Seychelles: Say What? - Praslin Island

The island nation of Seychelles may not be as renown as such tropical island desitinations as Fiji or French Polynesia (Tahiti, Bora Bora, etc.), but they are as beautiful and lush as they come. The iconic granite boulders and swaying palms that line the seashore are a surreal and breath-taking sight to behold.

We began our adventure on Praslin Island, the second largest of the 155 islands that make up this country. We settled in the nothern beach village of Cote d' Or, located on a long sweeping bay in a beach area called Anze Volbert. Guest houses, boutique hotels, and small shops dotted the area, but it's really all about the sand and sea in these parts of Planet Earth - and what a spectacular bit of real estate it is!

St. Pierre Island is a small islet just offshore from Praslin island, and this small bit of rock provided some mighty-fine snorkeling in the warm 85 degree waters of the Indian Ocean.

As mentioned, the Seychelles are known for the unusually shaped granite boulders and its powder-white sand beaches, and one of the best beaches is called Anze Lazio, which lives up to all the hype, and was indeed one of the most spectacular beaches we've ever visited. We snorkled amongst some massive schools of iridescent fish and turtles, where giant granite boulders met the shoreline - stupendous!

Praslin island is also a Unesco World Hertiage site because of it's dense forest, the only place on Earth where the rare Coco de Mer palm tree can be found. These trees have the largest seeds in the world - kind of like a huge coconut but with a shape reminiscent of the female genitalia. The tree also has a male phallus-like protrusion that grows alongside the humongous seed (look it up on Google images if you're intrigued).