Fully prepared and off to Praslin and La Digue

Our journey really began exactly two weeks before our flight. My husband and I settled in at his desk and opened YouTube. There, we watched Ralf’s videos from SeyVillas. We quickly fetched a pen and paper and made notes of the information, tips and sights he described so vividly in the videos. We sat captivated first by the video ‘Praslin’ and then ‘La Digue’, as those were the two islands we had booked. Every now and then, we giggled with anticipation and were amazed by some of the footage. After that, there was no containing our excitement. We bought a mosquito net for peaceful nights and put together a to-do list. From then on, we were well and truly caught up in the excitement of preparing for the trip. By the time we landed on Mahé, we felt thoroughly prepared.

Cote d' Or Our first evening on Praslin will remain unforgettable. We first had to get used to the completely different and vibrant natural surroundings. Small and larger crabs startled us with their ‘rustling’ in the bushes. We kept jumping and then laughing each time, because we had essentially been frightened by the genuinely pretty crabs, which were merely scurrying away from us into the dry palm fronds. We received a warm welcome at our accommodation and spent the first half of our holiday on Praslin.

Anse Takamaka The next morning, we hired a car without any fuss and tried our hand at driving on the left. It may feel adventurous, but it is actually very manageable. I would encourage everyone to be brave enough to try it; it really is worthwhile. We followed all of Ralf’s tips from the video about Praslin. I particularly enjoyed driving up Mount Zimbabwe, constantly surrounded by magnificent bush: tropical trees, palms, lianas and the ceaseless sound of birdsong. It was wonderfully relaxing. Viewed from above, the island looked like the one from the film ‘Jurassic Park’. We were almost expecting to hear a dinosaur roar.

Grand Fond My husband cracked open a coconut on a rock. After 20 minutes, he succeeded, and we drank coconut water straight from the coconut we had opened ourselves. It was so much better than the packaged kind found on German supermarket shelves, and far more refreshing and delicate. From then on, he opened one every evening. A rather strenuous form of exercise, so to speak.

Fresh coconut Finally, we visited Vallée de Mai. We were astonished by the all-encompassing silence in the valley: stillness and seclusion, broken only by the occasional bird call and the rustling of the local palm leaves. Otherwise, there was complete silence. It was like putting your head underwater in the bath.

We stopped time and again to savour this breathtaking, unfamiliar tranquillity. In the evenings, we would go straight to the beach at Anse Volbert (Cote d'Or) to read until it grew dark, usually followed by a little stroll.

Anse Lazio, Praslin We spent the second part of our holiday on La Digue. We hired bicycles there and sped around the island every day, always with a different plan but with Ralf’s excellent tips firmly in mind.

Exploring La Digue by bicycle On one outing, we saw an ancient, picturesque pirate cemetery; on another, the dreamlike Anse Source d'Argent Anse Source d'Argent, where we went snorkelling and saw enormous fish swimming all around us. We sat in the shade at Anse Severe and went into the water every few minutes simply to float in the crystal-clear, warm water and let ourselves be gently rocked back and forth.

Anse Severe At the end of the holiday, we realised just how incredibly well rested we were. We had completely switched off from everyday life and had even forgotten our passwords.

Tame bird on La Digue Grand Anse, La Digue L' Union Estate Park We would recommend that everyone watch the entertaining videos on YouTube in preparation for their trip. They could not have put us in a better mood for our holiday. Thank you, SeyVillas!