Blogs from Mahé, Seychelles, Africa - page 10

During our jaunts in Kenya and Uganda, we had agreed that getting away had been a good move and that for us living in the Seychelles would have to involve regular trips off the island for reasons of sanity (any excuse!) With the other one soon to have three glorious weeks off at Easter, a dip into our savings and credit, and we hope to be someplace else - Cape Town. Sure, it's meant to be beautiful, surrounded by wine lands and the Garden Route but really we just want to shop and I want a large latte with a caramel shot. Hubba hubba. After the debacle of booking our Christmas trip, this time we're off the block pretty swiftly and popping into Air Seychelles I hear that I can get a fare for about $350 ... read more

Day one of the other one's half term and it's 'doing day' - aren't we the funsters? 1. Get spare tyre fixed - at the the petrol station on way to the airport. Approaching tyre place, see three men looking suspiciously like mechanic types look at us and walk past. We wait in tyre place for mechanic looking people. None forthcoming. The other one checks in the petrol station and told they've left for lunch. That they didn't tell us as they slunk past fails to surprise. Head into town. 2. Get extra key for car and also some part or other. Go into car spares shop (for a small island there are many, pimping up cars is a hobby here - Tim Westwood would be right at home), have to ask shop man to speak ... read more

It was probably some divine retribution. After debasing ourselves at the karaoke, the other one and I headed outside whereupon the other once glancing at the car discovered... Do I have to spell it out? A BLEEDIN FLAT TYRE. THREE, THREE??! IN AS MANY WEEKS. I took myself to the nice happy land of public transport again while the other one huffed and puffed trying to change the wheel. Unable to jack the car up properly, help was proffered along with the discovery that the problem with the jack was that it wasn't under a bit of the car that was metal so couldn't get a grip. Good to know. Silent prayer sent up to car saint for no flat tyre on the drive home, having no tyre to spare. www.paradisepromised.wordpress.com... read more

I hadn't banked on having a problem with a credit card - it's never been an issue before but this time it was. I spent way too much time researching flights from Joburg to Cape Town narrowing it down to 1time flights and mango airlines and then with both tried to book the flipping flights and was denied by the spurious message that my card couldn't be honoured. What on earth did that mean? I then wasted more time finding phone numbers to call them from overseas and suffered two very frustrating encounters with customer service experiences, one interaction (it could barely be called a conversation) going something along the lines of: - what's your last name? - I don't understand, what is it again? - Spell it, I don't understand? - T, H, E? - ... read more

Want to know more about the Seychelles - visit - sorry I don't want to spend doing it all twice! ... read more