Creole Spirit.

So what else can I tell you about Say-Cheese-Chelles? I just have to tell you about the cleanliness here…

In a full three days here, which meant a lot of ocean-gawping while strolling along beaches, we didn’t come across one single piece of waste plastic, not one bottle, not one soda can, not one juice carton, and no other inorganic waste whatsoever in the sea. All of it perfectly garbage-free. And as a result – no negative emotions either :-)…

The islands themselves are neat and tidy too. All the roads well tarmacked, all the houses (that we saw) thoroughly kempt. There are tatty shacks too, but they were only visible from up above in a helicopter and somewhere in the middle of the island (we were always by the shore when on the ground). Everything neatly painted, cleaned, trimmed and groomed. And hardly any garbage anywhere; you really have to look for it to find it.

How they manage to maintain such immaculateness I can’t imagine.

Well, a little bird told how all this spotlessness isn’t just a matter of special anti-litter campaigns and a general high… cultural level. The local authorities conduct a policy of limiting the flow of tourists. The usual large high-rise hotels simply aren’t built – no one can get a permit for such construction. All hotels have to be small; most are mere villas in parks. As a result everything’s expensive. Thus, the numbers of tourists are limited, but the… caliber of those who can afford it is normally higher = less litter dropping. So, the money still comes into the country via tourism, but there’s none of the crowded charter planes and beaches, no traffic jams, and everyone’s happy. That is – apart from the locals, who complain that the prices for them are higher too.

So there you have it: a boutique resort, and boutique tourism.

There are only a few international flights per day to/from the main airport:

Just like the hotels, the airport is small but also spotlessly clean – like everything else!

Canadian DHC-6 Twin Otters fly among the larger of the Seychelles:

Hmmm. They fly on Creole Spirit, not the usual aviation fuel :-)…

Nevertheless they fly quite normally.

We flew into Praslin Island Airport on the neighboring island. Everything’s immaculate here too.

In short, I liked the place. Didn’t want to leave…

This red hummingbird came and sat near my villa every day:

PS: The starry skies of a night – sensational!

© Graf