see only one island. Most of the time tourists rent out a boat and spend a day or two just on the water; island hopping, snorkeling and scuba diving between Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. The Seychelles offers some of the world’s best dive spots. There are tons of dive operators and boats for hire, so inquire at your hotel. Bear in mind, a luxury yacht will set you back at least ZAR 10 000 per a day so your best option is to look around for cheaper prices or find a group of people and split the cost. It’s pretty wicked, even if just for a day.
Sail out and find some deserted islands, marine parks and hidden dive spots.
The beaches were utterly godly. Lush vegetation engulfs the place, warm calm waves roll off in the distance and water so clear that you can see the direction in which the sea grass sways surrounds you.
The undersea life was breath taking and of course changed with the tide. After finding a deserted island, we anchored the yacht, dove in and made our way inland to explore.
We spent the entire day out in the ocean, swimming with tropical fish (of course watching that we didn’t step on the countless sea cucumbers) and snorkeling among the prettiest coral reefs surrounding the island. Bear in mind, that you never really know what you’re going to see, so it’s mystery and danger all in one breath. Whilst it sounds great, wandering around the ocean can be dangerous so it’s always a good idea to have some official guides around. J wasn’t too pleased when I almost pushed her into an unusually large black sea urchin whilst snorkeling. As the tides changed, a shoal of pretty large stingrays made their way inwards around the island, giving us our cue to hop back onto the yacht and head back.
The rest of the time was spent relaxing inside the residential development. Swimming in overflowing pools and resting, far away from the rest of the world.
Late walks under the stars and along side the yachts were a nightly activity.
It was just what I needed after a long year of research in the lab. Never underestimate the magic of a good book, fresh air and an isolated beach. It will do wonders for your mind and soul.
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