Welcome to the Keen blog, especially if you are a first timer.

As our taxi snakes up the side of the lush mountain, Mrs K reminds me that this time last week we were standing outside Sherborne Abbey posing for photos alongside Jason and Alex. What a time it has been.

      

After the excitement of the wedding last week we are here in the Seychelles for a few days of relaxation.  We are on Mahe which is the main and largest island out of 115 in total.  The main 3 islands are not dissimilar in size to Malta, Gozo and Comino but here we are about 1000 miles off the African coast in the middle of the Indian Ocean.  The terrain is hilly and covered with lush vegetation. It’s much greener than I expected.  Our man at the hotel, Rick, tells us they have had a lot of rain in the past week and from what we have seen of the forecast it isn't going to change much.  No sympathy?  OK.

We are expecting a slow week and we get into the swing of it straight away when we join the end of the very long immigration line. It’s mainly because we were installed at the back of the plane but I didn't mind as I was able to almost fully recline my seat.

The hotel have sent their most experienced driver to meet us at the airport. His name is Pierre and if he is much under 80 I will be surprised. His first task is to get Mrs K's suitcase in the boot. Thanks to a very generous baggage allowance every single possible requirement has been catered for. Pierre has to use all his 30+ years of experience to get the case into the boot of the SUV. He makes it but not necessarily in one movement and rolls it in, end over end.  I would have helped but didn't want to offend him. On route to the hotel at the north end of the island, he tells us about all his relatives in England - who they are and where they live including some in Sunbury on Thames. He has been to the UK 14 times so he has the advantage on us because this is our first trip to the Seychelles. 

It is a door to door journey of about 20 hours including a 3 hour stopover in Dubai but our first evening is sitting in the bar overlooking the peaceful bay and our room is no more than 10 paces from the beach.  What more could we ask for?  Well a bit of WiFi would be nice otherwise this blog will have an even smaller readership than usual.

On Sunday morning I wake up happy.  Wifi is working! We have a delicious breakfast overlooking the bay and then retire to the pool.  Mrs K overhears someone talking about Borough market and complains that I have never taken her.  That’s what you do when you are sitting in the Seychelles looking out at sea while you chomp your exotic fruit at breakfast.

The main reason we are here is because Mrs K chose it as one of her 50th birthday surprises. Back in the late 80s she worked for BA selling holidays here and always wanted to come.  She also loves tortoises and we hope to see some big ones while we are here.

Hopefully a few adventures to relate in the next few days.

Part 2

It’s Monday morning and we have a 10am appointment in the hotel foyer to meet our driver Brian.  He is going to show us round the island. As I said last time, the island is small but the terrain is very hilly and the roads are windy and steep, so it will take most of the day.  They drive on the left here which is the result of British rule from 1811 (when we kicked out the French) until independence in 1976.  It’s part of the Commonwealth now.  The roads are mostly decent but I have noticed that the gutters take the form of an uncovered storm drain.  This means that there is a 3 foot drop into a hole if the car wanders to the left.  Luckily Brian is an expert driver and he keeps his tyres a generous 6 inches away from disaster for the complete day.

Brian takes us up the mountain giving us fantastic views of the coast and surrounding islets.   Then one of our first stops is the Tea plantation.  It is a misty and overcast day but up here at altitude the rain is coming down.  We take refuge inside the factory where we meet a couple from Harrow, Sonita and Surindra.  But when the guide comes to collect us they both say they are originally from Sri Lanka (known for its tea) and are immediately favourited by the guide. We follow dutifully behind through the withering room, the drying room, the sorting room and the packing room, amongst others. 

Sonita asks us if we have been to the waterfall, which we hadn’t, so we ask Brian if we can go there next.  At first he says it is closed for construction and in any case with the heavy rain it wouldn’t be much fun.  So we concur.  But about half an hour later it has brightened up and Brian suggests maybe we can drive up there and see if it is open.  We approach a corrugated iron gate where a barefoot guy wearing a Mr Billabong T-shirt lets us in.  We park up and are invited to follow Mr Billabong up a stony path.  It is heavy going for Mrs K but no more than 20 seconds later the heavens literally open and our footpath turns into a raging torrent.  We look up for Mr Billabong but he is gone.  I have two immediate concerns.  First that Mrs K will blame me for bringing her up this path and second that she will slip and take me out en route to the bottom.  But we take it really slow and  gingerly make our way up.  Eventually Mr Billabong returns with two massive palms to shelter us from the rain but by now we are soaked to the skin.  Eventually we make it to the top, passing a house under construction (Russian owned apparently) and an observation deck which is also unfinished.  But we make it to the waterfall and it is worth the effort.

Our next main stop is the Jardin du Roi which is a famous spice garden.  A Frenchman decided to develop the garden 200 years ago in an effort to compete with the spices that the Dutch were importing from Mauritius.  We meet up with a charming and very proper lady who is 5th generation of the family and still running the place.  Her staff call her ‘Madame’.   It is a beautiful spot but by now we are mainly focused on getting some lunch which we have in the charming café up on the hill overlooking the coastline below.  Post lunch is the main attraction – the giant tortoises.  When you first see them, they really take your breath away.  Mrs K is right in there and before long has persuaded two out of their afternoon slumber to come to the barrier to be stroked.  Only later we are told that they can bite.

       

Back at the hotel it is time for round 3 in the Scrabble match.  I am 2-0 up which is a relief after losing out on our last trip.  By the way I was gutted that ‘Gozitan’ was not accepted as a 7 letter word last time.  (A Gozitan is someone from Gozo).  But I crush Mrs K in the 3rd game with 2 consecutive 7 letter words.  She might have been a bit sad but she is soon cheered up with photos of the tortoises.

We have a 6.30am start tomorrow to go on a day trip round the other two main islands.  I thought this trip was meant to be about relaxation?

Part 3

As the misty silhouette of the sister island Praslin comes into focus we are doing well.  Unlike some of the other ferry passengers who are less well prepared for the choppy crossing.  Boat attendants wearing rubber gloves spend most of the hour crossing rushing round with sick bags. Our tour guide recommended sea sickness pills which we knew would be a good tip as we are neither that good on boats.  It is pretty rough. To the extent that you can't really stand up without being thrown to the floor. Bit like a Disney simulator which lasts an hour.  It feels like we are going across the tide because the port to starboard rocking is more severe than the bow to stern rocking.  Hope you are impressed with my nautical knowledge.  Just 5 minutes into our voyage a wave drops on the starboard side, soaking everyone within a few feet of the side of the boat. Luckily we are on the other side. Mrs K is not enjoying it but she holds on tight, eye shut, trying to remember her yoga breathing.  We eventually arrive at Praslin.  The top deck is much less sparsely populated than when we set out with a few passengers having been escorted to the lower deck looking a bit green around the gills. I am feeling OK but the sight of other people chuck up into a sick bag doesn't help.

We get 15 minutes to recover before we have to board yet another ferry which will take us on to our morning destination, La Digue, but it is just a short hop.  There are two things that the Seychellians are very proud of – coconuts and coco de mer.  Our tour guide, Celisse, takes us to a place where they make coconut oil.  She gives an impressive demonstration of how to break a coconut on a sharp metal spike (which I must admit I found slightly distressing) and then we are shown where the coconut oil is extracted using an extremely high tech procedure using an ox and a wooden crusher.  

Next we see yet more tortoises including two in the process of mating.  This consists of the male doing all the work and making a lot of noise while the female is struggling to get away.

We are taken for lunch at a hotel on Praslin and fortunately the day’s rain falls in about 10 minutes while we are eating.  So afterwards we visit my favourite beach so far, Anse Lazio – gentle waves, smooth white sand with overhanging trees and hardly anyone about.  Sadly we are only there for an hour.

         

Next we visit a UNESCO protected site where they grow the Coco de Mer nut which can only be found in the Seychelles.  It looks a bit like a woman’s backside but it probably depends on the woman.  The nut was called so because the first explorers found one floating in the sea and they assumed it grew on the seabed.  Only later did they work out where they came from.  Each nut takes 45 years to grow.  We hear from Celisse everything we ever wanted to know about the nut – and more.

The journey back is not as bad as we opt for seats in the air conditioned main deck.  But again, not helped by a guy a few rows back who insists on cheering every time the boat lurches down.  Mrs K’s yoga comes in handy again.

Wednesday is a day of rest and on Thursday morning we wake up to a clear blue sky for the first time this trip.  Plans to go into town are swiftly changed so we can take advantage of the weather we came for. But Mrs K doesn't get the memo and is fully dolled up. Even worse I don't notice. Well she always looks beautiful to me. The hotel receptionist compliments Mrs K on her outfit which makes her day.

This is the view from our  window.

                   

At the hotel we seem to be surrounded by honeymoon couples. Last night we shared a taxi back from a restaurant with a charming young couple. She was from Guatemala but living in New York. He was from India and living in London. They were married in Calcutta on Saturday and now are in the Seychelles. How exotic.  She doesn't look like she comes Guatemala. White skin and blond hair. She has the henna tattoos all over her hands, from the wedding I assume.   "And where do you come from?" "Cranford and Heston near Heathrow Airport".

This morning I need to work on my panda eyes and golfer forehead. It's amazing what colour you can get even with overcast skies.

                    

We are coming to the end of our time here.  Perhaps a short excursion into Victoria tomorrow to have a look round the capital - it won’t take long.  Otherwise we are planning to do very little in preparation for the long journey home.

Thanks for reading

Jeff