The first fun stop on our trip was Mahe, the largest of the islands in the Seychelles archipelago. The chain, located in the Indian Ocean just under 1,000 miles from the coast of Africa, contains 115 coral and granite islands. The islands were formed when a volcanic eruption or meteor strike caused a giant slab of granite to break free from the southern tip of India. As the slab drifted it broke into the granite “Inner Islands” that exist today. To the west of these, a series of coralline islands formed which are called the “Outer Islands.”
The resort in which we are staying is the Four Seasons Seychelles which is approximately a 30 minute drive from the airport. The resort is build into the granite cliffs surrounding the Bay of Petite Anse. The villas are beautiful with most overlooking the bay. They each have a deck with a plunge pool. The villas are connected by a series of narrow roadways many of which are incredibly steep with sharp turns. Due to this, the resort provides 24-hour buggy (a.k.a. golf cart) transportation between any location in the resort. As nice as the resort is, the service is even nicer. Every staff member we have encountered has gone out of his or her way to make sure we were happy. We arrived at the resort mid-afternoon on Sunday. Upon arrival to our villa, we were welcomed with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot to help us celebrate our anniversary. We decided to hold off on the celebrating so we could get down to their more casual beachfront restaurant Kannel for a late lunch. Still exhausted from all of the travel, we spent the afternoon relaxing on our deck and in the plunge pool before a nice meal at their restaurant Zez.
Our first morning at the resort began with a nice buffet breakfast. Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating today. She brought us nothing but clouds and rain. While not ideal, we didn’t really mind as we were still a little worn out from the travel. We just hung around on our deck and in the plunge pool. Really not a bad way to spend an afternoon. To satisfy the soccer fans among the guests, the resort put up a large screen each evening for World Cup watching. We caught the first half of the France/Nigeria game prior to dinner. Pretty cool to be watching soccer on the beach in the middle of the Indian Ocean. For dinner we went back to Zez for Arabian night where we were treated to a wide variety of ethnic Arab inspired food.
Our second full day began like the first with a buffet breakfast. Probably need to cut back on the size of breakfast or I’ll grow big enough to be confused for a hippo during the safari. Our afternoon started with a with spa treatments for both of us. Aasma enjoyed a hot shell massage while I enjoyed their Hilltop Fusion massage which unitized a combination of eastern and western techniques. The massages went a long way toward helping us forget about all of those hours flying. After our treatments we headed to the beach for some sunbathing, a snack and a cocktail.
Before dinner, we buggied back up to the spa to watch sunset from the roof there. The view from there is amazing. You can see the entire bay and its beautiful turquoise water. As a special treat for the sun-setters, the spa staff brings up complementary glasses of bubbles.
For dinner we went to the Kannel restaurant which overlooks the pool and the beach beyond. After dinner, we walked next door to the Kannel Bar to watch the second half of the Argentina/Switzerland game. For the late games the resort converted a meeting room into what they called the World Cup lounge where there was a projection TV, seating and free refreshments. We headed up there to watch the US game at midnight. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t what we’d hoped for — a 2-1 defeat for the USMNT.
Our last full day was spent just relaxing. We did finally leave the property though. We were invited to the managers’ cocktail party where the guests were a mix of the department heads and a number of guests. We finally got to meet Alex the GM. He was as nice as the rest of the staff. It was easy to see where the direction of the staff comes from. We also met a very interesting couple from Australia who made us feel like rookie travelers. They are nearing the end of their current adventure which started A YEAR AGO. We never go the chance to find out how they could afford it but wow were we impressed. After the party we took a ride over to the Banyan Tree resort and had dinner at their Saffron restaurant. I was a little nervous because it was a Thai restaurant but they took my allergies very seriously and pointed out which dishes I had to avoid. All of the food was very delicious.
Our final morning in Mahe. We’re excited about the upcoming safari but we will miss the resort. We enjoyed our final buffet breakfast at Zez. They gave us Champagne and some birthday cupcakes in celebration of Aasma’s birthday. After a few last photos it was time to head to the airport and our flight back to Nairobi.
For additional Sechelles photos, follow this link.