Signing Out of The Seychelles

It's over and out from Praslin, the taxi is booked for 10am for a 12pm flight back to Mahe. I would recommend taking the Havilland propeller plane at least one way. It affords fabulous views over the islands and at $60 each, the cost differential to the ferry is insignificant. The flight lasts 15 minutes and there has been no evidence of sick bags, which given we will be travelling or in transit for 24 hours is a welcome bonus at the outset.

As we have done this trip on a significantly lower budget than a package tour, our flight times do not all tie up entirely efficiently and we have had a few hours to loose at Mahe airport, which we have done spending our last few Rupee and sitting in the sunshine, it has not really been arduous.

So whilst we await our connection to Heathrow in Addis Ababa, we are reflecting on the concept of independent travelling to and in the Seychelles.

Our experience is the following: flights are easy to come by and will vary according to the time of year, but if you are willing to have some transit time, you can pick up flights for a similar cost to the Caribbean out of season. No carrier currently flys direct from the UK and even the most expensive carriers will have a stop, or maybe two, in the Middle East.

Self catering accommodation, apartments, apartment hotels, guest houses and small hotels are in abundance, and the market seems to be growing with a considerable amount of construction witnessed. You can find such accommodation for anything from €25 per night to €100, quality and facilities will obviously vary accordingly. If you have to have a swimming pool then you will need to book a room with one of the larger resorts, although this does defeat the object. Local food, packed lunch supplies such as rolls (£1 for 6) and bread (£1 for a loaf) for sandwiches, beer (£1.40 per bottle), soft drinks (50p to £1.75 for recognised brands) and fruit (£1-£3, dependant on source and if prepared) are all easy to come by, and whilst not backpacker cheap are certainly affordable. Interestingly, we noticed a number of people staying at exclusive resorts stocking up on supplies at the supermarket to avoid the exorbitant in-resort prices.

There is a distinct lack of non-restaurant, non-resort centres such as beach bars, which does mean unless you have a sport such as diving, windsurfing etc which brings people into one place, you are likely to spend your holiday without much interaction with others. Although the final spreadsheet has not been commissioned, we anticipate that we have completed this trip for half the cost of a package offering. You can share the same beach, water, trips, sunset and Islands, and whilst the Seychelles will never compare with the cost of travelling in Asia, it can be done on a shoestring, relatively speaking.

Complimentary Cote D'or

Today will be our final everything for this trip, final dive, final sunset, final shoestring meal out and final mountain climb. Our last dive site has been Ave Maria, a lovely easy dive, about 20 minutes off the coast of Praslin and averaging 18m deep. It was just us and a Swiss German national, and his wife who came along for a snorkel. We must first retrieve the Baby Shampoo from the other boat, because in my haste the morning before I forgot it it was hidden from prying diving eyes under the seat. Baby shampoo is like liquid gold in the diving world as you clean your mask with it and if any remains there are "no tears". I have coveted this little bottle since having it passed to me in Borneo, so it had to be found.

All diving done and log books complete, we just have to find some wifi to book some flights in a little propeller plane back to Mahe to join our international flight back to London. As luck would have it the dive shop has wifi which you can log onto for free and so we book our tickets for $60 each. One last-minute thought is luggage allowance, as carrying fins, wetsuits, boots, masks and an inevitable amount of sand means we are never light. We seem to generally be carrying about 25kg each plus hand luggage, and this holiday is no exception. It is never a problem internationally as you have sports kit allowance if you flash your PADI dive card, but it turns out we only get 15kg on Seychelles Air domestic flights. Unless we can cancel them and return by ferry it looks like we shall be wearing our kit on the plane, which may result in some interesting looks and the ministry of silly walks will be reignited like a rerun of the Monty Python on Freeview channel Dave. So the dive shop let us use the phone, and after trying 3 different numbers (it is 12pm, and therefore lunchtime, nobody works at lunchtime) we ascertain we can have a further 15kg each for sports kit.

With everything laid out in the sun to be baked into crispy dryness for packing, there is nothing else for it but to get out the factor 2 and find the last remaining bit if sun. The problem with staying on the East Coast behind a mountain is that by 5pm the shadows appear and you can't squeeze every last remaining drop of equatorial burning out of the day. Instead we must look like a strange re-run of a Bulmers TV commercial with towels moving further and further up the beach until there is simply no more, our work here is done.

As it is our last evening in Praslin we decide to visit "Beach Restaurant", an innovative name, and treat ourselves for all the frugality of the past two weeks. Little did we know this would end up being the best value meal to date. Unfortunately, this place has the service level of a MacDonald's training centre for those being released from anger management rehabilitation. Both nearly wearing our drinks by the very fact they are thrown down on the table, and left with a fish knife for the steak (definitely a challenge) and a fork to eat ice cream (an even greater challenge) I finally felt the need to impart some customer feed back. Neither of us are the sort to demand silver service but, at £25 per person for a main and expected to get through dinner like some sort of Krypton Factor challenge, we were not entirely impressed and so fed back our views succinctly to the loitering owner. Now we had not expected much, maybe just the removal of the  compulsory 10% service charge but, as a final bonus to the shoestring tour, we were given our meal entirely free with just the drinks to pay for. There was only one downside, not wishing to push our luck, we thought better of asking for the free ride home and nearly gave ourselves a coronary with our last attempt "up the mountain".

Call-Sign Mango 10

We have taken to doing a morning dive followed by beach activity in the afternoon and Lady Luck is with us today and we are off to a site unvisited for 3 months due to poor conditions. South Marianne is a 35 minute boat ride from Praslin, past La Digue and far out into the Indian Ocean. A small island of granite rock, mirrored beneath the waves, with vast columns of granite standing upright in the water. We are having to pay an additional €5 each due to the distance involved, but we have decided that we would rather dive 1 good dive than 2 mediocre so are happy to pay the extra.

4 minutes in and we are surrounded by skittish grey reef sharks and schools of eagle rays. It's really busy down there. So much so, that I spend my time swirling around checking out what might be moving in my direction next. Whilst my very own underwater David Bailey is in his element, I have to admit being just a little bit fearful, the visibility is not fabulous and an array of large marine life keeps flying out of the deep blue.

So after Steve runs low on air, he is told he can surface alone and, whilst gulping on mine like its going out of fashion and surprisingly having enough to stay longer, I decree I will go up with him. If one of us is going to be eaten we may as well both be. I have no idea why as I have not been gripped by "the fear" for a very long time but bobbing on the surface with the boat out of reach, fight or flight takes hold and I decide we are going to swim for it. To be honest there was nothing particularly dangerous (that we saw) although the nurse shark was the first time we had been so near to something quite so big but I have never got my dive kit off and back on board so fast. All the while, Captain Slow drifting along not a care in the world obviously hoping for a macro shot of Tiger Shark teeth!

So what to do to get over the adrenaline rush? Oh let's see, go to Anse Lazio where a British Tourist was eaten 2 years previous! We could have caught a taxi but that would be 300SCR (£18)  so we catch the local bus for 5SCR each (a total of 55p). How these things made by Tata are still going is beyond me. Cranking into first gear up hill, screeching worn out breaks back down, but is does afford a scenic view of the coastline. The bus stops about 1 km from the beach and (guess what?) there is a mountain to climb with subsequent down hill stomp to reach what is regarded as the most beautiful beach on the Island. In all honesty, it is truly stunning but the meters of shark nets do take the edge off of things, just a touch!

The Seychellois have a policy of picking up who ever is walking along the road, and people are forever running and jumping into the back of pick up trucks. A lovely Dutch couple had got into the spirit of things so 2 minutes in and hike over as we ended up being offered a free lift for the remainder. Unfortunately, they weren't driving back up when we left! So far this shoestring Seychelles lark is surprisingly easy, so much so that for sundowners a revisit to the Verve Cliquot cocktail bar (part of Cafe de Art) is decreed as we haven't spent more than a couple of pounds today (excluding the adrenaline junkie diving) so we are having a heavily rum based treat for all our good work and sticking to the mission. As an aside we have found it very strange that there are no beach bars to speak of, just areas linked to restaurants. It turns out that the Seychelles were previously under Communist rule and therefore such places were deemed possible meeting places and not really allowed to operate. So we now understand the preference for tourists to be put in their hotel pen and encouraged not to leave the all inclusive.

Two cocktails, two Seybrew and £20 later, we are so in the chill out zone that we don't bother going home to change but flop into Da Luca (a lovely Italian restaurant) because we know we can get a free ride home after purchasing dinner for the princely sum of £35 for two.

Day to La Digue

There are many day trips that you can arrange along the beach at Cote D'or, organised by local entrepreneurs, but they come with a hefty price tag. Most cost around €75 each to take you by boat to the next island and collect you later in the day with very little else included. Enter the Cameron master plan: arrange a taxi to port for 200SCR (£11) and then purchase an Inter Island Catamaran ticket for 400SCR (£22 each). After the 15 minute ferry crossing, arrange bicycle rental with hawker from one of the many hire shops. 200SCR (£11) gets two bikes for the day and there are a selection of sizes including children's and ones with baby carriers and, if you really feel like it, you can tandem. Admittedly, it is pot luck if the gears work and there is air in the tyres and your bag doesn't fall out the luggage rack that is an old shopping basket bungeed to the back, but the end result is the same day trip for £66 for two making it less than half price.

La Digue is famed for having a very small population of only 3000 people, with a very distinct granite rock coastline and the main form of transport is bicycle. There are very few motorised vehicles on the island and the alternative to two wheeled peddle power is an Ox and cart or your own two feet!

So off we set with a map that looks like it might have been through the photocopier about 1000 times and packed lunch of bread related products acquired form the very empty mini mart. It's a bit like being transported back in time with a few guest houses for rent and the one street adorned with cyclists in quantities rarely seen outside of Beijing. You can stay on La Digue in a very exclusive and expensive resort but we didn't see them as the riff raff are kept well away.

I previously mentioned that dressing up was not really a pre requisite to a holiday in the Seychelles, but  it would seem that some visitors to this Island had not got with that programme. For some reason this place brings out the wanna be Vogue front page model in abundance and we have laughed till we hurt watching many a female strewn across granite rocks in what they perceive to be various playboyesque poses, whilst their long suffering husbands are set on a mission to capture the ultimate holiday photo. They in fact look more like injured seals and that very expensive netted swimsuit being sported will be in dire need of repair. We have also spent many an hour watching the Chinese tourists wonder into the water fully clothed, in what appears at first sight to be a suicide mission reminiscent of Reggie Perrin.

A conveyor belt of weddings is in full swing, with couples dressed in casual creams and white, their photos regularly interrupted by hapless visitors. They wonder the beach looking a little lost after their half hour is done. Whilst it is a very beautiful setting for a wedding compared to a down pour in a graveyard in June, they all seem to have the same look of "is that it", as they are shuffled on so the next eagerly waiting bride and groom can assume their position. It got us questioning whether we would have done it differently ourselves and have decided that not having your friends and family around just doesn't seem to have the same feel. You may have some lesser known family attend but at least they will dress for the occasion as opposed to having various red, white and brown hued, bikini clad onlookers putting your unknown picture on Facebook before they day is out.

La Digue is small and you can travel from the west cost to east coast by bike in 20 minutes, the outlook on each side is very different. On the West Coast, a trip through the wildlife reserves takes you to D'Argent where you park your bike with 200 others and hope you find it again, and a leisurely stroll through the granite rocks brings you out onto Anse la Source a Jean. This is the stuff of postcards, crystal clear water and gently lapping waves on the shoreline. By contrast, Grand Anse on the East coast is a surfers paradise, with gigantic waves rolling in and charging so far up the beach that, if pitched up incorrectly (as we were), rudely awaken you by taking you and your towel out in one hit!

The return climb from Grand Anse is a little tricky with a flat front tyre and one gear as the chain is rusted out from all the sea and sand, but can be done by pushing said bike uphill until you reach the flat.

All in all a fun day out although it has to be said you are merely swapping one beach riddled island for a smaller version along with bike riding associated saddle sore.

Blowing Bubbles At Booby Island

Today has been a diving day and the location is Booby Island, aptly named due to its appearance. A small pinnacle above the Indian Ocean topped with a few trees. It does indeed look like a Booby from afar. We are diving with Octopus Divers, another 5* PADI outfit run by a French couple, who know how to run a dive centre but also know how to charge. Each dive is €55 per person, which is not cheap in diving terms, and given the slightly lack lustre quality of what there is to see we will probably only complete 3 dives on Praslin. The Seychelles have been experiencing strange weather, with gusty winds and no rain for weeks at a time, and the upshot is poor visibility at only about 5m, not the usual 20-30m, and some trickier diving. Booby Island lies a 25 minute boat ride away from shore and entry to the site is quite difficult with large 5ft swells crashing against the rocks and a powerful current surge.

The surge continues beneath the water and we have both been caught out with an injury each to take home, nothing major I hasten to add but we have both been swept against the large rock formations underwater resulting in some cuts and bruises. To be honest I am surprised we didn't both knock our teeth out getting back on the boat as it got bounced around on the surface. 

All said and done we have seen a few interesting things, including four white tip reef sharks, lobsters, Jacks and some large parrot fish.

Having finished for the day at 1pm, we have taken to our free sun beds once more following another visit to the supermarket for lunch supplies, again not overly expensive. A bag of bread rolls will set you back about £1 and cheese another £1, and a recovery beer or 3 are about £1.40 each. You can buy fruit from the local sellers all prepared and beautifully presented on banana leaves for £3.50 and there is too much to consume.

We have managed to hitch a free lift from Kevin at Sagittarius back to the apartment (saving one mountain climb) and in speaking to the his son on the way, have worked out that the restaurants will also take you home gratis if you dine with them, so only the downward stroll to deal with. One thing is for sure, if you do not stay at sea level, absolutely do not bother packing heels. On the subject of attire, don't bother packing anything particularly smart if the Seychelles ever takes your fancy, as you can go anywhere in your shorts, t-shirt and flip flops, and there is absolutely nothing to do after dinner, so it looks like the playing cards will be coming out. Most evenings we are home and ready for bed by 9.30pm, not exactly what we are used to but we are getting the hang of it and now seem to be perpetually knackered, doing not a lot!

Lazy Days and Sundays

It turns out that Mango Lodge has a sister company called Sagittarius, located on Cote D'or Beach, also known as Anse Volbert. Sun-beds, kayaks and all other water sport paraphernalia are included for free if you are staying at Mango Lodge. There is one minor problem: the 1 mile long, knee crunching descent whilst adorned with books, beach towels, enough sun scream to cover a camel, change of clothes, cool bag, water, beers, money......you get the picture. Whenever you say where you are staying, even the locals refer to it with aghast faces and call it "up the mountain".

So with beach camp set up and supermarket visited by 12pm (because the entire place goes into shut down and the tumble weed rolls through for the rest of the day on a Sunday) we both decree we are doing nothing else whatsoever other than baking in the equatorial sun and at a push rolling from sun bed to sea in much the same manner as a Walrus might drag its sorry backside around on a rock.

Lunch has cost the grand sum of £7 for a take away ham and cheese toastie with fries, and the supermarket visit cost £12 and included soft drinks, beers, tonic and MSG-loaded snacks. So the shoestring mission continues, with the above representing the sum total of the days expenditure by 5pm.

There really is nothing much else to report apart from: we still haven't seen a single other British tourist; the French love luminous budgie smugglers and wear the side parts so high they look like a mass ode to the mankini; and some people really should stop wearing bikinis, as parts seem to be lost within their person, so I am therefore going to worry less in the future and not spend half a day in Marks and Spencer's trying on 10 pairs of the same size beachwear to find one that fits. Steve has made a new friend, a little terrier type dog who has sat under his sun lounger all day, been fed all the bottled water and played catch the coconut on the beach. In fact, so taken is she with him, that we have even found her sat waiting on his on his towel when we summoned the will to leave. Whilst she borders on the side of requiring a dose of Bob Martin, I am eternally grateful as it means I have been able to sit in marital peace and at last got to page 384 of Marian Keyes.

Eating out is relatively easy with 5/6 restaurants sporting various Creole based fare, along side the standard "everything with chips" range, and we are finding that on average we are spending about £35 for two on an evening out, which compared to the alternative cost of staying in an all inclusive resort, is working out very well. Additionally, there is the excitement of mountain climbing in flip flops in the pitch black back to your room!

Praslin Paradise

There is no super cheap way to get from one island to another, the inter island plane is $60 each if you book on the Internet, and the ferry £45 each way. On our crossing, this included free entertainment: watching people drop like flies with sea sickness and ending the trip with the head of a very sick lady on my lap (she having passed out and been cared for by crew, they had to leave to put out the fenders or some other spurious excuse). Rough seas and a high speed catamaran are not a great combination and sadly we were unable to watch Praslin approach as it was shrouded in cloud. In all honesty I was too busy checking my new travelling partner had the sick bag to her face and ensuring my feet were out of the way of a direct hit to have noticed anyway.

It's easy to grab a taxi at the port and a 10 minute ride to your hotel will cost 250SCR or £14. You cannot take the bus as they do not allow suitcases on....can't say we were disappointed at that one.

Mango Lodge is set high up on a hill again (Steve has asked if I am actually trying to kill him) which affords a fabulous view across a turquoise bay and is so remote you can sleep with the doors open and the wind blowing through. The accommodation itself is a selection of A-frame chalets, individual huts with kitchen, bathroom and balcony all made from ply-wood. They are fine (not the Ritz) and heat up nicely in 30c, much like a shed. The knock out smell of damp from the bathroom means you don't take your time and it turns out all the taps are plumbed the wrong way around, so the Baltic cold showers we both had could have been avoided after all. That said, €100 per night including breakfast does get you a priceless vista, and a bed that is close to comfortable.

Quite a grey and drizzly afternoon has been spent scoping out the local eateries and the associated prices, obviously accompanied by a Seybrew and sit down in each. So far not too bad, given the captive audience we pose. A fish/chicken/beef curry will set you back about £10.00 and a Caesar Salad £6. Pizza and pasta are the mainstay, as the island is heavily visited by Italians, and these range between £5-£12 for a main course.

We have had one stroke of luck on the shoestring though; a beautiful bar with upper floor for watching the sunset, all decked out in rattan furniture, and sporting a private function section of the Verve Cliquot variety. Due to the lack of private bookings we were able to manoeuvre our way into the specially reserved part for free and while away some of the tropical downpour in the very comfortable surroundings, all for the price of a few drinks (admittedly not the cheapest we have ever had and at £6 for a cocktail you learn to drink slowly).