Curieuse Island

Today, I decided to take a day trip out to Curieuse Island, where there is a population of giant tortoises.  According to their tourism website:  

Because of the red coloured soil on this rugged island, it was named the Red Island. The name was changed to La Curieuse by the French in 1768. The huge giant tortoise population was totally destroyed with the arrival of Europeans. In 1771, thinking it would make harvesting the Coco de Mer nuts easier, sailors set fire to the island. This killed off most of the plants and the remnants of the burned area is still seen today more than 240 years later.

In 1833, the island was used as a leper colony and remained so until 1965. The colony was called Anse St. Joseph and the doctor’s residence, which dates from the 1870s, is a museum and educational centre today. There are also more than 500 tortoises walking around the island and eight different species of mangrove trees.

Curieuse and Praslin are the only places in the world where the Coco de Mer grows naturally. The plant holds three world records including the heaviest seed at 17.6 kilograms, the largest flower on any palm tree and the largest fruit so far at 42 kilograms. Today, it is a protected species and an ornamental tree. The fruit is used in Ayurvedic medicine and in traditional Chinese medicine. It is also used as flavoring for cooking in the Canton region of China.

Tortoise is smiling at me!

Tortoise!

Babies!

Climbing the granite rocks as I made my way across the island.

Walking through some of the eight species of mangroves in the Seychelles.

Growing the Coco de Mer.

He was looking at me!

This big crab was hiding under the boardwalk and thought I couldn't see him.

Ruins of the leper colony.

Leper colony ruins.

Anse St. Joseph

The Doctor’s House is another historical site. It is a large restored colonial villa, which is an example of Creole colonial architecture and is a museum on the ecology and history of Curieuse Island. The beach in front of the Doctor’s House is the place where green and hawksbill turtles make their nests. Visitors who arrive in November to December may see the baby sea turtles. The eggs are looked after by an international conservation group.

At this point, I was having trouble with my camera.  Yep. This is the last shot I got before it completely died.

Thankfully, I had my smart phone with a semi-decent camera to get me through my last day on the island.  Here is a shot of our barbecue lunch before heading back to Praslin.

Evening-time at the harbor in Praslin.