VICTORIA, SEYCHELLES & PIRACY CONCERNS

PIRACY CONCERNS
Over the past 10 days there have been several incidents of pirates from Somali venturing farther and farther out into, and now farther south, in the Indian Ocean. Some of the attempted high jackings have been successful while most have been thwarted. The day after we left the Seychelles a diving yacht was high jacked just hours after we had passed by the Aldabra Group, part of the outer Seychelle islands. When we were in Singapore, we spoke to some passengers from a British ship, the Balmoral, who had been chased by two pirate boats and had been ordered to go to their “safe haven” in the middle of their ship. There have been 5 attempts in the past 48 hours, and this morning the Maersk cargo ship with 20 U.S. crew members was taken. Our captain has altered his course and speed several times to avoid dangerous areas and assures us that there are many agencies (Indian navy, U.S. navy, aircraft etc.) monitoring our progress, and that precautions have been taken to ensure our safety. Extra crew members are patrolling the decks round the clock, scanning the ocean for any signs of trouble, and listening devices and our high pressure fire hoses are in position for instant use if necessary.

VICTORIA, SEYCHELLES
The Seychelles’ archipelago consists of 115 islands. Victoria, on the largest island of Mahe, is the capital (and only town -- the rest are all villages!). Technically it is part of Africa and it is located about 1,000 miles each from India, Africa and Saudi Arabia in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is the only major port in the islands, and the downtown area has remained virtually unchanged since colonial times. English and French are the official languages so we had little trouble understanding the locals. We arrived on Saturday morning and were able to see the colorful local produce and fish market and visit some of the shops before they closed at noon. The people were laid back and friendly. Proudly displayed in the center of town is a silver clock tower donated to the town by the city of London. However, when it was being unloaded from the ship, it fell into the water and the pendulum broke off, so unfortunately it has no chimes but is able to keep time!
The island is very green even though they get very little rain, and the colors of the flowers (orchids, bougainvilleas, gardenias and frangipani) in the gardens on the streets and in the parks were beautiful. Palm trees, both coconut and banana, grow wild everywhere. This is also the home of the extremely rare giant coco de mer palm with a double nut that can grow up to 40 pounds! It takes 10 years to ripen. Consequently there are many products made from this nut including the meat, milk and coconut liqueur to soap and carvings from its polished husks. The Seychelles are also home to giant tortoises, some of which can be seen in a corner of the botanical gardens.

The best part of our visit here was our day at the beach. We loved it! The white sand was like sifted flour, stretching out as far as we could walk in the ocean, soft and shell free, and the water temperature was a toasty 85 degrees! The tropical sun was extremely strong so we settled our lounges in the shade provided by a canopy of palm and deciduous trees reaching over the sand towards the sea from the grass covered roadside. All kinds of water sports were available including jet skiing, water skiing, paragliding, snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking. We cavorted in the water like children, enjoying every moment, and were sorry to have to leave this tropical paradise.