Welcome to Beau Vallon, Mahe, Seychelles

We got off the plane at 6:45am after 33 or so hours of travel and an eleven hour time change to winter at the equator.  Hot sticky warm weather.  After 2 days of travel I was missing fresh air, between planes and airports we had not been outside for days.

Driving

After a nervous 30 minutes or so waiting for the luggage to arrive we headed to the car rental to pick up the skinniest SUV I have ever seen a Daihatsu Terios.  In the Seychelles they drive on the left side of the road, which would be a challenge without the sleep deprivation we just endured.  So off we go with a map without street names, but Anthony from Hertz assured us if we just turn left at the lights (the only set on the island) we would be fine.  I don’t know if it was the lack of sleep or the lack of signage but we struggled to find the hotel.  Normally I am a great co-pilot but that is because I depend on both maps and streets to be named and marked, this wasn’t the case in the Seychelles.  All I can say is the ride to the hotel was scary.  The roads are narrow, winding, hilly, lacking sidewalks, curbs and there were people everywhere.  Bus stops were in the middle of the road, and cars parked where ever.   The roads just drop off down a cliff, or into a deep gutter at the edge of the lane.  There were dogs, and even people sleeping on the side of the road.  It is interesting though to get immersed in the driving culture of another country, there were people in the back of trucks, moms with babes in arms in the front seat, and children piled into the backseat all major no no’s in Canada, but the norm there.

 

Coral Strand Hotel

So when we finally found the Coral Strand Hotel after stopping for directions more than once, I was relieved.  I was even happier when they had a room ready for us at 8:30am when check in was stated as 2:00pm.  What I wasn’t prepared for was the pool being closed and the hotel being under construction.  When we got the room we overlooked the parking lot, and mountains, not the worst view but not the best either.  We then headed for our third breakfast in a row.  We had breakfast as the meal on the last 2 flights we took so why not go for a trifecta.  Breakfast was great but the view was better.

 

The Pool

After a nap we headed to the pool at The Savoy and it was 100 times better than what would have been the pool at our hotel, SCORE.

The Food

We learned something very quickly about the cost of living on the island, food is expensive.  We live on an island in Canada and food is typically more expensive here than the rest of the country but food in the Seychelles is more expensive than anywhere I have ever been.  Dinner was typically costing $90.00 Canadian for two entrées and two drinks, no appies, no desert, no coffee.  But the quality of food was excellent in every place we ate and you could just tell that the cooks had pride in what they prepared.

 

 

 

 

 

The Beach

Most days were not complete without a walk on the beach.  This was the beach at Beau Vallon the area that we were staying in.

 

The Spa

No vacation is complete without a trip to the spa, and I must say that I was spoiled rotten at the Spa at the Savoy.  The resort had only been opened for a couple of months and were running some great discounts at the spa.  I have the most amazing treatments with Zuluai (the therapist).  I have had spa visits all over the globe but the massage I had at the Savoy spa was the best of my life, it was worth the 19 hours of flying.  Accidentally I got locked in the spa with another guest who happened to be staying at the Coral Strand, we trash talked the Coral Strand for a little bit while we waited for someone with a key to let us out.  We learned that we both had husbands working on the island, so we became fast friends and hung out by the pool a couple of days.  Thanks Des for keeping me company.

 

The Savoy

So after the first night at the Coral Stand a couple moved into the adjoining room next door.   I could hear the people in the adjoining room breathing, no jokes.  We could also see the lights in their room on all sides of the door and the crack in the door itself.  The people in the other room were incredibly respectful, because obviously they could hear us too, BUT I still didn’t want to hear them.  So after a couple of nights of sleeping with ear plugs we moved over to the Savoy.  The Coral Strand and the Savoy are owned by the same person so it wasn’t very difficult.  The Savoy was heaven.  At only 2 months old everything was new and pristine, and quiet, so very very quiet.

 

The Doctor

Who doesn’t want to go to the Doctor while in a strange country?  It seems that seeing a medical professional was in the cards for me while in the Seychelles.  After a bit of a discussion with the front desk about my possible options I decided to walk over to the pharmacy to try to get another round of antibiotics.  Amazingly enough I walked in with my the antibiotic prescription I just finished which didn’t work, and walked out minutes later with a new one.  Now for the doctors out there, please don’t freak out.  After 5 days of antibiotics I still had all the symptoms of the initial infection and I used the same judgement that led me to the Doctor in Canada.  I know that antibiotics are highly over used, but there was no part of me that was going to suffer through a bladder infection on a 33 hour return trip.  The first world dweller in me Googled the name of the antibiotic they gave me before I took them just in case.

 

Playing Tourist

Here was the best part of the trip.  My husband was working almost the entire trip but he did manage to take a day off and play tourist with me.  I will post about our tour around the island soon.  Below is a little taste of what is to come.