Seychelles

Seychelles

It would be difficult, if not impossible, to dream up a place as idyllic as the Seychelles. Located off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles is comprised of numerous small granite and coral islands.

Most of the islands are uninhabited, and those that do support year round populations have only done so for the past 150 to 200 years. Arab traders were the first to visit the islands, followed by pirates who used the islands as a base of operations to prey on nearby merchant shipping, and then finally by small colonies of mainly French, Indian, and African nationalities who set up plantations and fishing operations. After gaining independence in 1976, Seychelles has slowly developed a very understated tourism industry.

















We were fortunate enough to spend four days in May mainly on Praslin island, the second largest of the nations islands. It didn't take us long to realize that this was not nearly enough time. After a quick four hour direct flight from Dubai we landed on the main island of Mahe where we quickly caught our connecting flight to Praslin on Air Seychelles.
















Our hotel, Chateau de Feuilles, was a small hotel of about a dozen bungalows perched on one of the points jutting out towards La Digue island, the third largest island of the nation.



















One of the best parts about the staying at such a small hotel, of which most are in the Seychelles, is the solitude. It was almost as if you had the entire place to yourself!











While we could have spent the entire visit happily loitering around the pool or jacuzzi taking in the fresh air and sounds of the waves crashing below, we managed to muster the strength to head out for a day on the hotels private island.


After a stroll down to Praslin's jetty, we were aboard the hotel's yacht and on our way out acorss the waters of the Indian ocean to Big Sister Island.



















After arriving, the group of maybe eight total spread out across the island giving us the feeling that we had been marooned on this picture perfect island with our only company being the wild tortoises!



















The island was just amazing in every sense, with the huge granite rocks creating a striking contrast against the turquoise waters, white sands, and lush palm tree groves.























After a morning of relaxing on the beach, we had a lunch of freshly caught fish followed by even more relaxing! Eventually, this perfect day had to come to an end and we made our way back aboard the yacht for the ride home as the sun set across the island.

On the higher elevations of Praslin Island, unique rain forests exist that are home to the Coco de Mer. The Coco do Mer is the largest nut in the world and is only found on Praslin. Whats unique about this nut is its shape (see picture). When Arab traders brought back the nuts, they were prized posessions by the Sheiks and Sultans of Arabia as they were believed to hold special fertility powers.

We spent one day on La Digue Island, where we spent the majority of the day biking around and seeing some of the sights. La Digue is where Robinson Cursoe was marooned, carving the number of days he was stranded onto a tree on the island. One of the most interesting sights was the islands taxi system....ox carts!

Our last night was spent on Mahe Island, the largest island and home to the world's smallest capitol city, Victoria. Pictures below of the port in Victoria as we approached from Praslin....there are not many ports in the world this picturesque!

This last night in the Seychelles we stayed at the Hilton resort, which even though it was a bit more crowded was definately a place we would return to.

So with that it was back to the heat and chaos of our home town.....Dubai. We are already planning our next trip back to the Seychelles!

The Republic of Djibouti

The Republic of Djibouti

Djibouti is a small country on the Horn of Africa nestled in a very rough neighborhood with Yemen just across the Gulf of Aden and Somalia just to the south. It is an incredibly poor country with only the revenues from the Port of Djibouti to subsist off of. The country has a very heavy French influence, as it was a French colony before gaining its independence.

I was in Djibouti on business for three days to explore what the country and its hinterlands might hold in the way of new market potential for our ships. It was a trip I had been putting off for some time given its less than appealing location. What would have been a 3.5 hour direct flight from Dubai, had there actually been an airline willing to service the route, was actually a 12 hour journey via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia aboard the well worn aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines. So after taking off from Dubai at 4:45 AM, I arrived at the Djibouti International Airport in high spirits with malaria medication in hand and countless vaccinations coursing through my body.

There was only one other plane at the airport when we landed, however, it wasn't an airline I was very familiar with.

After negotiating my way through immigration, it was off to the hotel to get cleaned up before the first meetings. After checking in at the hotel, (which happend to be the tallest building in the country at four stories) I noticed the hotel was bustling with activity. I mentioned this to the front desk clerk, who said that I was the only one staying in the hotel who was not a part of the UN sponsored peace conference underway between the dozens of warring Somali clan representatives.

So with that it was off to the Port of Djibouti for a site visit and meetings with the port officials.

The port itself was an interesting experience, the potent mix of heat, humidity, flies, and smell was unlike any port I've ever been to. The liberal bathing policy at the port was a first as well (see photo above).

The working hours in Djibouti are unusual and apparently a holdover from the French colonial days. The day starts at 8 AM and breaks at noon for the afternoon off. Work begins again at 4:30 PM and continues until 7 PM. The working week is a half day off on Thursday, all day off on Friday, and then a half day on Saturday.

One of the other interesting aspects of the culture is the use of Khat. Khat is a weed that is chewed to produce mild euphoria. Its easy to pick out the men using the narcotic as they tend to have a glassy eyed look to them and their teeth are stained a lovely brown. The port has placed signs around the premises banning the substance, however, its still very prevelent.

Djibouti is a very poor place and the following pictures reflect the average housing.

So with the meetings complete and more than enough of Djibouti to last a life time, it was off to the airport being careful to follow the sign board and stay straight versus hanging a right and ending up in a place probably even worse than Djibouti!