Making it to Mahe

March 2017

As experienced as we are at flying half-way around the world, it is still hard on one's body to travel 10+ timezones. The real sad part about Gym's learnings on these long, multi-leg flights is that you have to try to sleep as much as possible. That is hard when you have just started your vacation and you want to party, especially when the booze is complimentary. Tragically, partying and sleeping are opposed to each other. This trip, sleep won the battle and the airlines retained a larger quantity of alcohol than under a typical Gym transit. So the airlines won and sadly so did Gym, he felt better upon reaching the "airport" at Mahe, Seychelles.

Incidentally, my hat is off to the Air Canada crew that looked after us from Calgary to London and Air Canada's wonderful "lie-flat" pods in business class. Those units have no equal in Gym's or Mrs. Gym's experience. But kudos are also warranted with regards to just about everything related to our Emirates flights. If one could spend a week or two in seminars on how to run all of the electronic equipment at your fingertips on an Emirates flight the experience would top all. Gym's typical ploy would be to fumble with the entertainment system until one of the immaculate flight attendants showed up and then feint boredom and pretend a nap was a better idea.

The third leg from Dubai to Mahe, Seychelles should have been the ruckus party flight but we were to arrive early on Sunday morning and Gym cut himself off at two glasses of Moet and Chandon champagne. That meant Gym could be more pious as he traveled between the airport and the resort observing the well-dressed natives on their way to mass. And yes, here is an interesting fact for you, 70% of the Island is Roman Catholic. This is amazing when you think about it. To the north, you have the whole Middle East which is full of hundreds of millions of Islamic folks and to the east, on the Indian sub-continent, you have billions of Hindu folks. Yet, here in a literal sea of non-christians you have this enclave of Roman Catholic Seychellois. And believe me when I tell you, they still get dressed up for Sunday Mass. Thank God Gym did not stumble off the plane, three sheets to the wind.

We made the 30-minute transit across the island to our new home above Petit Anse and the resort was everything we expected it to be.

How lucky these Seychellois are, the climate is almost perfect. Sure it rains every once in a while but when it hits minimum temperatures here you have bottomed out at about 25C (so cold ... not!). Another interesting point of consideration is that there are no poisonous land snakes on this island. Perhaps St. Patrick visited here at some point. The only kind of troublesome creature they have here are the big fruit bats and they really only bother Mrs. Gym. The author has been watching them flying around for the past couple of days and finds these creatures to be particularly graceful. Yesterday, the bats seemed to be enjoying gliding on the thermals that most certainly rise up the sides of the granite slopes and it seems strange that these flying mammals would be up there as if they were birds of prey. I will have more to say about the flora and fauna of the Seychelles in subsequent posts.

Incidentally, I believe that Patrick the bartender has eaten fruit bat. I plan on confirming this in due course. He has that crazed look about him and I understand he is a crazy driver. My research
continues in this regard.

The nose of our Emirates jet almost touching the terminal at
Seychelles International in Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles

Five minutes later the scene looking back towards the jet from the
front door of the terminal. It was like flying into Victoria, British Columbia
except not quite as sophisticated.

This lady was actually out flight attendant on the Dubai to Seychelles leg.
They are always perfectly made up.

The fruit bat diving in to our sun deck.

Mrs. G flanking the outdoor bedroom option. We had an afternoon
nap here and it was during a rain storm, so it was cool and comfortable.