Port Victoria, Mahé Island, The Republic of Seychelles.
Buongiorno, siamo arrivati. Actually, we arrived last night. It was later than the 19:00 shown in Passages. Apparently, there was a merchant ship at our berth, and they had to wait for it to depart before we could dock. It had gone 20:00 by the time we finally got to the berth, and it has probably gone 21:00 by the time we were all tied up. Some people were unhappy because they had planned on going ashore for dinner. It is a bit presumptuous to assume everything is going to plan. Our experience with island nations, Fiji for example, kind of run on their own time plan.
Waking up and looking outside the glass sliding doors this morning about 06:00 there was a beautiful sunrise. There were a few wispy white clouds which framed the still dark islands, the dark blue sea below then as your eyes go up the horizon you see the golden saffron, orange and yellow sunlight peeking though those clouds. This is all topped by a clear light blue sky. Clearly no smog here.
The continued its journey into the sky and the islands took on more definition. The hills became green, buildings began to appear and as if by magic an island appears. Honestly is was more like five or six islands appear. Even in port you can see the surrounding islands. This like all the others is a working port, but much smaller than Dubai, Muscat or Abu Dhabi. No fancy cruise terminal here.
The excursion is timed for 09:00 and we are boarding the motor coach on time. The coach takes a route through the town and past the three red lights, which the Seychellois are clearly very proud of. One way street, lots of people and traffic. No very many motorbikes, which is interesting because most of the island nations have relied heavily on motorbikes due to their fuel efficiency.
We are back to hot and humid, but the air conditioning on the motor coach is working just fine. Our first stop is at Venn’s Town and Mission Ruins. The coach is going up a public road which has a white line down the middle, sometimes, and isn’t too much wider than the coach is several places. This is the Victoria-Sans Souci-Port Glaud road which traverses the central mountain chain on Mahé. It takes about 20 minutes to make our way up the mountain where we reach an altitude of 450 meters.
The guide points out a set of restrooms just in case anyone needs its. Several people leave the coach and proceed to take advantage of the situation. In the meantime another coach approaches but doesn’t stop by proceeds to enter the site of Venn’s town just across the dip in the road. When it finally looks like everyone has done their business, the guide tells to exit the coach and we are going to walk across the street and up the hill into Venn’s Town.
People, people, people, please it is just across the street. Why are you complaining? Because some other guide took the coach up the small rise, and you have to walk it? You would think the guide was taking us on a fifteen-mile trek through the jungle. It is maybe 200 or 300 meters to walk. It is on a paved road, not in the best of shape but paved. The gate clearly says “Closed for Renovation” but what the heck does that really mean. The guard doesn’t seem tot honk it means much as we walk past her.
The Mission Ruins of Venn's Town are situated in the South-West of the Morne Seychellois National Park. It is a heritage site. It’s inclusion in the list of World Hertiage Sites was made in 2013, but they are still waiting. So why should be it included?
Slavery ended in 1875 in the Seychelles. There was little or nothing for liberated slaves to do, or a way to make a living on the island as many of the plantations had to shut down because they couldn’t operate without slave labor. Many of them left the island seeking a better life elsewhere. Unfortunately, while they were able to leave, they couldn’t take their children, so they abandoned their children to their fate on the island. The Church Missionary society, a philanthropic group, set up as an industrious school to accommodate children of the liberated slaves. It was called Venn’s Town.
Venn's Town eventually covered an area of 50 acres, of which a large percentage was used for vanilla and cocoa cultivation which was used to support the school.There were two dormitories measuring 100 feet by 25 feet, one for the boys and one for the girls. A number of houses, washrooms, kitchens, huts for laborers, a workshop and storeroom and a mission cottage for the schoolmaster and his family made up the settlement.
It is one of the most historically and culturally meaningful site in Seychelles. Its importance lies not only in the fact that its ruins bear testimony to an important phase in Seychelles history but its location itself, the landscape within which it exists, decidedly well-chosen by the missionaries that set up Venn's Town. Its location at the top of Sans Souci, on Morne Seychellois (the highest mountain on Mahé which is the main island of Seychelles) offers one of the most panoramic views of the coastal areas. It lies among the lush/dense virgin forests, which are home to numerous endemic plants and small animals.
Queen Elizabeth II visited here sometime in the 1972, and a viewing platform was erected for her. It still stands today. The school ran from 1876 to 1889. It is quite beautiful and the view from the platform is spectacular. There is a kind of mystical feeling about the place. Somehow people were still bitching about the walk up and back to the motor coach. When we eventually arrived back at the site where we left the motor coach there were six of them there. Only one motor coach went up the hill.
Back on the coach we rode down the hill. We stopped along the way and the guide pointed out red bananas growing on a tree near the road. Red bananas have a reddish-purple skin. Some are smaller and plumper than the common yellow banana. When ripe, raw red bananas have a flesh that is creamy to light pink. They are also softer and sweeter than the yellow varieties, some with a slight tangy raspberry flavor and others with an earthy one. They are a favorite in Central America as a form of aphrodisiac juice! They are a favorite in India as they are believed to promote fertility. They are apparently somewhat rare to see in a natural setting. Look at the things you learn along the way. We weren’t allowed to take samples for trial tests.
The views from the road as we made our way to the Botanical Garden were great. We aren’t really Botanical Garden folks as you know, but these are special because the Aldabra giant tortoise. These tortoises are the worlds longest lives animals with life spans of nearly 250 years. These particular species in one of the last two existing species. They were hunted to near extinction from the 16th to 18th centuries as they were a main staple of ships traveling the Indian Ocean at the time.
They do apparently eat a lot of red bananas, however. It really demonstrates that you are never too old or too big for sex. Nonna even took a turn feeding one of the old guys some leaves, just to make it clear.
On the way back to the Mariner we ask the guide if she had any lunch plans. No, why? We invited her to join us for lunch at a restaurant of her choice. She only asked if Creole food was on with us. Sure!
We stayed on the motor coach with another couple after we dropped everyone else off at the ship. The driver with the guide took the four of us and a guide to a nearby parking lot. Here we got into the guide’s car and she drove us part way back up the mountain to a restaurant called Marie Antoinettes and dropped us off. At which time I realized I had left my phone on the bus. The guide took the other people to where they needed to go, and then drive back to the ship to retrieve my phone. The phone had already been turned over to security on the ship. SO, she joined us at the restaurant.
In the meantime we perused the menu. Then Eddie, the Cruise Consultant from the Mariner, was, by coincident was having lunch at the same restaurant, came over and pointed out what we should order. He suggested the restaurant’s Signature Board, which was 450 Seychellois Rupees per person, just shy of $34 per person. The Signature Board we ordered had the following dishes. Chicken Coconut Curry. Grilled Fish. Tuna Steak with Creole Salsa. Parrotfish Fritters. Mango Salad. Green Salad. Local Fruit Chutney. Coconut Chutney. White Rice. Eggplant fritters. And … Fresh Crushed Chillies.
The meal started with a SeyBrew lager beer, brewed here on the island. Yes, we both had one. No, I didn’t eat the Grilled Fish or the Tuna Steak. But I was conned into trying the Parrotfish fritters, as they were “like fish and chips.” I have to be honest they were, and they were very good especially with the fresh crushed chillies. The mango salad or salsa, and the local fruit chutney, really spicy, went very well with the eggplant fritters. The truth is it was a wonderful lunch.
In addition to being a restaurant they also had a group of tortoises in the courtyard. Man those bastards are horny. There was another couple going at full time. Maybe it is just that time of the year. The restaurant itself was open and airy.
We got back to the ship way before the last call to board at 15:30. The Mariner got underway on time at 16:00. We chose to skip dinner as we ate such a good and learned meal at lunch. Tomorrow we have another relaxing day at sea. Wednesday we will arrive in Nosy Be, Madagascar. Nonna is looking forward to the Lemurs on Nosy Komba. Nature Girl?
All is good, Buonanotte e Ciao, Enrico e Maria
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