Welcome to the Seychelles

Soon after 6.00 am in the morning, landing on the largest of a total of 115 Seychelles islands - Mahe. Even during the approach, we are compensated for the long flight with a blood-red sunrise - for us, there could be no better welcome. For the small airport, the landing of the Condor plane must be a real highlight of the week, as there is so little going on here. Correspondingly, the entry formalities are handled quickly and our luggage is already waiting for us on the conveyor belt.

We just have to pick up the rental car, and now we can really feel the summer climate, even at this time it is well over 20 degrees and we wonder how we could have been freezing on the plane just an hour ago :)

Now we face our first challenge, because in the Seychelles, we drive on the left. At this point, I'll hand over the wheel to the more experienced driver among us and take on the navigation part myself. Because anyone (like me until now) who thinks they can easily navigate to the next accommodation using the navigation system is mistaken. There are apparently no real addresses with house numbers in the Seychelles, instead the nearest beach is given as the address and then the tourists will find it. In addition, the streets in the Seychelles are very narrow and at best poorly paved, but only if you happen to be on a steep slope. It is not without reason that there is a speed limit of 40 for a large part of the route from the airport to our accommodation, which can only be found with the navigation system as "Anse Royal" (Anse=Beach).

Our motto is to take it slow and cautious, and so we also arrive at our accommodation after a small detour (why can't the people of the Seychelles just use house numbers?). And we are simply thrilled! The nice owner welcomes us warmly and explains the most important things about the island in 30 minutes.

Since we can't check in to our apartment until noon, we decide to leave the suitcases there and first buy some groceries in the small village of "Anse Royal". The few meters can easily be done on foot and after a few minutes we reach the supermarket - which we Germans would probably call a mini corner shop. Here, something like that is already called a shopping mall as soon as there is also a fruit stand next to the corner shop... :) Accordingly, the range is quite small, but it is enough for now.

Afterwards, we pass a small market by the roadside, where a Seychellois woman provides us with local coconut pastries - perfect for a first snack on the island right by the beach.

Since our accommodation is located directly on a renowned snorkeling beach, we want to test it out right away to pass the remaining time until we move into the apartment. So we quickly unpack the snorkeling gear from our hand luggage and off we go. The Indian Ocean surrounds us like a big bathtub and we immediately feel at home again. Since the reef is a bit further out, we have to swim a few meters - first work, then pleasure. But suddenly I see a brown-gray triangle below me on the sandy bottom - my brain puts the picture together: a stingray :/ While I quickly look at my mom and make sure that she also sees the "animal", I am amazed at how calm she remains - while I look for an exit. Although we are enthusiastic snorkelers and for many people stingrays are probably a snorkeling highlight, I really don't need such encounters. I'd rather ask Google about the (hopefully) harmlessness of these creatures.

After the snorkeling was prematurely ended for me, we were able to check into our apartment. And it turns out to be the absolute dream accommodation - we are thrilled from second 1. We have never lived directly on the beach before, the terrace is just a few meters from the sea and has direct access to the water - what more could you wish for...

After a short break in the accommodation, we set off again by car - to Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles and therefore the smallest capital in the world. This is a good 25 minutes drive from us, and there is also a public swimming pool just before the city center. Of course, a stop there is mandatory and we are a bit perplexed when we see a completely abandoned swimming pool in front of us: a pool with 25m lanes and another one with 50m lanes, no visitors in sight and a "lifeguard" can only be found after a long search. If it weren't for the "open" sign hanging at the gate, I would never have thought that it was really in operation. But from the "lifeguard" (I put it in quotes because he never appeared in my line of sight during my entire swimming time;)) I get the official "ok" for using it, and so I get to enjoy a private swimming pool (and that for 0 cents), which I have all to myself for the entire time - something like this would not even be possible in Germany, not even in a dream.

Afterwards, we continue the short distance to Victoria, park the car and explore the "city" on foot. Since it is Saturday, almost all shops are already closed and we quickly realize that we will have to visit the city again on a weekday (at this point, I will refrain from giving a detailed report of Victoria, which will surely follow soon)...

We return to Anse Royal, tired from all these experiences, make occasional stops on the way back for the numerous fruit stands by the roadside, and finally arrive back at our accommodation.

Here we enjoy the rest of the evening, cook and have dinner with the sound of the sea and under a wonderful starry sky!