Day 83 Mar 30 Praslin Island, Seychelles
In sharp contrast to the Maldives, or what we saw of them, is Praslin Island in the Seychelles. Male in the Maldives ranks up there with Mumbai in population density but Praslin has only 9,000 people. We travelled all over the island and it seems like the true tropical paradise. Living there may be different. But it is stunningly beautiful and a great place for an expensive “do very little” holiday.
Its main claim to fame, apart from its beaches, is that it is the home of the famed coco-de-mer, the palm with the largest seed of any plant in the world. They were so named because when they washed up on the shores of the Maldives and looked so different, people thought that they had been created in the sea. Although it has been grown in a couple of places it is endemic to a few hectares of forest on the island. I didn’t know really anything about it and, if anyone wants to know, it is worth googling as it is an interesting story. The forest was hot and hard work but worth the effort. We also saw some black parrots which also only live on Praslin and number less than 1000 in the wild here. They are found nowhere else. I got a photo but it is very blurred. The snails and geckos are also native to this island.
A swim at a resort on the west coast of the island was from a pristine white sand beach. Eat your heart out, Port Melbourne! It was fun though the Indian Ocean temperature was 33C.
ps The photos have posted in nothing like the order I attempted but hopefully the drift will be clear!
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