The Seychelles are scattered in an area between 4-11degree latitude south and 46-57degree longitude east. Their closest neighbors are Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues Islands. The African mainland is about 1590 kilometers to the west and the Indian subcontinent is about 2800 kilometers to the east. There are 115 islands in total taking up 455 squaremeters. It is 9 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

The capital is Victoria in Mahe. There are 80,410 people who live in the Seychelles and 80% of that is in Mahe. People of all races exist in the islands and they live in harmony. Most of the people are quite religious and are Roman Catholics.

The islands were colonized by France for forty-one years and by England for one hundred and sixty. Today they are an independent country. The official languages are English and French though Creole is what most of the locals speak to each other. Everyone we met spoke either French or English.

Education and healthcare are free in the country. 97% of the children go to school. People are reserved but happy and relaxed. They believe in the importance of enjoying life.

The temperature is 24-30 degrees Celsius all year round. Humidity is 80%. The sun is out from 6am to 6pm every single day of the year. Birds come for nesting at the end of April, which is the best time for bird watching and April to September are the best time for diving, sailing and surfing.

The national currency is the Seychelles rupee. As of now, the rate is around 5 rupees for the dollar.

No vaccinations are necessary. We saw almost no bugs on the island. One cockroach, one night and a millipede once. Other than that, the only thing to watch out for is the yellow wasp, which generally stays out of your way anyhow.

Most of the visitors were French and Italian. We saw no Americans the whole week. One Canadian and a few Brits. Most everyone was there as a couple and tended to like to stay to each other.

They make most of their money from tourism and are pretty much self-sustaining on the food grown on the islands. There are many birds, fish and reptiles on the islands but only two mammals: the a nocturnal hedgehog, tenrec, introduced from Madagascar and a fruit bat.

The very famous Coco de Mer trees are endemic to the region and only grown in nature on Praslin and Curieuse. They resemble the shape of a woman's vagina.

The islands are broken up into inner and outer islands and the only one that can be flown into internationally is Mahe.

share[]