Seychelles

We had a little pit stop in the Seychelles, and it was lovely! It
was only a one nighter, as to break up the long crossing between
India and South Africa, as well as to re-fuel.

What a paradise! It reminded me a little of Mauritius, which is not
too far away, except smaller and with seemingly less of a touristy
feel. Sarah, Amanda, and I decided to take a bus to a hiking trail
that led to a beautiful beach where we were planned to camp. The
views of the Indian Ocean from our hike were breathtaking. And it is
was a sunny hot (HOT) day, so we definitely stopped frequently to
check out those views. We eventually made it to the beach, with no
one really in sight except for two tourist police and the "Coconut
Man," who lived off the trail in a house on the hill. The Coconut
Man, bless his heart, was marching to the beat of his own drum; yet
he watched over us as we slumbered on the beach in our little tent,
jumping at the sound of falling coconuts and scooting crabs. And the
next day, after snorkling (I saw a sting ray!) and playing in the
beautiful Indian Ocean, which for the most part we had all to
ourselves, our wonderful Coconut Man brought us some fresh cut
coconuts to sip. The funniest part about the whole trip was the
strange reactions we received when telling the local people we were
camping. Apparently people don't really camp in the Seychelles. As
usual, we learned something new...:-)