Christmas & New year are finally over (-: All the best in year 2022 to everyone
I feel that I could use another two weeks in Seychelles (or a similar place), I mean, It's been always several kilograms of weight down after return - no stress, lot of hiking... Regarding the food - mostly fresh fish & fresh fruit, overall a healthy vacation... (-: Not so much calories burnt during a week when i spent most of the time skiing.
Suse:
Thanks for the additional info on Taro, I've asked my wife about Rhubarb and it's a bit sour-ish, so taste-wise, there is a difference... I thought that Rhubar is kind of tasteless too (-:
I'm aware of the fact that Batista's reviews are somewhat... Inconsistent, so to speak... I've liked it's location and surroundings but it was the only bright side from my point of view, that's true. Wanted to give it a try. Arrival time was the key factor but there was another downsides too. Ratings, as you've pointed out + I usually prefer an apartment as it usually comes with more space and privacy. I was thinking that I could put aside the latter, for this time (as I don't spend much time in hotel anyway) but at the end of the day, I think it was a good idea to swap accommodation.
Regarding the rock pool at Anse Takamaka - I've just checked Google and I see 45 reviews, I would swear that in June, there was only like 4 reviews or so... Interesting, I wouldn't expect this, I mean, I saw the place just on the pictures, that's true, but it does not look that spectacular. At least for a Seychelles standards. Accident you mentioned - looking again at the pictures, and yes, there's a probability of such scenario.
And as far as I can remember, there (at Takamaka) are often, I guess thanks to it's location and larger drop, these (kind of) sneaker waves - one significantly bigger wave after series of an ordinary ones. I've learned that hard way - years ago in Greece, when I swam into a small cave and then a few bigger waves came. Cave itself has turned into a huge washing machine with myself in it. I felt like a rag doll + sharp rocks everywhere. It must've took just approx. 20 seconds tops but it felt like eternity. Not that I was somewhat careless before, but after this incident, I never underestimate power of the water and especially, when there are rocks around.
The post you're quoted - I think that's it. As I've mentioned, reverse search on this forum is not easy since it's written (apart from local names) in German and I'm viewing it in English. I might've misunderstood that post too, since translators are developing quickly. Even now, when I read machine translated text, it sometimes requires fair amount of own fantasy and additional searches to determine it's content (-:
cheva:
Welcome. Together with a new barier at the northern part of the beach, whole place has changed.
There's one more picture of it:
Mahé day #2, part 1
For today, I've planned some hiking. I'm heading north towards Bel Ombre, stopping near La Scala restaurant beginning with Anse Major. I think that I was there only once and wasn't exactly impressed. Trail itself is nice with a scenic views along but the beach(es) weren't my cup of tea. Back then, there was lot of visitors too. This time, I'm starting at 7:00, so it should be more quiet.
While both Praslin and La Digue were rather deserted, Mahé has a lot more tourists - in actual comparison. Mostly from Russia...
I still can't believe that I have such nice and sunny weather all the time (-:
Trail start (I wonder how long is that piece of wood nailed to that signpost):
I was thinking about exploring small beaches adjacent to Anse Major, so this time, I'm taking hiking shoes. But storing hiking flip flops in my backpack as well, just in case (-: Using Salomon XA Amphibs for climbing over the wet rocks, they offer a good grip but unfortunately, despite it's quick drying design, they do not dry quickly enough in the tropic environment... At least they're light and does not take up much space in backpack.
First section of the trail:
I've spotted some small creatures crawling through the dry laves fallen to the ground. Something between mouse and tapir (-: Took me several attempts to make a "decent" picture.
Surounding jungle is full of spiders, and therefore, I'm not sure about my exploration plans around Anse Major...
Trail leads along water pipes for most of the time...
As I've mentioned above, views are nice, especially when the sky is clear:
Silhouette and North Island (latter in the background):
I've always wanted to hike from La Passe to Grand Barbe on Silhoutte Island. I was considering to change Mahé for Silhoutte, but I've decided to postpone it again. I will visit Silhoutte, but probably next time, with my wife and kids - when they'll be a bit older. I think they would like it. Apart from that, I've been told that Labriz was almost fully booked at the time, with most of the guests coming from Russia, so...
First view of Anse Major beach from the trail:
Last part of the trail is going through jungle:
Pasing around some sort of (I think) water treatment station ?
Rundown shack on at the first section of the beach, looks like a popular spot:
Both sections of Anse Major:
Someone had an idea...
https://www.snpa.gov.sc/index.php/about ... d-shelters
But it did not turn out well...
I'm leaving around 9:00, at the middle of the trail I already hear some Russian visitors, I think they must be at the start, they could be heard from a long distance... (-:
There's a limit of 40 links per post, so I've decided to split this day into two posts...
