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There’s no bus service from the Victoria terminal to the jetty and it’s about a fifteen minute walk. It was hot and sweaty with our backpacks but worth not paying exorbitant taxi prices. ST, TM.
I forgot to bring ginger capsules for seasickness on the ferry to Praslin so I ate a bunch of ginger cookies instead. If you’ve never tried ginger caps I highly recommend them- all the relief of Dramamine without the drowsiness. I didn’t feel nauseated once on the ride over, and I journaled the whole time!
After arriving on Praslin we bypassed all the taxi drivers like pros and went straight to the bus stop at the end of the jetty. 5 rupees each got us dropped off directly in front of our guesthouse. We didn’t know where we were going but I asked a local young man for help and he got off with us to show us where the Chez Lester was. What a dear! I booked our guesthouse in advance on booking.com, and Valerie- the owner’s daughter- checked us right in to our perfect little room. We had a/c, a fan, a hot shower, a tiny kitchen, and breakfast was served on our front porch at whatever time we liked. Chez Lester is on the east side of Praslin on the Cote d’Or, directly across the road from Anse Volbert, what Greg deemed “the most beautiful beach” he’d ever seen. We decided we would like a home about the size of that room.
We walked into “town” after the beach. Praslin was much more our pace than Mahé- there were way too many people over there! We went grocery shopping and picked up a few dinners and snacks. Spaghetti our first night, with chicken and garlic sausage.
Praslin is home to the world famous Vallee de Mai National Park, one of Seychelles’ two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and home to the protected Coco de Mer and the elusive black parrot. Can you believe people actually poach coconuts?! What a bunch of jerks! Coco de Mers are unique because they’re the world’s only double-lobed coconut. We took the bus to the park and spent the better part of a day hiking every trail they had to offer, and keeping our eyes peeled for the parrots. Greg ended up seeing one, I just heard their calls all day.
We read plenty of articles that claimed Praslin was home to the most beautiful beach in the world. Sorry, Gregory, it’s not Anse Volbert. That title belongs to Anse Lazio, and of course we had to find our for ourselves. You can get anywhere you need to go on Praslin for less than $0.40/ride on the local bus system. The bus drops you off about 1 km from the Anse Lazio and you have to walk the rest of the paved road in. Trust me- it’s not for the faint of legs. We were both reminded of our elk-grade death march from Slide Lake to Belly River in Glacier last summer. But you know what Greg says- “You gotta burn it to earn it.” You can take a taxi or a private vehicle all the way in, but where’s the fun in that?
Anse Lazio had some big shoes to fill and it did so for the both of us- powdery white sand, wide palms, granite-lined, and full of fish. We both agreed it was the best snorkeling we had ever done- coral and granite and deep sandy bottoms. Swimming around the granite boulders was like diving a drop-off- shallow safety on one side and deep, mysterious safety on the other. By deep we’re guessing 25 ft. Gorgeous! Stunning! I wished our entire family was there with us. Trust us- if you ever get the chance to go, take it!
It started raining on us at the beach, and by the time we got to the bus stop it was all-out pouring. We had debated renting bikes to ride to Lazio and boy am I glad we didn’t. Don’t let Seychelles fool you- they are mountainous and people drive like maniacs. There are a few tortoises in a fence just off the beach and we stopped by to watch some tortoise sex on our way out, which seems terribly ineffective and is definitely very awkward. Think sexy cinder blocks.
Like any good perverts we sat and watched for a few. Hours. The male was so noisy! I would share a video but it’s highly inappropriate. If anyone is looking for a good way to introduce the birds and the bees… er, tortoises… hit me up, I’ll share.
See our other days in Seychelles:
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