Day of the Tortoise

Things move pretty slowly in the Seychelles, so it made sense that we would embark on a day trip to visit the endangered land tortoises on the nearby island of Curieuse.

After a few days of rain and wind, it was so nice to be back in the sunshine. In our nearly five months on the road, we have suffered through a mere seven days of rain, so I suppose I cannot complain.

A quick wade through the shallows before boarding the King Creole.

Someone needs a little convincing to get into the photo. Our kids are probably sick and tired of posing for pictures, but maybe one day they'll look back and be happy. Landscape shots are nice, but I would rather fill them with our family.

The Seychelles are unique with respect to the many granite outcroppings which dot the seascape. It's part of what makes these islands a special destination.

Only 15 minutes later and we're at the island. I wonder who will greet us there.

Perhaps a guard tortoise?

I approach with caution mainly because he's rather large. In my head I'm convinced he can do nothing to harm me, but part of me is worried that he may actually possess some sort of agility which will lead to a painful bite.

As it turns out they are as slow as they look. Annie is surrounded by wild turtles and there is no danger at all.

This is a reeanctment of my lunchtime runs with Darren F. at work.

The island is a key part of a breeding and preservation project run by the Seychelles Park Authority. These giant land tortoises were nearly hunted to extinction by early French and British sailors who arrived in the late 1700's. It was not their shells but rather their meat which made them a target.

In the 1800's it was decided that something needed to be done. One of the British administrators set aside the island for the protection of these tortoises, and then in an ingenious stroke of creativity, he also placed a leper colony here, thus discouraging any one from coming to the island. 200 years later, these land giants are thriving. Mission accomplished!!

Open wide! Today I learned that tortoises have big pink tongues.

Now I just have to convince the kids that giant land tortoises do not make good house pets.

We then crossed the island to meet up with our boat for our lunchtime fish BBQ, passing through some beautiful mangroves. After whining about the rain for the past two days, I'm now back to complaining about the heat.

Might need some beach time after this hike is over.

Did someone say beach? While Owen enjoyed chilling on the sand, he did pay for it later when we got home and realized he somehow managed to get about 40 nasty sand fly bites on his back. Shirley got hit pretty badly too, so we're back to nursing bites and stings - feels just like Asia again.

Our day trip ended with a short snorkelling stop at Isle St. Pierre, a jaw-droppingly beautiful little islet off the coast of Praslin.

Unfortunately the visibility under the water was rather underwhelming, as the recent winds have kicked up the sand. But I can't think of a nicer place to be swimming.

Down we go!

What a great day. Today it felt like we got a great dose of what these islands have to offer. It's a shame that it's such a long journey from Canada. There are probably few places on earth which would take longer to get to from Vancouver than the Seychelles. It's part of why we chose to add it to the itinerary. We really may not get a chance to come back.

For those of you who missed yesterday's blog, just click here