Seychelles I: Eating the Fruit (or Fruit Bats) in the 'Garden of Eden' - 11 Days in the Seychelles

There was a point in history when there was a belief that the Seychelles was the Garden of Eden. I knew it would be beautiful, but not like this. The islands are reminiscent of the Dominican Republic and the resort areas of Mexico I’ve been too, but with commanding sculpted rock formations and an astounding sense of peaceful isolation. It’s interesting that despite being colonized first by France and then by Britain, the Seychellois people are strongly proud of who they are and the diverse influences, cultures, races that have made them the beautiful people they are. Not only are the people and the geography beautiful and diverse, but so are the many aspects of nature that make up the Seychelles Islands. Staying at my friend’s house on her family’s property allowed us to see many animals and plants that I had never seen before, and, also, hear first hand of life here in Seychelles.

And this was only Day One! Not only that, Ethan, my 12 year old, and I, got all this after sleeping over 12 hours, so our day was even a short, chill and restful one. We arrived on Thursday morning, after flying a 2AM flight from Dubai to Victoria on Mahe, the largest and most populated of the 115 islands of the Seychelles. We then endured a very rough hour long ferry ride where half the passengers were sick including my boy. Picture sitting on steps outside, continuously getting sick bags and napkins to delve out to Ethan and a couple of men as well, as rain and surf splashed us, and walking anywhere took great balance and things to hold onto-everything can't be perfect, always, in paradise.

We started our day on Friday by eating breakfast past noon, which I cooked myself with tropical jam for our toast and fresh eggs while watching out all the kitchen windows at the lush greenery outside. Our new dog friends, Zoro and Tiny, came by hoping for a bit of food, but all we had for them was a scratch behind the ears. The dogs are owned by the mom and dad, and brother and sister-in-law of my friend, Christine, who have houses just behind Christine and Mark’s house. Mark and Christine had generously allowed us to stay here, and have been great advocates for their home away from home. Christine and Mark are beautiful and kind people, and so are Christine’s mom, Francine, and dad, Nigel. Her sister-in-law, Linda, and brother, Jose, and their kids, Joshua and Lynn, are truly among the most welcoming, helpful and warm people I’ve ever met (alongside all my peeps from Newfoundland and home, I must note). They had already shared their world with some information about history of the island and surrounding areas, transported us by car and also by boat to markets, pointed out the animals and vegetation in the yard, and had offered to take us island hopping and to cook some authentic creole cuisine, at this point. Linda made us fresh limeade when we first arrived, and I made some later with the fresh limes from the yard.

And did you know you can eat fruit bats?! Supposedly, a safe and tasty animal to eat because of their all fruit diet. I don’t think Linda and Jose eat them, but she said people do. They were 2-3 large fruit bats, about the size of large eagles, that constantly flew overhead in the yard eating from the mango trees mostly. Other animals found in the yard were sweet, small red birds called Red Fodys that seem a little like finches, a variety of nicely marked birds such as the masked Myna and the Zebra Dove, giant snails, long legged, large Palm spiders, and in a pen, two giant Andoise tortoises found in only a few spots in the world. We had already heard the call of the elusive Black Parrot, which are only found on Praslin Island in all of the world. On the beach there were quick and spiny little crabs that are the color of the white sand called Ghost Crabs and are easily camouflaged from their enemies. Swimming in front of the house, we saw many types of small fish along the grass, and I spotted 2 stingrays (we needed to watch where we walked). In the house (yes, in the house) we had the usual house geckos, both brown and bright green. Oh, we also hoped the giant fruit bat didn't ‘do his business’ on us. Apparently, it’s quite smelly.

Also in the yard, there were limes, breadfruit, a type of banana good for cooking or making chips out of, 'eating' bananas, mangoes, starfruit (but one can't eat any because the black parrots eat them before they are ripe enough) and golden apples. I also added fresh lemongrass to my rice and beef dish, and made some tea with it that evening.

Well, our first full day, was quiet but full of surprises and wonder.