Category: Uncategorized
-
My sincerest thanks…
to all the wonderful friends and relations who made these travels so very special and my exceptional guides who brought them to life.
-
Unforgettable Trip to Upper West Ghana
Sunday 15 September 2024 – To Accra Almost exactly two years to the day, I left the comforts of Smith Terrace and, with certain trepidation, headed off on my nine-month somewhat belated ‘gap-year’. Today Tim and I are heading off with similar anticipation on another adventure. Sadly, for only a week this time, though I…
-
Wednesday 24 May – Mahe
In order for MS Island Sky to make its next destination, we had to disembark early this morning and said our goodbyes to the wonderful team who had looked after us so beautifully over the last two weeks. As our flight had been delayed until the evening, a morning tour had been organised for us…
-
Tuesday 23 May – Aride, Curieuse and Praslin
We travelled a further 253 nautical miles through the night, to arrive just off the island of Aride, one of the northernmost islands of the Seychelles. This 68 hectare, uninhabited granitic islands, has been protected as a special reserve since the 1970s and is famous for its huge seabird colonies. Sadly the tides were not…
-
Monday 22 May – Alphonse Islands
Once again, almost 36 hours later, we arrived right on schedule in the Alphonse islands, just as the sun was rising. Discovered by the Portuguese in the 16 Century, it comprises three islands. Alphonse, Bijoutier and St François. Alphonse itself is developed with a luxury hotel, but nearby, there is uninhabited St. François which is…
-
Sunday 21 May – At Sea
We had a lovely relaxing day, mainly on deck 6 today – heaven – as we headed the 341 nautical miles to the Alphonse group of islands in the inner Seychelles. En route there was great excitement with the siting of what was initially thought to be a sperm whale, but on closer inspection was…
-
Saturday 20 May – Astove Island and Cosmolido
By the morning we had moved 70 nautical miles to Astove, the easternmost atoll of the Aldabra group. Approximately 3.7 by 2.5 miles, it is an unusual, raised coral island with a single stretch of land, almost a mile at the widest part, enclosing a shallow lagoon. We did not land on the island but…
-
Friday 19 May – Aldabra
Lucinda and I rose early to see the sun rise over Picard Island and the frigate birds flying above us. This is where the research station is located and the only part of the atoll permitted to visit. Six of the resident researchers had been brought aboard to join and brief the expedition team over…
-
Thursday 18 May – Sailing to Assumption Island (Seychelles)
Another lie in this morning, though we had in fact, moved time zones and lost an hour! During breakfast, a pod of spinner dolphins joined us on the bow of he boat and accompanied us for a while, before we headed back to school, this time with Tom telling us all about the wonderful seabirds…
-
Wednesday 17 May – Diego Suarez
Bit of a lie in this morning as we are still at sea on our way to Diego Suarez, so we had a leisurely breakfast with Johnny, who saves us our special table every day and provides Flavia and me with the most delicious, dried fruit ‘chutney’, which is supposed to go with the cheese…
EC-Rider Travels 