Mahe, Seychelles

Well as much as Male was less then we expected, Mahe was more. We had always thought it would be cool to go to the Seychelles but now we realize why. It is like the Caribbean was 30 years ago or so. Not so developed, beautiful beaches, still some coral, and friendly people that don't mind you being there. We went to one beach that was right out of a postcard and camped up in the palm trees while enjoying swimming in some of the best sand and water we have seen. Snorkeling unfortunately brought the only accident of the trip when Ali stepped on a sea urchin. She had some stinging at first but it subsided and after a stop at the pharmacy and some minor surgery on the beach by Jeff she was good as new and we went to another beach with a great little bar called the "Boat House" for lunch. We saw almost all of the crew but not too many other passengers so we knew we were probably on the best beach since they always seem to know the best places to go. :-)
The difference in this place and Maldives is that the other is an artificial experience that was all about the resort and the immediate tourist facilities that they had for you. This island had great little guest houses in and around the little villages where you can walk to stores, bars, beaches, etc without worry and actually interact with the local people instead of being kept away from them at their request. All in all we had a great time and will definitely come back here if we can figure out how to get here. The fact that Jeff flies to Tanzania fairly regularly seemed to indicate that we could surely figure out some way to incorporate a longer stay here sometime in the future in relation to some other adventure. It is kind of a hard place to just fly to though but from what we saw today it will definitely be worth it.Read more