Seychelles Day 5 - Curieuse Island

Today's a special day.  We anchor off of Laraie Bay and by 9:30 we're off on the zodiac to our first adventure of the day, this one -what else- a morning hike.    This hike is really more of a stroll through the mangroves and then on to the Turtle lagoon. There are many land turtles here, they roam free but there is a program to protect the baby turtles until they are safe from their predators.  We spend some time with the turtles and then return to the ship.  

After lunch it's time for our much anticipated submarine ride; Mark gives us the safety talk and soon we're off on the zodiac for our rendezvous with the sub.  The dive is a 30 minute exploration of the reef five metres down and begins with us hoisting ourselves down through the hatch and listening to the pilot go through its long dive list with the ship-side operations team.  All of a sudden we're underwater and looking straight at a spotted stingray.  Fish are sparse for a couple of minutes but then we're caught in a yellow swirl. There are many species of fish in all colours and sizes around us and the time goes by fast.  It is peaceful and quiet; the only sounds we hear are the humming propellers and the pilot's regular checkups: depth, oxygen and many other readings.  The pilot offers Blake the controls and for a good while he turns into the proverbial boy with a toy maneuvering us around with care.   Much too soon the dive is over and we climb out and over to the waiting zodiac.

It was really great but the day is far from over; at four o'clock we're taken down to gorgeous Laraie Bay for a beach party of caviar and champagne in the surf.  This is the quintessential Seychelles beach framed by striking granite boulders; the water is bathtub warm and we just have a good time.