Seychelles - A sunny place for shady people. Ponsonby News October 2016

The idyllic Seychelles has often been likened to Monaco as being "A Sunny Place for Shady People”.

“The Island of Spies” with its record number of Russian, American and Korean satellites stationed overhead, supposedly supports a population of secret agents conniving in machiavellian plots of treachery and mystery, all within this  tropical island paradise. Its shady reputation has been more recently enhanced as a capital for money laundering by "Blood Diamond" Miners, shady Arms Dealers, dodgy Arab Sheiks and Colombian War Lords; but then, if you have to work in the darkness of the underworld, why not do it on a beautiful island with glorious sunshine and fantastic beaches?

Situated northeast of Madagascar and 1600 kilometres off the coast of Kenya, it is an archipelago of 115 paradisiacal Islands sitting in a pool of azure coral sea.  Neighbouring the capital of Victoria, impressive tourist resorts front vast marinas filled with expensive looking super yachts. Shrieking a blend of Caribbean vive and African rhythm, the city’s multi coloured suburbs spill down the impressive volcanic slopes towards the sea.

With my two favourite companions from the Midships Bar, (our shipboard version of Cheers - a bar where everybody knows your name -) we strode off the ship in the heat of the early morning. Deftly squeezing through the phalanx of street hawkers, dockside shops set-up for the occasion and eager bus drivers, we sought out a taxi for the day.  Air-conditioning being our top priority followed by a driver’s licence and proof of sanity. 

We found “George” clad in a Rastafarian cap, shorts and little else and fled the port in his Renault, leaving a cloud of stinking exhaust hovering over the other ship’s passengers haggling and arguing the toss with the remaining touts. 

Gingerly working up the narrow roadway creeping up the sides of the mountain, with a deep, plunging ravine on one side and steep foliage-laden hills on the other, we made the summit where an abandoned village sat, its crumbling walls striving to break free from the thick vines covering the jungle floor.  Originally built to educate and house slave children it was eventually abandoned and is now a reminder of the Seychelles dramatic past as the hub for hapless Africans on their way to the slave markets of England and the Caribbean. 

Amongst the vegetation slowly taking over the foundations of the remaining stone walls, were huge cinnamon trees, the natural scent of their bark filling the air with a sweet aroma that added to the dramatic atmosphere of thick green forest and colourful exotic birdlife flying around us. 

On the other side of the mountain, we passed great swathes of tea plantations clinging tentatively to the steep slopes. Tea-pickers slowly moved through the leafage whilst filling their backpacks just as countless generations of slaves had done before them.

The other side of the island with its isolated shore-line, is rich in mangrove swamps and small primitive villages. Government tenements sit on white pristine beaches tickled by foaming surf, where the view is beautiful one day glorious the next.

On one magnificent beach where we managed a quick swim, is a small island just off-shore that you can reach by wading through the receding tide. It sported a quaint thatched restaurant, promoting the Fish of the Day caught from the very shores surrounding the isle along with a sports bar patronised by laid-back surfers and relaxed locals.

After our refreshing swim in the crystal clear waters, we plunged into the sights and sounds of the Creole styled Capital, Victoria. Fresh food-markets, knock off pop-up shops and plenty of people sporting the rainbow caps favoured by “Rastas”.

Relaxing back on board after a magnificent day, we set sail into the setting sun, admired the view from the ship’s fantail as she negotiated around the protective coral reefs and sipped brightly coloured cocktails presented in all the hues of the Rastafarian’s skullcaps now being sported by more than a few passengers.

Befitting the Island’s dark reputation, it was here that the ship embarked a special security team led by a Lieutenant Commander from the Royal Navy who is a specialist in “Pirate Relations” and “International Security” for now, the ship enters the dangerous pirate waters only a few miles hence from the Islands.

The Seychelles may be trying to shake off a reputation of a dodgy past with its idyllic setting and tourist friendly resorts, but the undercurrent of pirates and treachery lie just beyond its idyllic coral shores.