Who Told Me To Do This Ridiculous Hike?!

Anse Georgette

Today was my last day.  Jacqueline, the lady that runs the residence I was staying at, suggested I go to Anse Georgette.  She thought it is the best beach on the island.  It is located on a hotel property, Constance Lemuria Resort, which is a beautiful 5 star hotel with a golf course, You need to make a reservation ahead of time because they don't want just anyone on their beach.  Jaqueline also suggested that I could walk to Anse Lazio from there.  Anse Lazio is touted as the best beach on the island.  

Catholic Church next to my hotel

I had to walk for over 20 minutes on the hotel property just to reach the beach.  I was already hot and tired when I got there.  To my disappointment, although the beach was beautiful, the waves were very high and rough making it impossible to swim.  The beach was completely deserted, so I decided to just make my way over to Anse Lazio.

I had assumed that I would be able to stroll along the sand over to Anse Lazio.  Not the

case.  I saw a greens-keeper in a golf cart, and was hoping he could give me a lift over to the gate so I could catch a cab or something.  It turned out the greens-keeper is Jaqueline's neighbor.  He pointed out a huge hill/mountain and explained that there are arrows on the rocks pointing the way to Anse Lazio.  I was skeptical, and hot, and tired.  He said it would take 45 minutes to an hour to get to Anse Lazio.  Ugh.  Sounded far, but sounded a bit easier than having to go all the way back to the gate and try to get a cab or something.  I decided to just do the walk, but I was a bit concerned about getting lost.

The trail was steep and not ideal for wearing flip flops.  Lots of jag

Anse Georgette

ged rocks were sticking out and I stubbed my toe several times.  One person, one of those weird mountain jogger types, did pass me on the way.  

At one point, I saw a path that seemed to descend down into the sea.  Nope.  That's not the way.  I quickly found more arrows and pressed on until....

Until I didn't see any more arrows! I had been walking for 45 minutes, and it seemed like the beach was another 45 minutes away.  The path was leading me down into the jungle now.  The path was overgrown and I was fighting spider webs.  Ugh.  Can this be right?  I went back up and scoured the area for more arrows or signs of another path.  I didn't see one, so back down I went.  At this point, that path was covered with fallen palm branches and other debris.  I saw no more arrows and the path was becoming more unclear.  I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find my way back if I was heading the wrong way.  No cellphone signal.  No one around to help me if I got lost or hurt, and I had a plane to catch later that afternoon.  Ugh.

Anse Georgette

I was hot, tired, and dehydrated.  Thankfully it was cloudy, or it could have been worse, also thankfully it didn't storm on me!  That would have been worse too!  I had water and needed to be sure to drink it!  I burst into tears.  I yelled, "Where is the damn path?  aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!!!!!"  My only alternative was to head back the way I came.  Another 45 minutes!! No!!!

I decided tired and hot and frustrated was better than lost or injured or worse.  I had to admit my defeat and tearfully make my way back to Anse Georgette.  I was so exhausted and hungry by the time I reached it, I decided to treat myself to a nice meal and a dip in their pool instead.  Anse Lazio couldn't be that spectacular!

Looking down on Anse Georgette as I attempt to make the hour long hike to Anse Lazio.

Beautiful views, but jutting rocks that I kept stubbing my toes on.  This hike was not meant to be made in flip flops.

The elusive painted arrow guiding me on my way to Anse Lazio.

Down there was not the way.

Views of the golf course.

Hmmm..I think this is the way.

Turns out, on Tripadvisor, someone said the hike is actually 1 1/2 hours!!!  You can barely see the beach way off to the left of the picture.  No wonder it was taking so long and didn't seem to be the right way.  I saw the greens-keeper again later that day.  I told him I had to turn around.  He said, "Yeah, that walk is pretty dangerous and we don't recommend people walk it alone."  Gee, thanks for telling me that now!

I wasn't sorry I went back.  I had a nice poolside lunch.

Cute bird hanging out.

This peacock appeared out of nowhere and stole a bun from my table!

Silly peacock!

Another visitor for lunch.

After lunch, I hung out at another beach on the hotel property.

One side of the beach....

....aaand the other.

Trip is over, and here we are heading back to the main island.

G'bye Seychelles!!!  I had a fabulous time and can't wait to be back!

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.