Monthly Archives: August 2013

Just Life

Another Piece of Paradise

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Some time ago I wrote about finding the paradise on earth and mentioned two groups of islands, Mauritius and Seychelles, that I think come fairly close to my definition of paradise. I wrote a post about Mauritius almost a year ago and now thought that, for weekend reading, I would dive into the natural beauty of Seychelles, and the tiny island of La Dique in particular.

Some years ago we made a memorable visit to Seychelles. We stayed on the main island of Mahé, close to the capital, Victoria. Our hotel was right on the beach surrounded by lush, green tropical gardens.

We spent some lazy days walking on the beautiful beach and lapping sun around the pool, decompressing from our hectic life filled with work.

After a few days of complete relaxation, we decided to explore these islands little more. We wanted to experience the “Seychelles of yesterday”, the famous, untouched beauty of La Dique.

Early one morning we took a small plane from Victoria to the island of Praslin. From the airport we took a taxi across the pretty island – from north west to south east – to the jetty, where we caught a small freight boat, an old-fashioned schooner, to the island of La Dique. And soon arrived in paradise.

The azure waters were clear, the sand was soft and white-pinkish, the palms and the famous rock formations were breath-taking. It felt like one had arrived at the beginning of times…

This tiny island has about 2000 inhabitants. There are very few cars, bicycles and ox carts provide for transport. The island has many tropical forests and coconut groves, and the Aldabra Giant Tortoises that can live for centuries “stroll” around the island…

Seychelles is one the most environmentally aware countries in the world and has protected its natural environments to the extent that they feel truly untouched. This was very evident everywhere on La Dique.

I could not get enough of the azure waters and the wind sculpted smooth rocks surrounding the sparkling white beaches.

La Dique left a lasting impression…and I hope to go back there one day. Just have to remember to book more than a year in advance as the accommodations on the islands itself are few and sought after…For now, I think I’ll stay a while and paint in the shade of these beautiful rocks.

Bye now and have a beautiful weekend.

Just Life

A Summer Broadcast

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For weekend reading this Saturday, I thought I would share with you some “documentaries” of natural and human activities as seen from our terrace.

There is a lot going on in our East-North-West field of view at any given time. A visiting friend once told us “You don’t need any TV because you have a live broadcast going on for free”. That is of course an exaggeration.

This summer, which is the rainy season in Florida, we have witnessed majestic storms with dramatic skies on many occasions both on the bay and on the ocean side. Here is a small sampling (hover mouse over the pictures for text).

A few times we’ve experienced tropical storms, like Debby in 2012, which flooded the beach and the nearby nature reserve. We were able to scan the situation from the terrace. Keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll not see one this year.

Then, of course, there are plenty of sunny days in the summer as well. They are not as dramatic to document, but there is lots of activity going on, like sailing schools and racing boat competitions. Believe me, we can hear the roaring speed boats…

Occasionally we also spot pirates on the ocean. And now that I got the hand-me-down Canon from my hubby, I can get closer to them, still keeping at the safe distance on the terrace.

And on weekends and holidays, there is a lot of activity going on in the water and on the beach.

And at the neighboring watering hole. When it’s hot, lots of liquids are required.

And then the day turns to evening. The sun plays in beautiful hues and colors the bay and the city behind it.

And offers delicious light to complement the dinner on the cruise boats on the ocean side as well.

And finally the sun takes a deep dive into the ocean with a different “tune” each night, sometimes soft pastels and other times passionate reds. And anything in between.

At night, the lights of the city reflect on the water to the North and to the East. Occasional boat blinks on the ocean.

Unless there are fireworks on the beach around July 4th or for special occasions. The terrace provides for first row seating.

Right now, some clouds are gathering again. We’ll see what kind of excitement we’ll get. Although I will not be documenting any of it, planning to be in a concert tonight, indoors.

I wish you all a blessed weekend.