Seychelles. A bay that promises relaxation in the pink sunset light, lined with palm trees and takamaka trees. The last bathers sip their sundowner on the loungers on the sandy beach. As the sun sinks into the sea behind the granite rocks, a dark brown humpback suddenly appears in the shimmering water a few meters in front of us, dives away and rises up again in a matter of seconds, a stingray with a long tail. He probably jumps half a meter high over the water before disappearing into the water in the direction of a couple bathing.
Screaming at the dreamy bay. The couple rushes out of the water. The staff at the Lémuria Hotel on the island of Praslin reassure them: “We know this guy, he just wants to play.” Rays are not dangerous, not aggressive and do not attack people. Unless, it should be added, they feel threatened, in which case their poisonous stinging tail is a life-threatening weapon.
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The Seychelles, known as the islands of the rich and beautiful with expensive hotels, are above all an extraordinary nature experience. Nowhere else in the world can you find oceanic granite islands like in the Seychelles – with their typical, rounded rocks and mountains rising over 900 meters high from the sea. A good dozen of the more than 116 Seychelles islands are of granitic origin, including the main islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue. What they have in common is an almost exploding tropical vegetation with plants and animals that can only be found here. The famous sea coconut in the Vallée de Mai on Praslin, for example, with nuts weighing up to 20 kilos, the largest seeds on earth. Or giant tortoises laying their eggs on the fine sandy beaches of several islands, black Seychelles parrots and paradise flycatchers buzzing through the treetops of palm forests.
The first settlers arrived in 1770, today the language and food are Creole
One of the most beautiful bays in the Seychelles is Anse Lazio on the northern tip of Praslin: turquoise sea and a pristine sandy beach framed by granite rocks. It makes you happy to swim endlessly in this crystal-clear, warm water and then eat delicious fresh fish in the shade of tall takamaka trees in the beach restaurant.
The islands were uninhabited until modern times, serving at best as a hideout for pirates. The first settlers arrived from France in 1770. They made slaves work for them to cultivate the land. If you drive up the steep Sans Souci Road on the island of Mahé with 66 hairpin bends to the pass of the Morne Seychellois National Park, you will see a memorial plaque on the viewing platform commemorating the release of 2409 African slaves between 1860 and 1870. After the British annexed the archipelago in 1811, they abolished the slave trade, but slavery itself continued for decades. It was the Anglican Church that initiated a school for liberated children in this remote mountain region. The colonial government made 20 hectares available for the project. But after a few years, Venn’s Town School was closed again.
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White colonial rulers and displaced black Africans are the ancestors of the Creole island people. Today, 86,000 people live in the Republic of Seychelles, which has been independent since 1976, 90 percent of them on the island of Mahé. The former French military base developed into the capital Victoria, named after Queen Victoria, more of a cozy village with the only traffic light in the Seychelles and a clock tower that is a small copy of London’s Big Ben. There is a lively market when the fishermen come back with their catch, two cathedrals, one Anglican, the other Catholic like the majority of the population, and in a beautiful old wooden house the seat of justice with a front garden in which prisoners weed, guarded by a dark-skinned female warden.
Late in the afternoon, when the streets come alive, we recommend a visit to the terrace of the Pirates Arms restaurant, where Creole food is also served. Learning to cook Creole is even better. As a starter, chef Alfonce mixes a salad of smoked marlin with tomatoes, onions, watercress, sea salt and pepper in olive oil, served with toasted toast. The first main course is fresh fish, a red snapper, which Alfonce calls “Bougeois”. He drizzles a spice paste made from tomatoes, onions, ginger, chili, herbs, soy and olive oil into the incised fish skin, then cooks it in the pan. We grate coconuts for the chicken curry on a grindstone in the garden. This becomes the sauce – refined with kukuma, curry and cinnamon leaves. For dessert, there is papaya in lime and passion fruit juice with honey, cinnamon and mint.
No building may be higher than a palm tree, this preserves the originality
We discuss the fact that there are problems even in an island paradise over dinner. During the great economic crisis, the Republic of Seychelles, ruled by the socialist state party, was almost bankrupt. The International Monetary Fund imposed a drastic devaluation of the Seychelles rupee and a tough stabilization programme. Hotel prices remained constant. However, tourists can now also pay in rupees at a fixed exchange rate. “For the locals,” says island guide Alan, “life is better, but more expensive.” Better because the free market is now allowed and there are no longer any shortages. More expensive because prices have risen two to threefold, including the bus fare. However, wages have also been increased. “The motto is now: ‘Lève debouquer’ – stand up to achieve something.”
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The effects of the crisis can still be felt today. Fewer tourists are coming. Airlines are cutting costs, direct flights have been discontinued. But life in the Seychelles has hardly changed in recent years. Nowhere may be built higher than a palm tree. The originality should be preserved. When you arrive on the island of La Digue by ferry, ox carts wait for the passengers as they always have. You can reach the famous Anse Source d’Argent beach by bike or on foot, with its large rock formations between which palm trees rise up like a miracle. Traditional plantation houses are scattered throughout the interior of the island, surrounded by banana trees and tropical gardens.
We find it difficult to take the last ferry back. Oh, if only we could stay! Alan comforts us: “It’s always too early to leave, but never too late to come back.