PORT VICTORIA, MAHE – THE SEYCHELLES – MARCH 19TH

Heading southwest from the Maldives through the Indian Ocean, we arrived at Port Victoria on March 19^th.  We didn’t receive a port guide for the Seychelles, so I don’t have too much information.  The Seychelles are composed of over 115 islands, which are divided into two groups:  the inner and outer isles.  The outer isles are low-lying coral islets covered with palm trees.  The inner islands, Curieuse, Fregate, Cousin, La Digue, Praslin and Mahe, are granite bastions covered with lush tropical vegetation.  Today 80,000 people reside in the Seychelles.  The capital is Victoria on Mahe Island.  With a population of 23,000 people, Victoria is one of the smallest capital cities in the world.   The only other bit of trivia I have about the Seychelles is that William and Kate honeymooned on one of the islands and Will said it was the best holiday he’d ever enjoyed – not sure if it was because of the location or because of his beautiful bride. 

We arrived early in the morning and, after going out on the balcony, Michael said, “it’s not too bad today.”  We’ll see about that….

Although the ship offered many excursions including trips to the National History Museum, Kenwyn House, Bel Air Cemetery, Botanical Gardens, and beaches at nearby islands, we passed on all of them and chose to walk into the town on our own. 

Let me mention something here because we met a saleswoman in Mauritius, an upcoming port, who was trying to sell us beach towels and Michael remarked that I don’t like the beach.  She said I was the first person she met who didn’t like the beach.  Well, that’s hard to imagine.  But, I really don’t like the beach.  I hate sand.  I don’t use pools.  Unfortunately, some people use them as toilets.  We’ve met lots of passengers who enjoy this activity and because of the hot weather we’ve been experiencing, many are in the ship’s pool.  Many passengers and crew love going to the many beautiful beaches which have been available throughout this cruise.  There have been plenty of excursions that go to neighboring islands for the day.  I think the last time I was on a beach was in 1989 in Hawaii when Michael and I were dating.  We snorkeled in 1999 in Cairns, Australia, and in Jamaica some years back and I did some kind of wave thing on one of the Royal Caribbean ships with my family, which I won’t do again.  I have no idea why, but I bring my bathing suit on every cruise and every cruise it goes, unworn, back into my suitcase.  The only time I ever wear it is in the thermal suites on the ship when we go to Alaska.   Michael, too, brings his (at my urging for some unknown reason) and it goes right back into the suitcase unworn at the end of our cruise. 

Right outside our ship was a group of vendors selling their wares, including t-shirts, cotton shirts, dresses, jewelry, magnets and trinkets.  We thought we’d visit this area after we got back from our walk to town, so, I stopped at the information booth, got a great map of Victoria and walked to the roundabout about a mile away only to get totally confused from the road sign vs. the map and to figure out which of the five roads was Francis Rachel Street which led to the center of the city.  I made the mistake of asking tourists (which you should never do because they’re as lost as you are) but finally asked a “local” who sent us in the right direction.  We passed the Unity Monument which symbolized the unity among Asia, Africa and Europe and a small park and began walking towards town.  We were told, later on, that some people didn’t make it to the roundabout and had to turn back because it was too long a walk and too hot.  Although taxis were at the pier, they were more interested in going out for 2-3 hours for tours around the island rather than short trips to the city.  

We came across the Senpa – Esplanade Craft Kiosks as well as an outdoor art gallery that was behind the kiosks.  Why it was located behind the buildings, I have no idea, but the sculptures were fun.  There were some very modern buildings including the National Library, and the large intersection where the Victoria Clock Tower stood.  It is the focal point of Victoria’s downtown district and the 100-year old clock is a replica of the clock located near Victoria Station in London.  

On we went to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and a visit to the gift shop where we met two lovely men, Maxwell and Keddy, and where I bought a black rosary with silver painted crosses on each bead.  I think I paid $3.00.  Maxwell was interested in our President Trump and we enjoyed our little talk with them.  (Although politics are a verboten subject on cruises generally, I’ve found that people around the world are very interested in our politics and being the news junkie that I am, I always have plenty to say, if asked.)  

Heading back to the ship (the Cathedral was the furthest venue from our ship in town), we headed back and turned right on Market Street, where we bought a bottle of Takamaka Rum, which is actually made in the Seychelles.  By the way, is there anywhere in the world where you can’t find Nutella?   I was already sweating up a storm and too drenched to even look at clothing.  There was no way I could’ve peeled off my clothes in order to try anything on.  We stopped in a retail store which had incredible air-conditioning, but I knew I couldn’t stand in there all afternoon unless I made a purchase of thousands of dollars’ worth of gym equipment and had it shipped home.  

We stopped in St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral and rested for a bit.  By this time on our cruise, I already told Michael there was no way I would ever do another world cruise through these hot and humid locations.  The ship has always been the destination for us and it just doesn’t make sense to go all around the world, at a hefty price, to remain indoors throughout, although I do know of some passengers who stay onboard during many port days.  Anyway, I told Michael that he would have to video me on one of the worst weather days and show it to me to remind me of the torture I’m enduring when I bring up the subject of another world cruise.  Well, as we were sitting in the back of this simple but lovely Cathedral, Michael presses his video button and says, “So, how would you like to do the world cruise in 2021?”  In response, in an almost-delusional stare, I removed my cross-body shoulder bag to show how wet my tank top was (I could’ve been entered in a wet t-shirt contest), and while a bead of sweat was hanging off my nose, my face was melting, my body was drenched from head to toe, I proceeded to tell him, in a calm and low voice, that if I ever suggested a world cruise that wasn’t going through the Arctic Ocean, to show me this video.  In other words, not just no, hell no!  The video was but a foreshadowing of what was to transpire in our next port, Nosy Be, Madagascar.  

I wanted to buy a couple of things at the kiosks we passed coming in to the town and stopped and talked with a couple of vendors until I got the items for the right price.  We were told the vendors don’t like to negotiate so the price is the price.  I was also told by one of the smiling vendors that there aren’t that many things made in the Seychelles because the people were basically “lazy.”  It’s a shame because I like shopping but won’t buy something if I know it’s made in China.  For that, I could stay home.  

We met our destination lecturer, Deb, who I asked where the replica of the coco de mer was and she told me it was to the right of the Clock Tower.  She had shown us a wonderful photo of herself in front of this sculpture of the coco de mer which was awesome, and I was sorry that it was located where we’d already been and missed it. The coco de mer is a monotypic genus in the palm family and it is only found in the Seychelles.  The tree generally grows to 25–34 m tall. The mature fruit is 40–50 cm in diameter and weighs 15–30 kg, and contains the largest seed in the plant kingdom.  The fruit, which requires 6–7 years to mature and a further two years to germinate, is sometimes also referred to as the sea coconut, love nut, double nut or Seychelles nut.  When I posted this photo on FB, a friend asked me if it was a monument to the Kardashians.  As you can see from the photo, it was a funny but very fitting reference.  

I walked a little way back from where we’d come to look at something at one of the kiosks while Michael chatted with some fellow passengers.  I then turned back and sat on a nearby bench with a power bar and bottle of water I got from Michael’s backpack.  I heard Michael call to me, signaling me to come back.  I thought he wanted to continue walking back to town and I motioned, no.  I was exhausted by this time and actually not feeling well in the heat and humidity.  He then told me the taxi at the corner would take us back to the ship;  I quickly bought the little box I’d had been eyeing from the kiosk nearby and headed for the cab.  I lamented about the fact that I didn’t take a picture in front of the coco de mer and the taxi driver was kind enough to stop and wait while we took the picture.  Had we not stopped, we wouldn’t have noticed another fellow passenger, Rennie, who was walking by and didn’t look like she wanted to walk back to the ship either and the taxi driver motioned her to get in.  She, too, was exhausted from the heat, and we all relaxed in the lovely air conditioned taxi and got back to the pier in just a few minutes.  Michael doesn’t sweat and, hence, doesn’t dehydrate.  The heat and humidity doesn’t bother him. 

Cooled down, we walked through the little stalls that were at the pier but didn’t see anything we hadn’t already seen.  Needless to say, I was thrilled to be back onboard in the comfort in our almost sub-zero degree cabin.  Okay, maybe not sub-zero degree but the way Michael continues to reduce the temperature when he tells everyone how cold it is in here, it might as well be sub-zero.  Hey, our cabin steward says it’s the coldest of his assigned rooms and he LOVES coming in here!  So there! 

MICHAEL’S OBSERVATIONS:  As noted above by Leona, we won’t be looking for real estate in this location any time soon.  The people we met were very friendly and I did enjoy the various shops.  But, like many cities, it has numerous governmental agencies which seem to be involved in every aspect of peoples’ lives.  While purchasing the bottle of rum, we witnessed a government agent doing an inspection of the owner’s employment books.  She appeared to be unhappy with his bookkeeping and he, unhappy, with her scrutiny.  It was amusing to see this bureaucratic episode in such a tropical paradise.  Although very hot, the Seychelles is a beautiful place with crystal clear waters and greenery covering the entire island.  I have a good number of pictures to remind me of this interesting place.