We had just finished five sea days in a row. Our destination port lecturer Richard had informed us that Mahe had little to see in the name of history so we should just "beach" it. That's exactly what we planned to do. However, we were having a Cruise Critic Luncheon the first sea day after the Seychelles so we have been receiving telephone calls from other members to RSVP. When Audrey called that morning to make reservations for her and Mel, she asked Sara what we planned to do. When Sara answered, "Go to the beach," Audrey suggested that we share a cab. Sounded like a plan to us.
When we left the ship at 8:15 a.m., the temperature had to be in close to 90 degrees F. We walked into Victoria, the capital of Mahe, the largest and most important island in the Seychelles, and took a photograph of the Clock Tower. The island's most famous landmark is a replica of a clock erected in London in 1897. While it does not chime, it strikes the hours. Mahe was considered the place that unwanted characters throughout the world could be disposed of between 1798 and 1963, making it the home of many infamous undesirables.
We then toured the Museum of History for less than $3 US per couple. One of the most painful exhibits to read and view was the history of slavery on the islands or how humankind can be so cruel to itself. The life of the rich landowners was one of leisure with parties, dancing, singing, games and relaxation. The life of ordinary families consisted to working for someone else to be called to work at the landowners whim because the residents obeyed the cardinal rule of their existence--do not disturb the landowner or risk being sacked or evicted. The life of the slaves evolved around work from early morning to late evening when they returned to their small huts or make-shift shelters under the houses of their masters, where they were chained up so they could not escape. Two famous slaves were Castor, who was freed on the condition that he would turn in runaway slaves to the law officials, and Pompeii, who was probably falsely convicted of killing a white man and sentenced to death. Because there was no means to execute him on the island, he was burnt at the sea border at 3:30 p.m. We also saw a model of Venn Town, a mission established by the Church Missionary Society of London in 1875-76 to care for and educate children of slaves freed by the British Navy.
Punxsutawney Phil was in Groundhog Heaven when he spotted a model of a payot, a possibility for an indoor burrow where he could make his weather prediction on February 2, 2012. The description of his potential future home is "wood frame covered with a corrugated iron sheet roof with toilet and kitchen facilities outside." For Phil, his next place of residence is a toss-up between the payot and the tree trunk on Moorea.
After visiting a South African store to marvel at the African Gemstone Collection, jewelry, paintings, artwork and souvenirs, we stopped at Vision Voyages travel agency, which we picked because it was the first travel agency we came to on that side of the street. Audrey, who is a travel agent, said we would give the agency 10 minutes to let us know if someone could do a private tour for us before we had to board the Pacific Princess at 3:30 p.m. In addition to the sheer beauty of the island, another thing everyone we have talked with agreed on was how friendly and helpful the residents were. After trading business cards and discussing possible business from travelers whom Audrey knows, Lisette Marie, the sales and reservations executive, called her brother-in-law Daniel to drive us around the island. Lisette, who is 41, married, mother of 18- and 11-year-old sons, looks young enough to be dating an 18-year-old and has a brother and sister with whom her family gets together at Mom's house for dinner on Sundays, invited us to join them for dinner the next time we were in the Seychelles. In addition, she led Mel and Sara through the back streets of Victoria to a local beverage store to buy wine that was not "way too expensive." Sara purchased three bottled of Feldefer, a French wine that she chose because she was so intrigued by its stopless cap.
After Ken and Audrey declared that Mel and Sara were gone on their wine-shopping mission way too long (fewer than 15 minutes), we all started off across the island to the beaches on the west coast. The van climbed steadily up a winding road through dense, lush, green vegetation that was growing hard to block out the sun and reminded us of our wonderful day in Picton, New Zealand, last year. Daniel told us that both tourism and the cost-of-living has risen in the last two years. A modest two- or three-bedroom house with a view of the sea sells from $2 to $3 million rupees (divide by 12 for US dollars). We stopped to photograph the giant tortoises, the heaviest land tortoises in the world, and the symbol of the islands. We also visited Morne Seychellois National Park, on the original site of Venn's Town, with its breathtaking vistas that we wanted to burn into our mind to remember when we needed an imaginary vacation for a few minutes to relieve stress.
After we got back into the van, Daniel drove us to one of those glorious beaches where we waded in the warm, wave-lapped water up to our knees so we did not have to sit in the van in wet bathing suits. Then we decided to get a quick lunch at a resort on the beach. As the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. Audrey and Mel decide to split a pizza and drink beer. Sara wanted to split a pizza with Ken but he decided if he was spending money for lunch, he wanted a ham and cheese sandwich, so Sara ordered a pizza by herself. The pizzas arrived shortly after the beers so Audrey, Mel and Sara greedily dug in. Ken waited patiently, well not so patiently, for his sandwich. The rest of us suggested that Ken cancel his sandwich and eat the rest of the pizza. Ken tried to cancel the sandwich twice but the waitress said the chef was already cooking it. After 45 minutes and everyone else long finished with lunch, Ken told the waitress we were leaving and she appeared with the sandwich and French fries in a box. As Ginger, our table mate would say, it was cute food--layers of sliced ham and cheese, no cooking involved, and quite small. Mel insisted that we not leave a tip, and then said, "I told you we could have gone to the other restaurant but no one would listen to me," in a semi-joking tone. Ken not getting his meal on time also is reminiscent of Picton.
Once we actually escaped from the restaurant with the cute sandwich that Ken shared with Daniel, we drove across the island again to get back to our ship by 3:15 p.m. Daniel pointed out a huge mansion on the hill that was owned by the King of Saudi Arabia and told us the door handle on the front door was pure gold and the King planned to install a cable car to travel up and down the hill. To thank the people of Mahe for being such gracious neighbors, the King has sponsored a $35 million hospital, five coast-guard boats, a turbine to generate electricity and radar on the island to maintain privacy and prevent piracy. We stopped at another overlook with an incredible view that faced Eden Island billed as "a private residential marina development with luxurious apartments, maisons and spacious villas."
We arrived back at the ship 15 minutes before the all aboard so we shopped at the vendor stalls that had been placed in our honor. At 3:25 p.m., a crew member motioned us on board. The last passengers to arrive were Joe and Ginger at 3:35 p.m. after their adventures at the beach with riptides and a visit to the studio of artist Michael Adams, who told them that the complexion of the Seychelles was changing because of the Arab and Russian millionaires who are buying up the homes and property. How can this be? We just discovered the Seychelles, and they are a-changing.
Punsxutawney Phil spent the rest of the afternoon and all night looking out the window in our cabin trying to determine how to get back to the Seychelles. If he could have figured out a way, Sara, our cruise director Brett and a number of other passengers and crew may have gone with him.
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