Introduction
ANA Business Class Chicago to Tokyo
United Club – Tokyo Narita
Thai Airways Business Class Tokyo to Bangkok
One Night in Bangkok
Thai Airways Business Class Bangkok to Bali
D’Wina Villa Kuta and Exploring Bali (Part 1)
Exploring Bali (Part 2)
Exploring Bali (Part 3)
Ethiopian Airlines Bangkok to Addis Ababa
Ethiopian Airlines Cloud Nine Lounge and Addis Ababa to Seychelles
Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Exploring the Seychelles (Part 1)
Exploring the Seychelles (Part 2)
Exploring the Seychelles (Part 3)
Ethiopian Airlines Seychelles to Addis Ababa and Back to the US

The drive back to the airport from the Hilton took about 30 minutes.  When we picked up the rental car, it was on Empty, so we put a little gas in it.  We didn’t do too much driving around the island, but Lauren and I were holding our breath as we were getting close to the airport, because we were practically below Empty.  Somehow, we miraculously made it back without running out of gas.  We headed over to the domestic “terminal,” which really just consisted of 2 check-in counters.  They processed our check-in quickly, handed us 2 reusable boarding cards, and we walked through a small doorway to the security checkpoint.

Our flight (scheduled to leave in about 20 minutes, at 5:45 pm) was the only one departing, so there were about 7 other passengers in the small waiting area; we were the last 2 passengers to check in and go through security, so there was no line.

A few minutes later, we started boarding…it only took about 5 minutes, and we walked out to our plane, a DeHaviland DHC-6:

We climbed aboard…no flight attendants, no overhead bins, no underseat storage, no cockpit door…and just sat with our bags on our laps.

Within a few minutes, the pilots announced that we were ready for takeoff, and we taxied out to the runway.  We were airborne in no time – the flight was really pretty smooth, and we cruised at about 2,500 feet.  No asparagus tips wrapped in duck on this flight, but within 10 minutes, we were on our descent into Praslin.

Since there was no door on the cockpit, we had a great view of our landing:

The Praslin airport was ever tinier than Mahe was.  The luggage was taken off the plane and wheeled over to the building on a hand-cart.

There were no rental car counters; our rental car was scheduled to be delivered to the airport.  At first, we didn’t see our car, so we had to ask a tour operating standing at the airport to call.  After a quick phone call, our 2 cars pulled up within about 10 minutes.  We went through the paperwork standing at the car, and soon we were off.

The drive from the airport on the west coast of the island to our hotel on the east coast was a 20-minute winding drive through forests and along beautiful beaches on the coast.  By the time we reached our hotel – the Mango Lodge Praslin – it was getting dark.  The entrance to the hotel was up an extremely steep driveway – I would guess that we drove up about 200 ft in elevation.  Each room at the hotel was a separate villa on stilts, precariously sitting on the side of the mountain and overlooking the coast below.

The room itself was quaint, but a bit run-down.  The view was incredible, but otherwise could definitely use some refurbishing.  Unfortunately, there was no air conditioning in the room, so it was a bit warm trying to sleep.  It was a little disappointing to go from the luxurious Hilton to this hotel, but we still made the best of it.  The next morning, we drove down the steep driveway and headed about half a mile to the beach below, Côte d’Or (which means “Gold Coast” in French).  The beach there was pristine and beautiful:

As with almost every beach we visited in the Seychelles, there was plenty of natural shade, and there were hardly any other people there, so we simply relaxed on the beach for a while.

After a while, we walked up the road to a small shop serving ice cream and sandwiches, Da Luca Gelaterie.  The service at Da Luca was impressively bad.  It really felt like they were intentionally trying to be rude when taking our orders and serving them.  We simply ordered to our meal to go, and took it back to our beach chairs in the shade to eat.

After dozing off for a nap, we decided to go check out Vallée de Mai, a nature reserve palm forest in a “near-natural” state, home to the world’s largest nut, the coco de mer.  There are many stories of explorers describing the Vallé de Mai as the original Garden of Eden, with the coco de mer palm being the Tree of Knowledge.  We joined a tour that was being given, which was very informative.

We got to see several types of palms and creatures native to the Seychelles, including some enormous spiders:

After our tour, we walked through some more of the forest, which had incredible views from the top:

For dinner, we went to Pirogue, an Italian restaurant near Cote D’Or.  Our food was very good, and service was very friendly, although a bit slow.

Back at the hotel, we asked for another fan for our room, which made it more comfortable to sleep.  The next day, we took a winding 20 minute drive to Anse Lazio, which is widely regarded as one of the top 5 beaches in the world.  The beach there was stunning – again, almost deserted with abounding natural shade.

After doing our best to take in all the beauty of Anse Lazio, we drove back to the hotel to pick up our suitcases, and then headed back to the tiny Praslin Airport for a 15 minute flight back to Mahe for our last day in the Seychelles.

Continue to Part 14: Exploring the Seychelles (Part 3)