Let us permit Nature to make her own way; she better understands her own affairs than we.
Michel de Montaigne
Responsible, highly diverse and run with the future in mind, the
Seychelles has endured, surmounted and expanded an economy still overly
affected by international currency fluctuations, and stands now as one
of the finest modern examples of what can be done to preserve and
nurture a country which is, by any standards, a veritable paradise.
Comprised of 115 islands, and situated some 1600 km east of Africa,
the Seychelles was, until around 1500, and not withstanding
intermittent visits from the occasional Arabic trader, almost
uninhabited. It enters European history in 1502, in the ship ledgers of
none other than Vasco Da Gama. A century or so later it is a British
trading post. Then, after 150 years of further anonymity, it is a big nations' pawn, and
passes from British hands to French, and back again, which is how it
remained, a crown colony, right up to the granting of independence in
1976.
French, African, Indian, Chinese, English or Arabic, the country is
home to a wonderful mix of cultures, all of which are linked first by a
distinctly French way of being, and secondly by a very real sense of
what it is to be temporary custodians of a place such as the
Seychelles. Despite, for example, the length of time it spent as a British colony,
and the fact that its political and legal framework is British
made, its people speak French, or its derivative, Seychellois Creole,
as well as English; most have French names; the majority are Roman
Catholic. And, unusually, the Seychellois are legally
entitled to a clean environment, which they are constitutionally bound
to protect. Largely coral or granite, the islands themselves are a wonder. Much of the flora and fauna here is instantly recognisable as generic to most tropical islands, but it is the rare, the endemic and the downright bizarre that attracts: the iconic and giant-sized Coco De Mer; the world's last remaining jellyfish trees; the Paradise Fly Catcher. There are over eighty plants unique to the Seychelles. Certain plants and animals can only be found on certain islands. The sea is the colour one always hopes of sea. The beaches are perfect. In the Aldabra Atoll, home to the world's largest population of giant tortoises, and in the Vallee de Mai, an ancient palm forest on Praslin, the Seychelles has two outstanding World Heritage sites.
Perfect as a one off, or as an emphatic ending to an itinerary based primarily in eastern or southern Africa, it is a dream destination. |
