Seychelles Adventure: A day of leisure

Okay, okay, every day on vacation is a day of leisure, but this last day of our stay was even more so. We decided to visit an island resort for the day - have some lunch, hang by the beach and do absolutely nothing. Then head to the airport straight from there. It was a very lazy and perfect ending to a great vacation. A few photos in no particular order.

As we were sipping drinks on the beach, we saw this helicopter land and pick up a couple. We're pretty sure it was Beyonce and Jay Z or maybe ??? someone famous for sure!

The gorgeous view from the beach. We could see some of the other islands across the water.

The view from the other side of the resort overlooking yet another island of the Seychelles. The water in front it actually the hotel pool - the ocean wasn't quite that turquoise. :)

More beach ...

And … of course the drinks hut. We practically had our own private bar tender as there were only a few of us on the beach.

Seychelles Adventure: Day trip to Praslin

The claim to fame for Praslin island is the Vallee De Mai, which is a nature preserve and boasts one of the only places that the Coco de Mer tree grows. It's a kind of nut tree with some unique characteristics.

1. It has a male and female version of the tree, and once you see the photos, you'll see how easy it is to tell them apart. :)
2. A single coco de mer nut can take many years to form so they are considered rare and expensive.
3. They get their name (Coconut of the sea) because apparently the nut washed up on shore so the islanders thought it had come from a tree that grew under the ocean.

 A female Coco de Mer tree.

A male Coco de Mer tree . . . see what I mean? :)

And this is the nut that can take many years to fully form. A nut this size can sell for upwards of $10,000!  Not sure I'd want one even at a substantial discount.

These are the roots of the tree that help capture water but also keep the trunk from breaking in a strong wind. Unlike coconut palms, the Coco de Mer's trunk doesn't bend in the wind so this root system helps.

This isn't the Coco de Mer, but another dangerous looking plant all equipped to fight off predators. There was so much to learn and see, we wished we would have had more time in the park.

A scenic view of Praslin island.

 And our last stop at the beach - this time with the tide in so we could go swimming.