Victoria, Seychelles: A Capital City!



Happy young Seychellois



Kenwyn House

Visitors by the Ocean

I confess to being a bit of a wonk when it comes to cities.  Maybe even a snob.  Comes from having worked in and around city government so long.  I'm constantly looking to see how efficient, clean, safe, and easy to traverse cities are. I'm also watching for how they enoble the human spirit and celebrate a people's history and successes.  Imagine my delight when I found all of these great qualities in one of the world's smallest capital cities:  Victoria, Seychelles.  Population: 20,000. It's clean, efficient, historic, walkable, and very people friendly.  While I worked, Shelly spent Wednesday out on the town with her camera, and captured the beauty and the spirit of this fine little capital.  There are well maintained historic buildings, a vibrant and colorful market, a compact and efficient harbor, a botanic garden (with dozens of giant tortoises), and schoolkids on field trips.  We ate in a couple nice restaurants, and got business done quickly in banks and government offices. All in all, it's a great town . . . and remember, even though it's smaller than most county seats, Victoria is one of the world's capital cities! 





Dozens of street sweepers

Tuna and other fish for sale

Cool Offices





We counted 25 tortoises
@Botanic Garden

Seychelles Snorkeling

The last two afternoons, Shelly and I have snorkeled in the lagoon just off the beach from our hotel.  Wow.  What a beautiful collection of coral and fish!  There were moments when we were just surrounded by these curious little striped fish, while watching brilliantly colored and  luminescent ones.  Truly magnificent underwater life.  The waves just gently rock us on the surface, and we squeeze each other's hand when we see something else new.  It felt like swimming around inside a massive aquarium.  We've had a great 4 days here, but it's time to go back to our home in Mauritius tomorrow.  One thing's for certain . . . we'll be back to the Seychelles, under, upon or above the water!

Shelly Seeks Seashells on Seychelles' Seashore

If you know me, you know I've been dying to use that alliterative title for months.  Finally!  We also been anticipating our first trip to the Seychelles for months . . . some say these are  the most beautiful islands on the planet.  After one day here, we'd say they're right.  The azure blue Indian Ocean, the forever vistas, the gorgeous sunsets, and the wonderfully welcoming people make this a very special place.  Why, you may ask, are we here in the middle of the week?  Well, my new employer ordered me to be here.  You may recall that the US Embassy in Mauritius is also the US representative in the Seychelles.  I was ordered to come here to be the United States representative monitoring the Seychellois legislative elections which take place over the next three days.  Also, I'm meeting some of the civic leaders and government officials with whom I deal on a regular basis.  My other boss ordered me to take her with me, since this is the island nation of honeymoons (including, famously, Prince William and Kate, who honeymooned on North Island, the silhouette of which we can see from our room).  So we're staying in Le Meridien Fisherman's Cove, a resort in Beau Vallon, on the north end of the main island.  Shelly spent the first day touring the capital city of Victoria, while I was in meetings all day.  After a walk along the 3 mile stretch of beach, and some sea shell shopping we're ready to rest up for another day of this tough assignment.  More reports on Shelly's Seychellois Seashell Shopping Soon!

Hermit crab on Beau Vallon beach

Sunday Brunch by the Cemetery

Sometimes beauty is where you find it, not where it's "supposed to be".  Today, we found a beautiful spot for Sunday brunch of coffee, juice, papaya, and warmed <<pain au chocolat>>.  Ironically, it was on a hillside beside a cemetery.  Even more bizarre, it was called Cap Malheureux Cemetery, loosely translated as Cape Unlucky or Cape Miserable.  It was anything but miserable.  This northernmost tip of Mauritius is a beautiful promontory jutting out into the ocean, pointing at some outlying islands and volcanic reefs.  With azure blue water below, and turquoise skies above, it was a sight to behold.  Sitting under the large baobab tree, enjoying the breeze and the view, we didn't have a care in the world. The cemetery itself wasn't in the best repair, but walking around once again underscored the religious diversity of the island . . . with Christians, Muslims, and Hindus all remembered there.  A quiet, calm, and beautiful way to start the week.

See Shelly Shop Saturday



The morning catch: what's left



Streetside Subway Sandwich

Saturday mornings have become our time to go to Triolet,  the neighboring village, and down to Pointe aux Piments public beach for food and fish shopping.  Shelly's learning the cost of everything from aubergines to zuchini, and clownfish to cordonnier.  There's a favorite street vendor for potatoes and papayas, and another for green beans and pineapple.  We place our order at the butcher's for a <<escalope de poulet>>  . . . he'll have it cut and ready for us by the time we make it back from the pineapple stand. The grocery store has aisles of basmati rice and whole sections of curry, massala, briani and other pungent  spices.  When all this shopping makes us hungry, we stop at the "Let's Mix" roti vendor, who carves off some roasted chicken, mixes it with lettuce, carrots, chile, and spices in a footlong baguette . . . delicious lunch for two, about $1.75.  Head back toward home, stopping at the guy in the van on the corner with the best tomatoes and carrots.  Finally we reach the beach.  We're about 1/2 hour too late. What's left of the fishermen's morning catch is three cordonnier and a few small orange fish the color of Shelly's blouse.  We pass.  Dinner tonight will be escalope de poulet, tomates, oignon, et riz in a curry sauce Shelly learned to cook this week.  Dessert, fresh papaya and pineapple.     Yummy!!

Diplomatic Days Of Our Lives

Lord Mayor, Chef, Diplomat

Shelly at Chinese National Day, Mauritius

The public image of diplomats has been described as "a caricature of pinstriped men gliding their way around a never-ending global cocktail party".  Our month-long term as a diplomatic family isn't quite like that, but we have our momentary glimpses of that public image.  If we just take one day as a microcosm of our new lives, it would be today.  We did a live Facebook Skype with Damon at 0530, then Shelly and I headed for the Embassy at 0630 in our little Honda with the "Corps Diplomatique" license plates.  We greeted the Embassy guards in a smattering of French, English, and Mauritian Creole.  Shelly had scheduled meetings with a series of Embassy folks, and I had to deal with articles in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal regarding pirate and terrorist fighting in this area of the world.  At noon, Shelly headed off for lunch at a German restaurant with a Mauritian, two Brits, and a doctor who lives in South Africa.  I went to a one-on-one lunch with the Lord Mayor of Port Louis, and talked about a new American sister city for the Mauritius capital.  In the afternoon, Shelly shopped for Indian pashima shawls with a new British friend while I worked on a series of email reports to Washington, and planned next week's election monitoring trip to the Seychelles.  In the evening, we subbed for the US Ambassador and were driven to and from the Chinese National Day celebration at Beijing's Mauritius Embassy.  (That was the only part of the day that looked slightly like a global cocktail party...conversing with Chinese, Russians, French, and Mauritians...and drinking Johnny Walker (wait for it . . . ) RED!) By 2100, we were back home at our place on the Indian Ocean, ready to do it all again tomorrow.  We're loving the days of our lives! 

Chinese Ambassador to Mauritius &
US Envoy





Swimming With A Sea Turtle

Went snorkeling the last couple days---the Indian Ocean was calm and inviting, and our scuba gear has not yet arrived.  The variety and beauty of the coral and fish is really remarkable.  I'll post some pictures of them later.  But the creature that took my breath away was the hawksbill turtle I swam with.  Shelly was watching from the shore and said it looked like I was swimming in a circle---I was!  I gasped when I first saw him, not believing my good fortune.  Then, I followed my new friend wherever he wanted to go.  He was so graceful and elegant, effortlessly propelling himself along the shallow ocean bottom and coral reefs.  These pictures are borrowed from online, but they show what it was like swimming with this guy.  According to National Geographic:  "Like other sea turtles, hawksbills make incredible migrations in order to move from feeding sites to nesting grounds, normally on tropical beaches. Mating occurs every two to three years and normally takes place in shallow waters close to the shore. The nesting procedure begins when the turtles leave the sea to choose an area to lay their eggs. A pit is dug in the sand, filled with eggs, and then covered. At this stage the turtles retreat to the sea, leaving the eggs, which will hatch in about 60 days. The most dangerous time of their lives comes when hatchlings make the journey from their nests to the sea. Crabs and flocks of gulls voraciously prey on the young turtles during this short scamper.  Like many sea turtles, hawksbills are a critically endangered species due mostly to human impact. Hawksbill eggs are still eaten around the world despite the turtle’s international protected status, and they are often killed for their flesh and their stunning shells. These graceful sea turtles are also threatened by accidental capture in fishing nets." After a half hour together, he had worn me out, and I came ashore.  I was energized, and happy with the hope that I can go swim with my new friend again.  I also became an instant environmentalist, hoping that none of my human friends buy any tortoise shell anything ever.  

The Maiden Cup: Mauritian Kentucky Derby



The famous Maiden Cup

"When the horses are racing, all Mauritian hearts beat as one,"  says one observer of this country's favorite sport.  Shelly and I were part of that heartbeat at the busiest day at the horseraces in at the Mauritius Turf Club's Port Louis racetrack.  Guests of the Serge Henry Stables, we enjoyed being dressed "to the nines" and placing small bets on big animals.  The sixth race was the annual Maiden Cup, the Mauritius equivalent of the Kentucky Derby.  Only the strongest, fastest horses were entered in this 2300 meter race, the likes of Acuppa, Captain's Knock, Senor Versace, and the Henry Stable's race favorite:  Seattle Ice.  It was a very fast race on a dry course, with all of the horses staying in a tight pack throughout the race.  In the final 350 meters, Senor Versace came up on the outside from the seventh position to win it by a length.  Naturally, our hosts were disappointed, but in elegant style, our stable's owner's family visited the winning stable's family suite (the Gujadhurs) after the races for a congratulatory toast and a look at the famous trophy.  As the new diplomats from America, Shelly and I were royally entertained, and got to dine with owners of each of the major stables after the day's excitement.  No matter that our bets went for naught---we were winners in just being there!

Senor Versace wins the Maiden Cup

Remembering and Responding

This morning, it's been ten years since the attacks.  Seared into our memories is the sickening horror of the moments, and the recollection of where we were when we heard the news and saw the pictures.  None will ever forget.  For a people, and a nation, the measure of our character is what we have done since that fateful morning to make the world a better and safer place.  I was interviewed this week (in French) for a Mauritian radio show retrospective on the 9/11 tragedies.  The reporter asked me whether the American wounds from that day were still fresh . . . I responded that certainly we mourn those we lost, but that the 9/11 attacks were not solely against America.  There were victims from over 90 countries, from all religions, and from all ages, infants to seniors.  I was asked if America had engaged in wars against Islam as a religion, to which I vehemently disagreed.   In the years of terrorist violence, most of the terror victims have been adherents of Islam . . . we have stood against those whose creed is terror, and whose goals are simply to kill innocents.  I also pointed out that America continues to work forcefully throughout the world in the cause of peace, democracy and human rights, and in the aid of those in poverty and humanitarian crises.   The radio interview aired on Mauritian radio yesterday, and I'm told it was well received as a statement of America's reaction to the 9/11 attacks.   As we pause to remember, I would recommend a visit to the Pentagon Memorial---it is a beautiful and peaceful tribute to those we lost that day. It is a place of commemoration and meditation.  It reminds us of our constant ability, and responsibility, to choose how we will respond to all situations in alignment with our cherished principles.   

Mauritius Sunsets and Ludwig von Winston's Joy

The Joy of Sunsets

Over the past three weeks, Shelly and I are developing a routine . . . after I return home from work in Port Louis in the evening, we grab some cheese, crackers, and a beverage and head for the sea wall just beyond the pool in the back yard.  From there, we watch the sun gradually drop into the Indian Ocean.  Oh yes, I usually take the camera too.  I'm not a great photographer---there is just some great material.  Over these few weeks, I've managed to get a few shots that seem like keepers.  As of today, I have put together my first video, and uploaded it to You Tube!  It just so happens to feature some sunsets, and one of the most beautiful songs ever written, Beethoven's Ode to Joy, as played by the world's best pianist, George Winston.  (I say that so that neither Ludwig nor George will sue me for copyright infringement.)  In the meantime, we're prepping for another gorgeous sunset tonight, and chilling that beverage.    Here's my first You Tube video.  En-Joy!