Wednesday walks and other wild things.

730 splash time! Damn, more sea lice. We tried, we really tried. But between a stiff wind, swell and sea lice, our hearts just weren’t in it. We chased something better all over the bay for a bit, and then called it. One or two swims with zaps can have a real positive take away. Three just starts to be a drag. The water was less sting-y up next to the boat, so we stopped for a few pics there and climbed back aboard.

We did so to the smell of bacon which isn’t all bad, however. Lou Lou had planned a hot breakfast for us because after the swim (and before lunch) we had a land excursion planned! Fuel up everyone, we are going on a hike (shouldn’t be any sea lice there…frowny face). 

We headed south along Praslin to the satellite island of Curieuse which is within a national park zone. The Seychelles has done a lot in the name of conservation, including designating huge areas as wildlife preserves, with certain activities like fishing prohibited. Many of these areas also have significant research stations within them, and Curieuse is home to an Aldabra Giant Tortoise breeding program. These Tortoises are some of the largest in the world, weighing up to 500 lbs and living as long as 200 years. They move slowly and ploddingly, they are docile and simply spend their days grazing on grass. 

Well, that and one other thing. I’ll get to that in a minute.

We hiked a steep (for me) trail that started on the beach then went up and over a steep (for me) rise. The views here were beautiful, and the whole hike - some of which was on boardwalk spanning the intertidal zone of the mangroves - was very pretty. But some of it was steep. For me.

After about a mile of hiking and we came to a clearing filled with big stumps. Oh wait, those are tortoises! We all spread out and we each found a tortoise to spend a little time with. Oh the stories they might tell. On the other hand, after 150 years of grazing on grass….

Suddenly, a bellowing. Oh dear. What are those two tortoises doing over there?

Right. So, that is how the breeding program works, you see. They, umm, breed.

I will say I was stunned that this enormous tortoise could actually hoist itself up onto another tortoise to umm well you see what I mean.

After the nature show (ahem) we decided to head back to the beach along the steep (for me) path. Two miles in total of hiking meant breakfast was spent and lunch was paid for as far as I was concerned. So back aboard the yacht Lou Lou had a delicious lunch of wings and salads ready for us. There are no leftovers.

There was lots of discussion about the tortoises and the encounter we had witnessed. We sort of broke it down and discussed the morphology, biology and perhaps even psychology of the whole thing. I’m sure we overthought it, but it was good for a few laughs.

I needed them, as I was worried about our afternoon swim and the potential for sea lice. I knew we’d be in a totally different spot from the three stinging swims we had at Anse Lazio. That and my experience that sea lice generally collects in one bay in a region gave me hope for the rest of our swims. Still, I felt anxious.

We moved across the way to an anchorage just off the east coast of Praslin. Here we found a sweet little one house / resort island lined with beautiful granite to swim around. The island is called Chauve Souris and it even has a little satellite islet. We plotted a course to the island and a figure of 8 around both features. 

We jumped in.

A leap of faith.

Waiting….waiting….no stings!! And we could see to the bottom with the best visibility we have had yet! We all felt so light and happy and liberated. We swam as a tight pack to the island and marveled at every rock and tree. I found a spiny cushion star, Culcita schmideliana, and gently fetched it from the bottom for a quick echinoderm lesson. As we got close to the island, we saw flying foxes hanging in the trees, occasionally launching for maneuvers. I was patient and eventually got a little video footage of one flying far up above our swim.

It was bouncy and fun and everyone was so relieved and had a blast. We found a fun little swim passage between the rocks and everyone wanted to do the whole course twice so we did.

Here’s a little video compilation of the swim.

We climbed back aboard ready for cocktails and some great evening light. Conversation was lively and lighthearted and led perfectly into a very fancy, very fantastic dinner of lobster tails, cous cous, ratatouille and for dessert, brace yourselves, crepes. 

I love crepe night. Tonight was that night.

So grateful I am for the openness of our guests, those who know us already and come to us ready to embrace whatever we are given, and those who are new to us who just follow the lead of their fellow swimmers and take what comes. 

So it was a day of small bumps (the lice) and big lumps (the tortoises) and a big (for me) hike and a  little hanky panky, a figure 8 swim, and a dinner fit for queens. I believe all souls but me were abed before 9pm. I guess they had their fill.

Richie and Zack will move our boat early before our morning swim. One way or another, it will be great and most likely just what we need.

Love,

Heather