The Seychelles is an archipelago consisting of 115 tropical islands. Located northeast of Madagascar and to the east of Kenya. The majority of the islands are uninhabited tropical paradises with many endemic plants and animals, and many are dedicated as nature reserves.
I was lucky enough to spend 3 whole weeks in the country, and I got to explore two of the islands in great depth. I’m going to write a series of posts all about my Seychellois adventures (with lots of pictures of course). So to start, I want to share my first impressions of a Seychelles beach. Enjoy!
“I’m writing this as the hot breeze swishes through my hair. The sound of the waves crash rhythmically against the shore. In front of me, the sea starts. As I move my eye line up to the horizon to my left I see towering mountains, shrouded in lush green and wrapped from above in a feathery cloud.
The beach is framed by the characteristically smooth and curved granite rock that emerges up from the sand. Posing like monuments frozen in time, with a kind of presence that demands my full attention. Like elephants. Or giant turtles that have hurled themselves ashore.
To my right, the Indian ocean expands as for as the eye can see. I’ve just seen a turtle come up for air – I think it’s a juvenile green turtle, but it could be a hawksbill. The beach isn’t busy, it’s a balanced blend of locals and tourists. I imagine the sight of their towels from above. Looking like a colourful patchwork, comfortably dispersed amongst the edges of where the sun meets the shade. I’ve found refuge from the blaze under a native Takamaka tree.
The leaves above rustle in the wind, dappled here and there with one yellow leaf amongst many greens – ‘an adaptation to the the high salt content?’, I wondered. The sand beneath my toes is soft, and warm, and the colour of paper. Ghost crabs are busy digging their homes. The beach is scattered with little mounds of sand and holes where they are going about their lives. Occasionally, they dart out into the wide world to asses their situation, before hastily recoiling back beneath.
The water in front is unbelievably bright. It’s blue, turquoise, green, and white; glowing against the blue of the sky. The sky is blue too but it’s nothing compared to the vibrance of the sea. The sea feels hot like a bath, and it’s so clear that even from the air I can see down to the reefs and rocks deep below.
When I swim I can see many silver and stripy fishes dancing around my feet. The surface of the turquoise is interrupted with splashes of vivid red leaves and pretty twirling Frangipani flowers. Leaves that are the size of my face! This is one of those moments where I feel grateful to evolution for providing red cone receptors in my eyes, because the contrast between the two colours in the sun is just brilliant. I collect one flower and two leaves. I will press them in my journal. “
– These words are taken straight from my personal diary. Written last month as I sat on Sunset Beach on the island of Mahé, Seychelles. I’ve never been to Africa before, and I’ve never been anywhere quite like that before.
