A LITTLE TRIP IN MY MIND AROUND THE SEYCHELLES

We explored the complete island. It took about 45 minutes by car from south to north and about 30 minutes east to west. The island was basically covered in jungle. At that time the Seychellois were very proud of the fact that there was 100% employment on the island (or 0 unemployment). Everyone had work even if it meant donning a safety vest and working on the crews that cleaned along the sides of the roads. The whole island was spotless. In the middle of the island there was a mountain that the road passed over and at the peak was a tea plantation. It had been there for more than two hundred years. We enjoyed sitting there in the jungle, listening to the sounds and sipping exotic teas from the Indian Ocean.

Our other favorite pastime was eating our lunch in a mountainside, seafood restaurant complete with view overlooking the ocean. It had been established by an American, leftover from the USA’s largest radar base in the Indian Ocean. He had served his time but loved the area so he married and stayed. At that time no one other than Seychelles citizens were allowed to own property or businesses in the Seychelles. Hence the marriage? Nah it was probably love! Anyway he went out each morning and caught that day’s fresh seafood. It was truly the freshest anything I had ever eaten. Exquisite comes to mind. I could have eaten three times a day there. Ron and Ange, not so much. “Where are the hotdogs”? I remembering them muttering. It was going to take more than fresh fish to get them to eat exotic foods.

One very interesting sight that we encountered was the Coco De Mer (or I guess, coconut from the sea). I am going to explain what it is and you are all going to say bullshit! I am going to attach a couple of photos and you are going to say Photoshopped. However those of you that know me, know that I am a long way from being able to come up with this type of image using a photo editor. Ok so we come upon a park that Deysi wanted to see. The sign reads that this special palm, only found in this area of the world produces a “male” and “female” seed (coconut). Ya, so you might say. Well take a look at these pictures. One practical use I discovered was that the hard black shell of the female coco de mer was used for the manufacture of Domino tiles.

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The Seychelles was discovered and subsequently became a safe haven for pirates that plied their trade in the Indian Ocean. It was a place where they could rest, party, restock and prepare for their next foray into the Ocean, seeking plunder. The people were a mixture of Spanish, French, Portuguese, English, Indian and (freed or escaped) African Slaves. They developed their own language which was a patois or mix of all of the languages brought to its shores by a couple of centuries of pirate trade. Their language was creole. Interestingly, the same sort of language was developed independently by a similar mix of peoples that lived in and settled the Deep South of the USA also called creole. Both languages were independent of the other, however it was found that people of both places could communicate and understand the others language. Yet with no common ground (other than the French base for both) and thousands of miles between them. Hmmmmmmm?

We also took time to explore the small capital city of Victoria. It was very British Colonial in architecture and English is one of the three official languages spoken by the people. We did a little shopping, looked at some historical sights and explored a little of the pirates’ hideaways that are still, somewhat preserved to this day. Boat tours were available to some of the outlying islands and two or three of them had hotel or lodge type accommodation available. It is a beautiful place. the government at the time we were there was socialist, however based on democratic elections. It had not been a socialist country for long. Read on.

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In 1981, a former ruler of The Seychelles, then exiled in the UK, hired a mercenary from South Africa to stage a coup d’état and reclaim the Seychelles from their rulers at that time. This guy, named Mad Mike Hoare gathered up his band of men and started on elaborate plans to invade Seychelles. It was a comedy of errors and would have been funny except that it was serious and potentially deadly for many. As his plans were being made, the financial backing started to disappear and desperate steps were needed. As the date neared and things began to fly apart.

Mad Mike ordered the firearms required for his plan, had them delivered to his house in South Africa and stored them in the basement. Then the funds for charter plane they were supposed to hire dried up and finally he had his men pack the guns in luggage and they boarded a commercial flight to the Seychelles. They arrived under the guise of an old boys “rugby drinking club”. They almost made it, when one of the group got into the wrong lineup at immigration and then into a heated argument with the officer. His bags were checked, he confessed, all the others were searched and arrested. And that was the end of the “Holiday Package Coup”. The Seychelles didn’t have facilities to imprison them, so they were all sent back to South Africa to serve their jail time. Amazing but true!