Seychelles island 1: Promising Mahé

“There is little doubt that the approaches to Mahé constitute some of the most glorious land-and-sea-scapes possible.  It is one of the very few natural beauties of the world that lives up to its reputation” (William Travis in Beyond The Reefs, 1959).

How about that for a promise?

But these days nearly everyone lands on the Seychelles by plane, at the only international airport on the main island of Mahé.  And with the best will in the world, airports offer function, not glory.

We were certainly underwhelmed by our arrival in paradise.  In fairness, state of mind distorts perspective, and ours wasn’t helped by general exhaustion and the specific incompetence of Air Seychelles in leaving our bags (full of irreplaceable wedding cards) languishing in Abu Dhabi.

The assurance of golden shores got us through, and we certainly felt better after bathing in the sun and sea off Baie Lazare.  I’m no ‘beach person’, but the combination of deserted, pristine sand, warm, turquoise water, and gentle, friendly sunshine may even have exceeded our expectations.

Less impressive was our first hotel - partly our fault for investing the greater part of our budget in the second week.  Nonetheless, we’d been promised tasty creole dishes, served by happy, smiley islanders, but what we got was both uninspiring and expensive.  In truth, agriculture is still underdeveloped, with most fruit and vegetables imported at considerable cost, and maybe it is impossible to guarantee western service culture given the laid-back Seychellois way of life?  It was at best relaxed, at worst surly.  Maybe that’s harsh - but perhaps not, as even local writer Bernard Georges swears there is a “nothing-will-move-me indolence” in the souls of local workers.

We escaped for a day trip to the capital.  The bus ride had a distinctly ‘developing country’ feel (think less ‘wifi as you recline’, more ‘chickens under the seat’!), but at least we couldn’t complain that Victoria has been over-sold:  the guidebook assured us it is pretty much the tiniest capital in the world, a small town with little to detain you.  Is it possible to both under-promise and under-deliver?

Luckily we had the benefit of insider knowledge, by way of Mia, Seychelloise herself and a veteran of the islands’ tourist industry.  A trip to the ‘Jardin du Roi’ spice gardens was a real highlight, this time with delicious food and a great back-story. 

In the times when the spice trade was making the Netherlands one of the richest countries in the world, a patriotic Frenchman named Pierre Poivre undertook to ensure his country got in on the act.  He smuggled saplings out of the East Indies, from under the noses of the Dutch, and sent them to various French overseas dependencies to see how they would grow. 

On the Seychelles, a plantation was soon established, pledged to the then king. 

Things were going well until a ship sailed into harbour flying the British flag, and the panicky plantation owners burned everything, securing the precious seeds from falling into foreign hands. 

Only too late did they realise it was a French boat, sneakily flying the wrong flag in case the islands had changed hands whilst they were at sea!

Whilst the islands never made the fortune Poivre had dreamed of, he would be happy to see that the garden at least has fulfilled its promise, with rich nutmeg abounding amongst the huge bamboo trees, and delicious cinnamon growing wild across the main island.

 

And yes, he really was called Peter Pepper.

Mia also linked us with a brilliant local group, pledged to protect and enjoy the islands' unique environment.  The next day we joined them on their monthly walk, on this occasion above the southernmost tip of the island, up to a point where rice was first found.  The climb was rocky and overgrown, but we were rewarded with a great view from the summit (though having lived for two years in Cambodia we did find the promised rice plant a little underwhelming!).  

By the end of the first week we were starting to relax and appreciate some of the fantastic qualities of the Seychelles – we had booked trips to outer islands, invested in snorkelling gear, and hired a car for a couple of days to break out from the resort mentality. 

It had been a less than perfect start, but our honeymoon was beginning to look, let us say, ‘promising’.