First task of the day is to be collected for diving. All kit ready and packed, the water adventures are to begin........ two small problems: forgotten dive computers, left at the shop (needing collection for second and third dives), so instead we will follow our trusted dive master. However this becomes issue number two as, despite being South African and speaking English, said dive master is about 16 and has the communication skills of a mute!! The end result is no dive plan and, by the end of the dive, no dive master, instead following Paulo (fellow tourist of the Italian variety and qualified dive instructor, in fact he should get the job).
Unfortunately, the day did not get considerably better and the lack of communication about anything (including food....generally my main priority) ended in us calling time on the day's diving after the second attempt and myself giving this incompetent, racist pig of a man some verbal attitude realignment therapy. Why you would come to work in the Seychelles with a belief system reminiscent of the Ku Klux Klan, is beyond me, irrespective of the immense level of incompetence.
It did seem things might have gone a little far, however, when 12 police officers charged into the dive centre with their hands on their gun holsters minutes after we arrived back for cleaning kit. In fact, the place was surrounded by squad cars supported with much frantic running in a line after the assailant in question, much like a Benny Hill sketch. To be honest, I thought we were about to take part in a series of Banged up Abroad, or caught in some sort of shoot out, as I am now screaming at Steve to hit the deck (too much NYPD, me thinks). It turns out they were after nothing more than a petty thief. Crime is taken so seriously here that the 10 police stations are marked on the tourist map and on reflection it does all seem a little over the top for someone robbing bananas!
There were some positives though; the diving has been easy, although the visability poor, and lunch was only €4 each. To top it off we have completed our last interval training session as the car arrived for island exploration. We have had some horror rental cars over the years and on the face of it the ice white Hyundai i10 seems alright for £26 per day. Turns out it is no better, the roads are so tight and winding that the power steering actually screeches and 5th gear has never been seen as you are either climbing a mountain in first or free wheeling down the other side, whilst the suspension knocks through the wheel arches.
Given the state of the car, night time is probably not the best time to go exploring another location across sheer mountain drops with no crash barriers! However, in the interests of writing about travelling to the Seychelles on a relative shoestring we are determined in our mission to find a variety of eateries at a reasonable price. It might be worth noting at this point that the Grand Anse beach and its many beach bars and food stalls I had been reading about was in fact the one located in Greneda and not that of the same name in the Seychelles. An altogether epic fail on my part which does not for a harmonious evening make. The result has been an evening of circumnavigating the island in the dark and finding only one restaurant outside of Beau Vallon open! Thankfully, not too hard on the pocket with 2 meals and drinks setting us back £56.00 and the left overs being taken in a carton for lunch tomorrow (looks like chicken sandwiches all day).
No comments:
Post a Comment