Getting to the Seychelles began like many solo journeys to a new land. A three hour flight delay saw me landing at Mahé Airport at half passed midnight. I can never sleep on planes or the night before boarding one, so the first thing my sleep-deprived-self had to deal with was not having a print-out of my return ticket. I had to stand in the naughty corner until everyone else had passed through customs. One of the nicer officials eventually helped me out.
Sleeplessly blinking my way on, I caught sight of a “North Island” sign held by a loyal (local) Wildlife ACT taxi driver named Richard. He was accompanied by a fellow pale person who I unintentionally met on the plane for 5 seconds when I asked the woman behind me if it was okay to put my seat back. She was headed to North Island the next day too.
They both patiently waited even longer after I attempted to withdraw some cash for the upcoming taxi ride (I had planned to exchange a wad of Ronts I was carrying, but the exchangers had understandably gone to bed). The three ATMs I tried sucked in my only bank card so slowly but forcibly that I was sure I would never see it again. I started having flashbacks of losing my bank card in Indonesia on the very first day. The machines ignored my advances until the 4th attempt. I got an email about suspected fraud the next day and the card has since been blocked….
But Richard and Des’ree were great, and after dropping the latter off, Richard (relatively cheerfully) took me to my Airbnb and called ahead to let them know I was still coming (on top of my own heads-up). A nice and patient Sri Lankan man met me at the door and saw me to bed at 2am. The guesthouse was perfectly adequate for R702, but I was hugely disappointed in the morning to get told that my stay did not include breakfast. This was as other guests got served food endlessly. I got a cup of coffee. I thought BnB stood for “Bed & Breakfast”!? But I did laugh when I realised that I had been addressing the owner as “Chez” the whole time not realising that this was French for “at the home”!
The price of accommodation aside, the 15-20 minute taxi ride cost R400. I was beginning to understand how unbelievably expensive the Seychelles is. Even the “S” on the number plates look a bit like a dollar sign. I hear that the bus is 5 rupees (roughly R5) to anywhere; useful to know if you plan a visit.
Next: Seychelles #2: To North Island!
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