Blogs from Mahé, Seychelles, Africa - page 4

It was one of the newbies birthday’s and so we went off to the Boathouse in Beau Vallon to partake of its Creole Buffet, all very civilised and so it was until we got chatting to the table next to us, which god love’em was full of Americans. We found out, the island is full of em’ because the largest ever fleet has just landed in Mahe. All two thousand of them. Awesome. We’re polite and chat and find ourselves invited back to the hotel room, sorry villa, where they’re staying. The other one is not so keen and we’re out on it but we finish paying and see that two of the newbies have already done one and left with them and the other couple with baby are also going. So why the hell not, ... read more

It was hot, I was suffering from hangover peaks and troughs and it was an hour before the bride even arrived (we were early, she was late).The church was simple and had a nice view out to the mountains while the choir added to the celebratory atmosphere. The man of the cloth was of the smiley, preachy variety and I think spotting fresh blood, deviated from the 16 page wedding programme making the ceremony even longer than it should have been. I think it was a lovely service (not having that much to compare it too) and it was a privilege to have been invited as only a couple of expats were on the list. Our plan to slope off afterwards was unfortunately thwarted as it became clear that we were the lift for one of ... read more

this car has a lot to answer for... Half a mile from our house, just before a bend and the dashboard flashed and the car stopped dead. The other one tried the engine and there was nothing. My stomach dropped, we were surrounded by the deepest black and it was nearly midnight. It was horrible. We got out the car, put the hazards on and watched as a few cars drove by. We had to move the car, if we’d left it, as it was just before a bend, it would have been totalled (perhaps not a bad thing?). Thankfully, a car stopped and three young Seychellois lads offered a hand, even more thankfully, there was a house with a private drive where we could tuck the car away (we’d have been buggered if we’d broken ... read more

NRG kindly drops me in town for a meeting as the other one has the car and I’m too lazy to get up at 6am to drive him into work just so that I have the car all day (and nothing to do with the fact of course that I’m avoiding driving at all). We get some funny looks as we drive down the narrow road to the office and realise why when we spot the twisted sign that says its one way- might have been helpful had they told me that when I called them for directions. I meet a few people from various organisations and listen to what they have to say. It doesn’t help that they all speak in Creole at the start and I try to adopt my non plussed but ... read more

At the market and lots of bickering with Abs and NRG about who was paying for what, Abs bought a fresh fish at one of the stalls, massive and only 100 rupees, filleted and gutted. Problem was when we got it back, it was too big for the oven. So we had to butcher it, cut it in half and into tiny pieces - well, not that tiny. It was like an ‘aquattoir’ (trademark mine).... read more