We had a rough night. The wind was switching from SE to S and the swells were coming from the south so for awhile last night the boat was rocking so much so that it woke us up. Eventually we were able to get back to sleep. We are not in an ideal location. Typically sailboats moor in La Digue’s inner harbor however they are rebuilding the retaining wall so we have to be in the outer harbor which is less protected and more susceptable to swells.
We had planned to sail to a private island, anchor off and do some snorkeling but it was quite windy so we opted for plan B. After a hardy breakfast, around noon, we headed into the island and rented bikes. Here’s a picture of Rick with his bike.
We road down to an old coconut plantation, only about 2 miles away. La Digue’s main industry used to be coconut oil but the world has largely moved away from coconut oil to palm oil so the planation is no longer active.
We arrived at the planation, paid the fee to get in and continued on our bikes. Rick was thirsty so we stopped for a coke at the snack bar. Refreshed, we biked on to the tortoise enclosure which contained a huge, huge stone in addition to about 25 tortoises. The sign said they were up to 100 years old and said they eat a wide variety of grasses, leaves, and fruits. It also said we shouldn’t scratch their shells because it was painful for them and can lead to illness. There were people in the pen, feeding and petting the animals so I got in too. The tortoises really liked being petted on their necks and heads and would stretch their necks out to be pet. Once the petting started they didn’t move. It was very endearing.
Then we rode on to Anse Source D’Argent which is supposed to the most beautiful beach in the Seychelles. It lived up to its reputation. There were huge boulders which looked sort of like The Baths at Virgin Gorda, BVIs. A long path lead to the water, then back around some boulders and back to the beach. The sand was very soft and fine. It was really beautiful. Rick sat and absorbed the beauty and I walked the entire path. We had planned to snorkel but decided the reef was too rough, so we sat and enjoyed the scenery. Here are some pictures.
We could have stayed forever but felt like we needed to get back to the boat. On the way back we stopped at the snack bar and Rick had a coconut while I explored a little.
Here are a couple of additional pictures from the plantation.
On our way back to the boat we stopped at the grocery store and bought the expensive cold cuts. We returned to the boat and relaxed.
Beautiful pictures Kathryn! So glad you guys are having such a good time. We live vicariously through your adventures! 🙂