English River

Victoria is purported to be the smallest capital city in the world. It is certainly the only city in the Seychelles.

For us, today was all about getting our bearings and checking out the market. We will go back another day to explore further and visit the museums. Having said that, we did see the Clock Tower, the focal point of the city. It really isn't that big, but it acts as a central meeting spot, standing on the intersection of Independence Avenue, Albert Street, and Francis Rachel Street. It is a miniature version of the clock tower at Vauxhall Bridge in London. It was a gift of the British government and was erected in 1903 when the Seychelles took the first step towards Independence.

We wandered around the city before pausing at the waterfront for a much needed beverage! 😂 It was lovely just to sit and watch the comings and goings.

Afterwards, we went to the tourist office to pick up a city plan and to ask for directions to the market. On route to buy our vegetables and salad stuff, we stopped at one of the many bakeries (a legacy from the French 😀) to buy a pastry for lunch. A delicious spicy vegetable pasty did the trick - snd it was only 10 rupees (60p).

The market was great - we will definitely go there again. Locally grown stuff is quite reasonably priced, but you obviously have to pay a premium for imported stuff like tomatoes 🍅 and peppers.

Before catching the bus 🚌 back, we went to another supermarket where we found low-fat milk 🥛. Mark bought a couple of different beers to try. The shops really remind us of the Caribbean, as did the whole of Victoria - the people, the architecture, everything! We feel very at home here 😀.

On the bus ride home, the heavens opened, and it lashed it down!! All the windows were quickly closed - it was like being in a sauna!! You could see the steam rising! 😂 Local people all carry small towels with them. There was a girl at the bus stop this morning using one to mop the sweat (there's that word again 😀) from her brow. This afternoon, on the bus, people were getting on looking like they'd just stepped out of the shower 🚿 and using their towels to dry themselves off!

Luckily, the rain had stopped by the time we reached home.Read more