A Long Weekend In The Seychelles

When my friend Karen sent me an invitation to her wedding in Seychelles, I told her I'd be there even before I figured out how to fit it between my already planned trips. Kay is a stand-up woman and deserves no less! I reached out to our mutual friend Uche who I figured would have been invited and asked her to buddy up with me.

When it came around to making the bookings though, I found out BA flies out only twice a week so it could either be a weekender or a week's stay. I also realised Seychelles is an extremely popular destination mid-February because of Valentine's Day. I mean, I should have known that but it hit me when I saw many of the hotels on my list were fully booked three weeks to our stay.

We went for Constance Ephelia which turned out to be an excellent choice. Uche's flight was to arrive around 8 pm on Wednesday and mine, 7 am on Thursday so, we decided she'd stay in a hotel by the airport overnight and I'd meet her there when I land. I reached out to David of Sey Tours and worked out a half-day sightseeing tour that'd begin as soon as he picks me up from the airport and ends at our hotel when we'd be able to then check-in. This plan meant we didn't lose any time sitting in the hotel lobby waiting until 2 pm to be shown to our room. Every minute counts when you've flown 10 hours to spend just three days.

Day 1 - Thursday, 13th February

Landed 7:34 am and spent roughly 45 minutes in the immigration queue. Fairly uneventful entry except for the last check at Customs that is mostly for people with checked-in luggage but I was singled out and asked some rather silly questions. I found David and we did the 5-minute drive to the lodge where Uche was staying. A super quick shower and change, we wet in the car and on our was in fifteen minutes.

Drove to the capital Victoria where we walked around for a bit, changed money to Rupees and had a drink. Then stopped at the viewpoint before heading to the Takamaka Distillery. David pointed out interesting sights as we drove through the winding and quite scary roads of Mahe.

We had some time before the distillery tour so we went to the bar to get our complimentary cocktails. We asked the bartender to surprise us and he went all out to make a fire cocktail for Uche. I had a cocktail with soursop which was divine.

The tour started at 11 am with a history of La Plaine St Andre, a former plantation now turned distillery. We walked through the house to the pen where their tortoises named Taka and Meka are kept, then to the production room where the magic happens. After the tour, we did a tasting of their entire range. By the end, I was ravenous for food and the choice was between the restaurant on site which is touted as one of the best on the island or Del Place which is also highly recommended and close to our hotel. Decided on the latter so, David drove us to our hotel where we checked in and then walked across the beach to Del Place around 3 pm as it was low tide.

The food was simple and very fresh, with a stunning view looking back to the South Beach. After lunch, we went to a supermarket next door to get some supplies then waddled back to our room as the tide was rising.

We grabbed the beers we bought and went to North Beach to watch the sunset at 5 pm. I had gone from the office to airport to flying for ten hours, then being out and about the whole day. By the time my body hit the bed, I knew there was no chance of going out until breakfast. We ordered in and watched tv until we slept off.

Day 2 - Friday, 14th February

We woke up refreshed and had a pleasant breakfast. I’m not a fan of resorts or big hotels however, Constance Ephelia was designed in a way that you don’t have to deal with the crowd. It has six restaurants and bars, two beaches offering activities and a scheduled buggy system that covers the resort.

After breakfast, we went back to the room to chill before getting ready for the wedding. When I say chill I mean to drink, FaceTime family and be two silly girls who have refused to grow up.

Kay threw one hell of a party. Finally got to meet Vee and Jiji both of whom I’ve followed on twitter since it’s early days and we hit it off right away. The ceremony was intimate, dinner was superb, the gift bags were lovely and the party, well, I had a bottle of Glenmorangie Signet with my name on it so I’ll let you imagine how it went. We got back to our hotel around 1 am to some chocolates & a stem of rose on our bed. Did I mention the welcome note when we checked in to our room was addressed to Mr & Mrs Mysurname? It was a source of endless banter with Uche now bearing Mrs.

Day 3 - Saturday, 15th February

As an OG in the game, I woke up (almost) hangover-free and dragged Uche to breakfast. We took our time as we had nothing planned for the day. Went to the spa for some R&R then moved to the North Beach where the girls joined us to swim, drink and play.

After a while we decided to move to the much quieter south beach and on our way, spotted tortoises mating. One partner was grunting loudly while the other kept on eating - I’ll let you figure out which gender is which.