Day 4 (March 14, 2022): Biting into Mahe Island

Given the seven-hour time difference between Halifax and the Seychelles, we didn’t get up until 8:30AM (which felt like 1:30AM!). We took our time to eat breakfast overlooking Fisherman’s Cove. There is nothing like taking one’s time to drink a pot of coffee while taking in ocean views - especially after a stressful winter. As a result of our laid-back morning, it was 11AM when we finally left the hotel. Having done a northern loop yesterday, today we explored the east and west coasts. Seemingly unlimited coves, boulders, beaches - it was all a feast for the eyes.

We pulled back into the hotel parking lot at 3PM, exactly four hours after we had left. The rest of the afternoon was spent by the resort pool and walking Beau Vallon’s Beach again. For dinner, we enjoyed seafood night at the resort: Seychellois seafood chowder, giant mussels and fish currie left us feeling quite satisfied.

As with any place, day two enables a person to start to get a solid feel for the vibe and to be comfortable with getting around and cultural norms. We are loving the Seychelles!

The dark scrawls roughly outline the route we covered today around Mahe Island.

Incredible granite rock formations on the Anse Major Trail

We found this poison star apple shrub along the Anse Major Trail.

Massive boulders on the Anse Major Trail.

The beach at Takamaka Bay on the east coast.

Anse Royale Beach on the east coast.

The distinctly tall boulders of Anse Royale Beach.

The boulders of Anse Royale Beach.

Surfers Beach on the southeast coast of Mahe.

Fishing boats at Anse Boileau on the west coast.

The road network is not great: windy, narrow, and so much of it has unprotected drops which make driving stressful, especially when one meets oncoming traffic.

Stunning boulders near Anse Louis on the west coast.

As we lay by the pool this afternoon, we kept seeing what looked like large bats flying overhead. And often, they would swoop down to the ocean and take off again. A Google search revealed that they are indeed bats; they swoop down to wet their chests and, when they return to their roost, lick the water to supplement minerals (salt?) in their diet.

To end the afternoon, we walked the last third of Beau Vallon Beach, which we hadn’t walked yesterday. Our resort is at the base of the mountain at the end of the cove. There is nothing like walking a tropical beach at sunset on March Break!