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.
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