April 13th, 2011
After spending 5 wonderful days in Mahe, we were off to Praslin, the second largest island in Seychelles...We rode inter island ferry 'Cat Cocos' about hour and 15 minutes to Praslin.
:: Bye Mahe Island........we will be back in 3 days!
:: Arriving at Jetty in Praslin...welcomed by amazingly beautiful ocean color...
Checked in to Our hotel 'Paradise Sun' ..it was truly a paradise!
we have enjoyed it very much during our stay here.
:: Ocean view -our Chalet...
:: Driving around Praslin.....beautiful beaches everywhere!!!!
Vallee De Mai
Vallée de Mai is a valley in the heart of Praslin National Park, an area which was untouched until the 1930s and still retains primeval palm forest in a near-natural state. This palm forest includes the endemic species coco de mer, of outstanding universal value as the bearer of the largest nut in the world. There has also been a rich body of legend which has developed around the species; the nut has religious significance. in the 19th century the British General Gordon produced detailed 'proof' that the Vallée de Mai was the Garden of Eden and that coca de mer was the tree of knowledge. In addition, the other five species of endemic palm are also found in the Vallée de Mai, the only place in the Seychelles where they are all found together.
:: It was amazing to walk through these giant palm trees....
believed to be Garden of Eden
::Tree trunk
:: Male and female Co co de mer...
:: Coco De mer tree
The nut of the Coco de Mer is very large (the largest seed in the plant kingdom) and is oddly shaped, being the shape and size of a woman's disembodied buttocks on one side, and a woman's belly and thighs on the other side. Not surprisingly, this nut was viewed by people in other parts of the world as a rare and fascinating object with mythological and even magical properties. The nature and origin of this extraordinary nut was mysterious, and the propagation of the tree was not understood. A number of legends arose both about the nuts, and about the trees that produce them.
The Coco de Mer palm has separate male and female trees, unlike the coconut palm. And, unlike the more familiar fruit of the coconut tree, the Coco de Mer fruit is not adapted to disperse naturally by floating on the ocean water. When a Coco de Mer fruit falls into the sea, it cannot float because of its great weight and density; instead it sinks to the bottom. However, after the fruit has been on the sea bed for a considerable period of time, the husk drops off, the internal parts of the nut decay, and the gases that form inside the nut cause the bare nut to rise up to the surface. At that time the nut can float, but is no longer fertile, thus when the ocean currents cause the nut to wash up on a distant beach, for example in the Maldives, a tree cannot, and does not, grow from the nut. The name Coco de Mer is French, and means "coconut of the sea". (From Wikipedia)
:: Lunch at the Coco de mer restaurant near Vallee De Mai
:: Oh so refreshing Seychelles's Ginger ale...
After lunch, we drove around Praslin and did some shopping at the souvenir shop:)
And then came back to hotel, had some refreshment by the pool..
Paradise Sun is located right on the Cote De Ore Beach so we went for
swimming/snorkeling, had a great afternoon!
Dinner at the hotel right on the beach.... different themed dinner buffet
with live music every evening!
:: Red snapper.....
:: For our first night in Praslin! Cheers!
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