Accommodation in Bel Ombre

Owner of guest house came to pick us to airport. After we accommodated at Beach Cottages at the beggining of Bel Ombre the host took me to nearest money exchange and shops to buy basic stuff for day or too. That was very kind from him.

From location point of view it was the best accommodation we had. With its own beach just 3m away it was very convenient to wake up early and go for a swim. Also bus stop was just next to gate. Because of that location we would probably want to stay here again if we returned to Mahe. It had also security guard during night, so we could leave our door open during night to allow fresh breeze (and geckos ;-) ) to enter. The guard was kind chatty creole guy. He told me for example it is not necessary to go to Curieuse Island to see big turtles. A pair of them are just behind our building in "pigsty". Later we have learned it was not only place with big tortoises kept at homes.

The first view after arrival was really impressive. Despite that hut in distance belongs to big hotel next to it. It just enhanced our views and that counts too.

Mandatory photos of inside.

My favorite sport in Seychelles was to wade in sea with my camera and take photos. Adrenaline rush came from hope that camera will survive it.

As we learned in the evening, the big tree on the right - breadfruit tree (see also next photo) - was home of unbelievable huge bats. They were flying around whole day, more in mornings and evenings. And during night they made unbelievable sounds. It is pity I don't have clear photo I would be proud of, but they are at tens of photos unintentionally (really small).

Last day in Mahe was cloudy all day and it was raining about half a day. Good time to slow down and relax, just don't forget to apply sun cream, because sun is doing its duty also during rain.

The first evening I tried also some night time photography. I had big plans about getting wonderful photos of Milky Way and star trails looking at north and west, but unfortunately Beau Vallon and Bel Ombre have very high light pollution.

Experiment with sunset and ND filter. To my surprise it was darkening so fast, that I could not cope with trial-error approach to learn proper exposure. It would need more experience I guess.

Quick test if light pollution is a problem or not. Sky got rather overexposed with brownish tint that was not very encouraging to continue at this place. I made an arrangement with security guard, that they will turn external lights on cottages off for 2 hours next day, but it was cloudy and I did not follow it up.
Also from composition point of view it was not ideal location, without possibility to move to the right to get clear view of Orion (bottom left corner). Jupiter is in the center, M44 is at the top near the middle.

Beau Vallon beach

This is the main beach in Mahe so to say. Most of holiday makers head to Beau Vallon. We visited the beach only shortly, just popped out of our accommodation, walking for 5 to 10 minutes around hotel Le Méridien Fisherman's Cove and got there. It was about noon so we did not want to spend much time on sun and we planned to visit south west coast of Mahe afternoon.

We were there only once and only at one end of very long beach, so it might not be true, but water was quite shallow even far from beach. Yes, we were there during low tide, so things definitely improve during high tide, but I don't know how much.

The best thing about beaches in Seychelles is presence of thick foliage, so it is possible to survive hot sun directly above you. My favorite are Takamaka trees leaning over sand and offering really cool shade that will last for hours. Just watch you head.

View of Le Méridien Fisherman's Cove with church in Bel Ombre.

Mahe has very nice and picturesque mountains. It is pity we did not have a chance to do some hike.

Previous photos suggest many clouds. But Mahe is mountainous and if clouds are at one side of it, it does not mean other side is cloudy too. We have seen that in the evening when we visited Petit Anse with clear sky. When we returned back at night, it was still cloudy here.