St Denis

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July 15, 2017 - I was up by 7am today and went out for a chocolate bready thing for breakfast. I had planned to bring it home to eat it, but found it has disappeared by the time I got back. Delphine got home at 8am - exactly 24 hours after leaving. She went to visit a friend yesterday and decided to stay over night. We chatted a bit and she when she got online she told me that the volcano I visited the other day erupted yesterday. I wish I could have see that! Then somehow it was already 9:15 and time to go, as I had decided to take the 9:30am bus to get to St. Louis, and from there the 11:56 to St. Denis, the capital of the island (Paris is still the actual capital). At the bus stop I met Reese, a 23 year old South African accountant. He was chatting with a brother and sister, French. She lives on the island and he lives in France and came to visit. They were both very nice and we said good bye when we got on the bus. We had a good chat on both buses, and Reese told me he saw the smoke from the volcanic eruption on a hike he did to the highest part of the island yesterday at dawn. Very cool. We each grabbed a sandwich at the bus station between buses, and this time I had a simple ham and butter.

Close to St. Denis, I saw the partially completed highway they are building that goes over the ocean, because there are often rocks that fall and damage the current road. Crazy. In St Denis, I just missed my final bus, the #14, to my airbnb. It was just a 15 minute ride or so, but I had to wait another 45 minutes for the next one. Kind of a bummer. At least the bus station was at the coast so I could watch the waves.

When I got on the 14 bus, I tried to ask the driver if it was the right bus for Parc de la Trinite, my stop. I was sure it was, but it never hurts to ask, right? But he couldn't understand my French, so I showed him the name of the stop. This prompted much conversation, none of which I understood, and a back-up of the line, since I was the first one in. Very awkward. Eventually it was clear that it was the right bus, so I was just like "Take my money". I tried to validate the ticket but put it in wrong, so the woman behind me fixed it. It was all rather embarrassing. But the bus had a screen that told you which stop you were at, so it was clear. And then the bus driver made sure I knew we were at the right stop, which was sweet.

I got to the house and Harry, my host, seemed worried I had gotten lost. I put my things down and he showed me around. He works in some sort of construction, and his business is actually responsible for making the big concrete backbones for the new highway I saw. I asked him if there was anything to walk to nearby, and he said the park, and I could then walk to the ocean and a cemetery. How did he know I like cemeteries? So, I spent two hours, walking and looking around. The cemetery was enormous. Most of my walk was in there. And it's right at the coast - good eternal views.

On my walk I couldn't find food, so I came home and Harry told me where to go that was close. It was a pizza place, and when I saw a price of 9 euros I almost had a heart attack. Ten bucks for dinner? But then I saw they had paninis, and got a chicken one for 5 euros. The most expensive sandwich I've had on this island by far.

After I ate my sandwich, I decided to wash my hair. They have shampoo here, and a hair dryer, so I thought it might be a good opportunity. I was wrong. The hair dryer is on its last leg, and it took ages to sort of dry my hair. Now I'm more poofy than anything else. Ah well. I may actually swim at my next destination, so maybe it won't matter.

Before I started to unpack, I walked to get my backpack and saw a puddle of water next to it. I looked around, trying to figure out where the water could have come from, and eventually realized it was cat pee. So gross. The cat is adorable, and I had just spent 10 cuddly minutes with her on the couch downstairs. My door was closed, so it must have already been there when I put my bags down. I'm so so lucky that both bags escaped touching it. I cleaned it up and didn't say anything. I'd hate to get the cat in trouble.

Tomorrow I'll be up at 5am for my flight to the Seychelles. I've wanted to go there for years, and I'm excited to see it. I'll be there for 12 nights, 4 nights on each of the three main islands, starting with Mahe.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

St Denis to Seychelles
Seychelles has been on my list for decades and we will be going next year. I'll be waiting for your many details. Have fun!