Dear Friends and Family,
The original plan called for us to wake up at the crack of dawn and take a ferry over to Praslin, one of the other islands, for the day. But between the early wake up, the ferry cost (almost $100 round trip each), the extra rental car, and the fact that there was still tons to do on Mahe, we just weren't that motivated. From what we could tell, the primary tourist draw to Praslin is a national park that grows the Coco de Mer coconut. Sleeping in... exotic coconut... sleeping in... exotic coconut... our laziness won on without much of a struggle.
What We Did
We spent the morning exploring the one town on the island - Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles. It was lunch time by the time we got down there and found parking. The streets were alive with people walking the streets. There were lines at take away counters, people going for a stroll, people doing some quick lunch time shopping, and some running errands like going to the post office. One oddity we noticed was the long ATM lines. Turns out inflation was a problem for awhile and people just got into the habit of taking out what they needed each day.
We picked up some sodas and fish fritters and vegetable pies at the supermarket and took them back for the afternoon. We made a mini lunch plate at our hotel room with them, some freshly brewed espresso and some fresh fruit.
We headed back out to the hotel beach. There were several people out with snorkels. Always curious, Mr. mouse went back to our rooms and grabbed our snorkels. Turns out there's plenty of coral and fish to see if you swim out a little bit from the shore. Mr. mouse seemed to enjoy the water as much as I did this trip, which made it that much more fun.
Much better than exotic coconuts.
What We Ate
Breakfast? Hotel brunch! I decided to mix it up and started with a cold plate of salmon and toast and butter. Then, moved on to a hot plate of, you guessed it, beans and sausages. And, ended with a plate of fruit. More juice. More coffee. Ready to hit the day running.
How did we end up at the Pirate's Arms for dinner? The original intent was to go to a Creole buffet at the first beach we went to in Beau Vallon. Ah, I remember. Our logistical planning called for us to check out of our hotel Wednesday morning, board a ferry for La Digue, spend two days on La Digue, take the ferry back late Thursday afternoon, check into another hotel on Mahe for the night and leave Friday morning for home. With me so far? We thought it would be easier to drop off the bulk of our luggage at the second Mahe hotel so we wouldn't have to schlep it to La Digue (two ferry rides, walk to hotel, etc.) Sounds simple so far.
We packed a quick, simple bag for our two days in La Digue. And, we packed our two larger bags for the hotel. We showered and changed for dinner. We loaded the car and looked at the map. Remember when I mentioned a couple of days ago that the roads on the west side don't connect? Right. We needed to cross back over to Victoria, go south a bit, cross back over to the west to get to the second hotel. And, then do the same thing in reverse to get back. Excellent. By the time we finished three of four crossings, we were both pretty tired and hungry and the Creole buffet was sounding good, but not as good as dinner in Victoria. Plus, we rationalized that we had tried the creole food at Marie Antoinette the night before.
Pirate's Arms is one of several dinner options in Victoria. The music is loud, the menu is a range of food from sandwiches to entrees, the TVs are blaring, and the tables are filled with locals - both families and friends joining together for a communal meal. My kind of place. I had beef pies with rice and Mr. mouse got the fish crepes. The food was simple and good. The music was fun. The crowd watching was the highlight of the evening.
What I Learned
I didn't have a specific one I noted on my scribble page. But, looking back on it, it's the value of being flexible enough to adapt your plans to your day. We could have drug ourselves to Praslin or to the original intended dinner option, but the day ended up perfectly fine the way it played out. There's something to be said about just letting it happen.
Cheers!
mouse
The original plan called for us to wake up at the crack of dawn and take a ferry over to Praslin, one of the other islands, for the day. But between the early wake up, the ferry cost (almost $100 round trip each), the extra rental car, and the fact that there was still tons to do on Mahe, we just weren't that motivated. From what we could tell, the primary tourist draw to Praslin is a national park that grows the Coco de Mer coconut. Sleeping in... exotic coconut... sleeping in... exotic coconut... our laziness won on without much of a struggle.
What We Did
We spent the morning exploring the one town on the island - Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles. It was lunch time by the time we got down there and found parking. The streets were alive with people walking the streets. There were lines at take away counters, people going for a stroll, people doing some quick lunch time shopping, and some running errands like going to the post office. One oddity we noticed was the long ATM lines. Turns out inflation was a problem for awhile and people just got into the habit of taking out what they needed each day.
We picked up some sodas and fish fritters and vegetable pies at the supermarket and took them back for the afternoon. We made a mini lunch plate at our hotel room with them, some freshly brewed espresso and some fresh fruit.
We headed back out to the hotel beach. There were several people out with snorkels. Always curious, Mr. mouse went back to our rooms and grabbed our snorkels. Turns out there's plenty of coral and fish to see if you swim out a little bit from the shore. Mr. mouse seemed to enjoy the water as much as I did this trip, which made it that much more fun.
Much better than exotic coconuts.
What We Ate
Breakfast? Hotel brunch! I decided to mix it up and started with a cold plate of salmon and toast and butter. Then, moved on to a hot plate of, you guessed it, beans and sausages. And, ended with a plate of fruit. More juice. More coffee. Ready to hit the day running.
How did we end up at the Pirate's Arms for dinner? The original intent was to go to a Creole buffet at the first beach we went to in Beau Vallon. Ah, I remember. Our logistical planning called for us to check out of our hotel Wednesday morning, board a ferry for La Digue, spend two days on La Digue, take the ferry back late Thursday afternoon, check into another hotel on Mahe for the night and leave Friday morning for home. With me so far? We thought it would be easier to drop off the bulk of our luggage at the second Mahe hotel so we wouldn't have to schlep it to La Digue (two ferry rides, walk to hotel, etc.) Sounds simple so far.
We packed a quick, simple bag for our two days in La Digue. And, we packed our two larger bags for the hotel. We showered and changed for dinner. We loaded the car and looked at the map. Remember when I mentioned a couple of days ago that the roads on the west side don't connect? Right. We needed to cross back over to Victoria, go south a bit, cross back over to the west to get to the second hotel. And, then do the same thing in reverse to get back. Excellent. By the time we finished three of four crossings, we were both pretty tired and hungry and the Creole buffet was sounding good, but not as good as dinner in Victoria. Plus, we rationalized that we had tried the creole food at Marie Antoinette the night before.
Pirate's Arms is one of several dinner options in Victoria. The music is loud, the menu is a range of food from sandwiches to entrees, the TVs are blaring, and the tables are filled with locals - both families and friends joining together for a communal meal. My kind of place. I had beef pies with rice and Mr. mouse got the fish crepes. The food was simple and good. The music was fun. The crowd watching was the highlight of the evening.
What I Learned
I didn't have a specific one I noted on my scribble page. But, looking back on it, it's the value of being flexible enough to adapt your plans to your day. We could have drug ourselves to Praslin or to the original intended dinner option, but the day ended up perfectly fine the way it played out. There's something to be said about just letting it happen.
Cheers!
mouse
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1 comment:
love love love the pix and details - such a beautiful trip! glad you guys snuck out to get in a little warm weather before winter settles in for good. yum! xoxoxo
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