Les Seychelles pour Noel

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Conveniently, the closest location from India where we had family or friends with whom to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year was...the Seychelles. An opportunity not to be missed when you've got friends who have just moved there. So, to the Seychelles we went.

The Seychelles Islands are comprised of numerous islands and atolls in the middle of the Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar and east of continental Africa. Settled by the French and taken over by the English, we were expecting a combination of fish and chips with our croissants et fromage. Instead, the islands were a mixture of English, French and African Creole with a distinctly Caribbean feel. Bob Marley, Creole and Boney M tunes blared in the background while English, French and Creole were spoken interchangeably.

Swimming, snorkeling, body-surfing and taking in some natural Vitamin D was the order of the day. For Christmas, we boated to La Digue, a beautiful island four hours from Mahe and celebrated Christmas there with Dale and Sarah. With hardly a car or truck in sight and a brilliant network of paved and cobble-stoned bike paths leading to one beautiful beach after another, La Digue was certainly a highlight of our trip to the Seychelles. But we certainly won't forget the lush vegetation, colonial buildings, granite boulders and white sandy beaches; redefining our definition of a White Christmas.

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Photos

Ah.....
We sell Seychelles by the seashore.

Christmas Day Cheer
The bike/hike/slog almost killed us (Well, David that is.) I guess we forgot to consider the heat/humidity/high noon and height factors into the equation. Did we mention that it was 300 meters above sea level?

Macabe Beach
This little piece of paradise was "Dale and Sarah's" beach as seen from their home.

Vous pouvez parler Creole?
This is for the francophones and francophiles out there. Can you follow?

Vous pouvez parler Creole 2?
How about this one?

Sand Monsters
Didn't know sand could be so frightening.

Flat and Friendly
They were as big as they look and quite ubiquitous; Dale and Sarah's new guard spiders.

Le Bodysurfer
The shot that followed these bold bodysurfing moves was edited out. We won't mention any names.

La Police
Our new acquaintances on the islands.