Colours, sea and lush greenery: what a wonder!
Praslin
First stop: Praslin. We are welcomed by a really lovely guesthouse, Villas de Mer, with delightful rooms close to the beach. Our very first impressions? An island bursting with vegetation and then, there they are… the fantastic colours of the sea. Arriving in the evening, we begin with a lovely fish supper and have our first taste of Creole flavours. After a good night’s rest, we visit the famous beach of Anse Lazio, with dazzling sunshine and a sea straight out of a dream.
This beach is stunning, with the colours of the sea and the dense vegetation… the palm trees reach right down to the beach, offering plenty of shade. We hire a car to explore the island, even though they drive on the left… but we soon get used to it and travel from one side of the island to the other.
The following day, we head to Anse Georgette, tucked away within a resort with golf courses… it is quite a walk to get there, but it is definitely worth it. From Anse Georgette, you can admire the sunset. We continue with a visit to the Vallée de Mai nature reserve, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 (it is the smallest rainforest in the world!!). During the visit, our Italian guide gives us a detailed explanation of the Coco de Mer and the different plant species found there… we are utterly enchanted by such lush nature… and we are lucky too: we even manage to spot a few four-leaf clovers!!
We also make sure not to miss the excursion to Curieuse Island, where we see giant tortoises, explore the verdant island, feast on grilled fish and go snorkelling at St. Pierre, where we see some incredibly beautiful, colourful fish.
La Digue
But it is already time to move on to another island. As we booked with Seyvillas, our transfers are already arranged and extremely convenient, with punctual, friendly taxi drivers taking us to our destination. Vouchers in hand, we reach La Digue after a 20-minute ferry crossing. Having the transfers organised is essential and saves us from wasting any time. Our guesthouse on La Digue, Villa Veuve, is surrounded by nature, and the room is spacious and comes with a kitchenette.
On La Digue, you get around by bicycle, and it is fantastic—a wonderful feeling of freedom and tranquillity, especially for anyone coming from a large city. Anse Source D’Argent is the first beach we visit. We decide to trek through the vegetation to visit Anse Marron (be warned, the trek to get there is demanding, so it is best to get some information beforehand!), Grand Anse, Petite Anse and Anse Cocos.
What an incredible sight… we never want to leave… but our final island awaits: Mahé.
Mahé
We make sure not to miss the capital, Victoria, where we discover an unexpected Hindu temple and a local market that we happily explore and ‘raid’. This time, we choose an international hotel, the Coral Strand in Beau Vallon. Here too, our room is spacious and has every comfort. On Mahé, we have great fun travelling around on the local buses, and Anse Royale becomes our favourite beach.
And so our wonderful holiday draws to a close… with a lump in our throats and sadness in our eyes, we board our flight back to Rome… we have now been home for more than a week, but the deep green of the lush vegetation covering these magnificent islands and the pale blue of that splendid sea, teeming with colourful fish, remain vividly and indelibly etched in our minds… it will be very difficult indeed to forget!!
