Laidback La Digue
Warm, sunny and inhabited by huge tortoises...
this Seychelles island sure takes it slow
I
AM HAVING a Castaway moment. I am the only person on a stunning crescent of
white sand between two gargantuan pink granite boulders sculpted by the wind
and water, brooding over the emerald sea. The Grand Anse Beach is one of the
most photographed beaches in the world and a popular spot for surfing. I make
Man Friday footprints in the sand as I pick up a bewildering variety of shells.
I chat with the owner of the only shack, which sells fresh grilled snapper and
beer and who has been here for 20 years. Does he miss the bright lights of the
city? “I have the sun, the moon, the stars and the beach to myself. What more
could I want?”
TIME
AFTER TIME The Coco ferry from Mahé is fast, but after that, everything is slow
paced on the island of La Digue, even tortoises
This
is La Digue, the third largest island in the Seychelles. Once a quarantine
station for sick slaves and sailors, it later became a penal colony for
political prisoners from the island of Reunion. Today, day-trippers crowd its
small jetty as they alight from the fast Coco ferry from Mahé. There are almost
no cars, just battered bicycles with candy-coloured baskets strapped on, along
with some brightly decorated ox carts. Electric golf carts pick up hotel guests
and the few vans have benches, not seats. It is life in the slow lane.
La
Digue is a great day trip, but I am glad I spent a couple of days here to get a
deeper insight into its laidback but unique culture.
LIFE, DEATH AND
SUNSHINE
I
walk through the L’Union Estate, an old plantation house, with a copra factory
where coconut oil is extracted with an ox-driven mill, towards the Anse Source
d’Argent (Bay of the Silver Spring) whose silver granite boulders have featured
in fashion shoots and movies. The estate is also home to the mossy cemetery of
the original settlers of La Digue.
On
the way to the beach, I meet the island’s oldest denizens, the mammoth Aldabra
land tortoises. Some are somnolent, while others munch fresh grass. A couple of
them mate furiously, their shells like hardened leather, their feet gnarled.
The Anse Source d’Argent, often counted among the best beaches in the world, is
actually a string of beaches amongst dusky rose boulders. Remember that sunny
Bacardi rum TV spot? This is where it was shot.
WARM FOLKS, GOOD
FOOD
At
La Passe, a town reached by a meandering avenue of breadfruit and casuarina
trees, the whiff of frangipani blossoms mixes with the salty tang of the sea.
Cyclists shout out a cheery ‘Bonjour’ as they see me, ox carts trundle past.
The town has pretty Creole homes with high sloping roofs, trellises, manicured
gardens, lacy curtains and clusters of flower pots. Downtown Digue has a petite
police station, a supermarket, a school, a post office and several souvenir
shops that have closed for the day! But our Creole dinner buffet makes up for
it: breadfruit, a Creole curry and rice, a crunchy ‘heart of palm’ salad and
slivers of green papaya in a tangy chutney.
After
dinner, we decide to make the most of the idyllic island with a walk on a balmy
night under a full moon. Gargantuan bats are silhouetted against the moonlight
like a poster for Halloween. One of my companions, scared of the darkness and
strange insect sounds, clutches my hand. I look up at the clear star-studded
skies and smell the frangipani in the air. “What’s not to love?” I ask her.
As
I speed away from the island, with the sea spray whipping my face, I reflect on
my time there and realise that the most attractive part of the island has been
its pace: slow, unhurried. The pace of an old bicycle.
Getting
there:
Air Seychelles flies direct to from Mumbai to
Mahé. No visa required. From there, take a ferry to La Digue.
Eat:
Creole specialities and fruitbat curry. Drink Takamaka rum and Seybrew beer.
Do:
Snorkel, swim or learn deepsea diving. Spot the black paradise flycatcher at
the Veuve Reserve.
Buy:
Pareos (sarongs), coral jewellery and vanilla pods.
A
Seychellois rupee is roughly 5.33.
by Kalpana Sunder
HTBR22NOV15
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