Tuesday, June 9 2026. Moraira to Zanzibar
We left home at 8 am for an 11 am Turkish Airways flight to Istanbul and from there to Zanzibar with a stop at Kilimanjaro Airport. We had less than three hours in Istanbul and found reasonable seating and I could read my iPad which had been impossible on the Turkish plane as it was too noisy for me to be able to hear through my ear buds. The food on board was fairly middle of the road but just about manageable.
On the second flight leaving Istanbul at 6:30 pm we found ourselves next to a man who appeared to be suffering violently from something like Covid. Having put on our Covid masks which we still carry, we asked a stewardess to be moved and this was done efficiently by the staff. The downside was that we ended up in different rows as the plane was very full. I watched a documentary on lost cities that I enjoyed. I also had quite an interesting chat with a young German who was sitting beside me. We discussed many things including the woes of the world.
On the final leg from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar the plane was more than half empty, so we were able to sit together. I then was absorbed in the lost city of the Kuelap & Chachapoyas, whose remains we have visited in Peru a few years ago.
So we landed in Zanzibar around 4:30 am local time, this being an hour ahead of Spanish time. We were collected in a taxi and driven the 90 minutes over roads that were being constructed over a lot of the route, to the Matlai Hotel. Here we were greeted by our Butler, Hashim, and other staff and received a coconut to drink. Then we slept until 10 am, so for four hours sleep, and I went back to sleep for an extra 90 minutes before noon.
Wednesday, June 10. Matlai Hotel, Zanzibar
Around midday we had a very late breakfast of fresh fruit and then went down to the hotel office and had a tour of the grounds, the restaurant, spa, the beach, etc. I went for a swim in the pool and we chatted to a German and a Rhodesian/British lady who was staying here. We ordered our lunch and at 14.00 we went to the restaurant to enjoy it.
|The restaurant was a four minute walk through the hotels gardens, although it could also be accessed from along the beach. We had problems with the waiter first telling us that we could not sit at a particular table because it was reserved and then presenting us with menus in spite of the fact that we had already ordered our lunch. This was overcome by our butler appearing. We then had a cold avocado soup and I had linguine with seafood and David had a chicken Marsala. These were both quite presentable and we had a pleasant view over the beach. We declined a desert and then went on to choose what we would like for dinner, but we were presented with exactly the same menu as we just eaten. It transpired that we had in fact chosen lunch from the dinner menu and that we could have chosen whatever we liked from the full menu, with a few exceptions for extras. We went back to our room where David had to negotiate the homeward flight with Emirates airlines who had suddenly changed the time of their flight from the Seychelles to Dubai by18 hours. Which would have left us with 18 hour layover in Dubai. In in end we settled for that flight and their offer of a free hotel in Dubai for the night
We read and relaxed all afternoon until it suddenly it was 6:30 pm. We showered and went down to the bar, the same venue as lunch and had two very enjoyable cocktails there, one with hibiscus and the other with dates. They were so yummy that we had another one each and then proceeded to a pleasant elevated table with a view over the beach. The lanterns on the beach were sometimes still and other times moved violently with a different wind conditions. Unfortunately, there were loads of flies around and at the end of the main course I asked for the desserts to be served in our room so that I could escape the flies. We turned in soon after 11 pm. We filled in the menu for breakfast and left it outside our room
Thursday, June 11. Matlai Hotel, Zanzibar
Next morning we woke up at 8:30 am and I went for a swim. Back in time for a 9 am breakfast which was served on our balcony and was most enjoyable. Whilst we were eating, the room was made up and we then sat on the balcony till almost noon before going for a walk along the beach.
We walked northwards along the beach, passing several hotels and ending up in a very large one. We had to stop there as it was high tide, so we could not continue any further along the beach. At that point it started to pour, and we took shelter in the large hotel, looked around it including a couple of tourist shops As the rain eased , we wandered back through very light rain to our hotel. I had then went for a swim before going to our restaurant for lunch at 2:30 pm. We had ordered this in advance by filling in a slip in our room as to what we wanted. We had now mastered the method of their menus which was not explained to as well by our Butler, Hashim, on the first morning . We were able to sit on the table that we have been refused the previous day presumably the management knew that the German occupants of this table were not having lunch there this day. A curious thing about the way the hotel worked was that the waiters in the restaurant did not attend to us, but our butler had to serve us.
We returned to the room and read till about 5 pm before going for a walk Southward along the beach for a good hour. We passed several groups of locals playing soccer on the beach and also a large number of small boats before we came to a local famed restaurant called the Rock. It was indeed built on a large rock island. At high tide one had to take a boat to it, but it was low tide so we continued on until we could see another large building offshore connected by a bridge but we did not have time to reach this before turning back in order to get back before dusk. We went down to the bar before 7.30 and enjoyed a couple of cocktails and then our dinner. There was a group of four Spaniards in the hotel and it was one of their birthdays and they gave us a couple of slices of the chocolate birthday cake they had been presented with by the hotel..
Friday, June 12. Matlai Hotel, Zanzibar
During the night David became ill and continued to be really poorly for most of the next day. He put it down to the spicy crab soup that he had had as a starter. So whilst he lay flat out on one of the loungers on our balcony I enjoyed my breakfast after I had had a very invigorating swim before 1 pm. I went for another swim.
The Internet was very weak all day so Podcasts were unavailable as well. Also all my WhatsApp contacts on the new phone seem to have vanished and there was just a range of telephone numbers which seemed very odd to me. David continued to sleep most of the day and I had another good swim before lunch of scrambled eggs and coffeeat 2 pm served on our balcony. The butler had provided David with three flasks of hydrating recuperative drink.
I read more during the afternoon and then had another swim around 5 pm. We managed to both go into dinner, David had just had a couple of fruit smoothies and a bowl of plain rice whilst I had a Caipirinha, a tasteless green papaya salad and fried rice with prawns also a pannacotta with passion fruit sauce. An early night and hopefully David will feel better by tomorrow.
Saturday, June 13. Matlai Hotel, Zanzibar
It was raining very heavily as we woke up, but I was still able to go for a swim before breakfast. This was a very disjointed affair as a fresh fruit and yogurt etc did not arrive till at least 20 minutes after we had finished eating scrambled egg and cheese on toast. So we told the butler that we were not really very amused by this. As a result of this he came back and offered as a free massage which I availed myself at 11 o’clock . I quite enjoyed it but was not over the moon about it. Don’t know why. After the massage I had had another swim before lunch at 2:30. This time we took it on a table right down on the beach, which was an idyllic setting and I enjoyed it.
Back to the room for more reading and playing with a new mobile which was proven resistant to having sensible WhatsApp contacts. At 4:30 we went for a walk northwards hoping to go past the rocky outcrop at the large hotel. But we would not have been able get round for at least another quarter of an hour due to the tide not going out quickly enough. So we wandered back to the hotel and I had another swim and was approached by our butler with the proposition of moving to the two bedroom villa for the final nights, courtesy of the management. We went to look at this and I was overwhelmed by the magnificent Infinity edge pool and decided it was worth packing up just for 36 hours. So we effected this move in the next half an hour before going in to dinner at 7:30 and enjoying three cocktails given to us by the house: they seem to be feeling very guilty about David’s food poisoning. Also guilty about the palaver of the breakfast in the morning. We enjoyed our dinner, although the starter was again very poor, and then came back to the room with an extra cocktail, which I have so enjoyed. I went for a swim in the villa's infinity pool and was most impressed . Back to read for a while and write the diary
Sunday June 14. Matlai Hotel, Zanzibar
A really lazy day, breakfast on the balcony of our new room, a really palatial building which reminded me of the White House or Mar a Largo. Huge white pillars and curved windows. The breakfast all appeared together with two of them bringing it. Four swims during the day, the first before breakfast and the last in the flood lit pool after dinner. We moved around the various loungers in the garden during the day, enjoying the ones right on the beach and also ones in a shaded shelter with less direct view of the beach.
Lunch as usual in the restaurant on the small table outside almost on the beach. We had a pudding for the first time after our main courses and in the evening the other six occupants of the hotel were watching Germany play Curacao in football World Cup after they had had an early dinner. We packed up ready to leave the room by 11 am in the morning although our taxi to Stone Town is not booked until 1 pm.
Monday June 15 . Matlai to Stone Town.
We were woken up soon after 7:30 am. with the butler banging on our glass balcony doors. We ignored him: it seemed quite unreasonable. But then I had an early swim as I was awake and was quite hungry by the time breakfast eventually appears at 9.15 to 9:30 am. This was very pleasant and David tried a local dish for breakfast.
He went to pay, leaving Chris to finish packing the suitcases. He came back and said we did not have to sit outside for the next two hours until our taxi came, and that we could have our old room back for those hours, which was great news. We moved ourselves there and enjoyed the balcony. Chris had a last swim . The other six guests were all German and were shouting teutonically at each other in the pool.
At 1 pm the taxi came to take us to Stone Town and this took about 90 minutes, with a lot of major road works along the way. Very flat countryside and not much agriculture in the open spaces.
We checked in to our new Hotel in the centre of Stone Town, and bumped into our new tour leader, Olaf, at the reception desk. He was from Latvia. We then had three hours plus to ourselves to unpack in the comparatively small room with a tiny balcony, before meeting up again with the group at 6 pm. So we went out for an hour's walk around the town. After this Chris tried the shore side swimming pools which had lovely views, but were not deep enough to swim in, so were just suitable to do exercises in. Therefore I had to move to the main poo,l which was not quite so scenic.
There were eleven people in all on our tour and although the company had said that they were mainly British, in fact there was only two other people from UK. There were two from Canada, Bob and Jacinta, one from the north of the US, Carol: a British and Singaporean couple, Derek and Bee Cee, a single lady called Sue she also from England: two men, Josh and Rob from USA and married to each other.And another Singaporean who lived in Qatar called Ching. Plus the two of us. Olaf gave his introduction right next to reception which seemed somewhat stupid place with insufficient seating for it to take place and then suggested a meal in a restaurant nearby. Eight of us in total went to this restaurant, right on the beach,. It was a lovely setting beside the water and the service was good and wee thoroughly enjoyed our meal there which was good value too. Chris spent time talking to Derek . Bee Cee and Olaf . While David was talking to Ching, Sue and Carol. An early night before an early breakfast in the morning.
Tuesday June 16 . Stone Town, Zanzibar
We had the earliest breakfast which was quite restricted in choice but in a pleasant venue and the fruit and the Danish pastries were good. And also some scrambled egg freshly cooked. We were then ready for an 8:30 am trip to a Spice Garden that did not actually leave till at least 845 as Derek and the two men were absent. We feel that Olaf is not too good prompt departures. We shall see in the future. It was a 35 minute drive in a minivan to the Spice Garden and here over two hours, we were shown at least seven or eight different plants. We had a garden guide in place of Amina, the lady who was our local guide. The Garden guy was easier to understand but told me that vanilla was not difficult to produce a due to fertilisation problems: I was confused by this and in the end he said that it was pollination that he wanted whereas to me fertilisation was the same thing. He argued that that would imply fertiliser! I think the rest of the group thought he was being a bit pedantic. But it was a better tour of overall than the one we had had in a similar plantation in India. But they blotted of their copy book by carrying on about all the people who needed tips, whereas we knew we had paid Olaf to look after all the tips along the route. We saw pepper, turmeric, lemon grass, vanilla , cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and maybe some more. At the finish we were provided with samples of fresh fruit and some tea in tiny cups. I bought a tiny container of perfume.
Then back to Stone Town and we went for a walk around the town with Amina, but the heavens really opened and we got thoroughly drenched even with an umbrella and our feet were also thoroughly drenched by huge puddles and streams everywhere in the uneven alleyways. We saw some impressive doors and the cathedral was also impressive. Eventually we gave up as we were really too drenched and made our way back to the hotel where we had a snack in the room and read until about 4:30 pm when we thought it was safe to go out after lots more torrential rain. David had got AI to produce a route to the slave market and this involved twisting and turning through the waterlogged alleyways but we eventually made it to the Slave Market only to find that they did not take cash, only credit cards. So we gave up and walked back to the hotel, but then decided to find somewhere for a cocktail and ended it up in the same place as the previous night by the beach. It was a restaurant owned by Hyatt. Here we had two margaritas. At that point it absolutely poured again and we decided we would be better off having a really early meal there, rather than risk walking back in very uncertain weather merely in order to eat at 8 pm. We thoroughly enjoyed this meal and we got back to the hotel after 8 pm, and had a chat with Ching im the hotel reception, We then had a well needed shower before turning in for the night.
Wednesday June 17 , Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam
We packed up after breakfast for a 10 am start for a trip across to prison Island which is offshore Stone Town. We had to vacate the room at this time. There was some problem finding where to embark on the boat due to low tide. We walked a little way but still had to paddle in the water in order to to get onto the boat. Once at the boat, the only way aboard was by a very rusty ladder which had cylindrical steps which my bare feet could not support. I had a problems getting onto it as I had taken my sandals off and rolled my trousers up above the knee. Anyway we set off and it was quite a rolling and pitching ride of about 30 minutes to the Island. I was slightly worried about the stability of the boat. But we got there and then it was a big surprise as there was a tortoise sanctuary with up to 200 tortoises in. These had originated as a gift from the Sultan of Oman, just three of them and they had now grown to 200, but then decreased due to people smuggling baby tortoises is away from the island. We walked on past all the tortoises, past a grand building, now decayed that had been once a restaurant but was now a ruin. And on to to the museum which was in a restored fort.
The return trip was comparatively smooth and an absolute pleasure and we got back to the hotel landing on the beach by about 1 pm. We then sat on a sofa by the bar overlooking the sea and had two fruit drinks before moving to loungers beside the inward looking pool. I had a pleasant swim and afterwards we moved to loungers on the beach and observed all the local life there.
At 4 pm it was time to go to the airport for our 6:40 pm flight to Dar es Salaam: the original intention was to fly much earlier today and catch a flight connecting to the Comoros, but that flight had been altered ( flight altering is common in Africa) and we now had to spend a night in Dar and go back to the airport early the next morning to reach the Comoros. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our flight took off by 6 pm and only took 15 minutes to reach Dar. We were safely ensconced in a somewhat surreal hotel, a Golden Tulip hotel, by 7:15 pm. There seem to be very few guests in the hotel and oddly for a big hotel,, it had no lift. We went down to have a drink and some food outside on their seaside patio. The patio area was absolutely huge but although we got the drinks after 30 minutes or so, no food had arrived within the hour. We tried to cancel our food order but they persuaded us to wait another five minutes and it did in fact arrive. However the calamari I found really tough and stone cold . The prawns looked far too large a meal for me to tackle so I have abandoned David and went back to the room. Will wait for breakfast now!
Thursday June 18 Dar es Salaam to Moroni, Comoros
An early morning start with breakfast at 6:30 am which was in pleasant surroundings but only of fair quality. We had time to wander out to look at the marvelous swimming pool before setting off at 7:10 am for the airport. It was a long queue to check in and it was quite surprising how much luggage all the local people from Comoros had with them. We were held up by one man who seemed to have the kitchen sink with him and even then the hand luggage he took onto the aircraft was quite astounding. We then heard an announcement in the airport that the 10:15 am depart Moroni was delayed by 90 minutes but within seconds we were boarding the plane and we took off not more than 30 minutes late and landed at Moroni just before noon. A pleasant surprise was that we were actually served a sandwich lunch aboard during our 75 minute flight.
At Moroni, I was given priority status to jump the queue on immigration, but it did not do us any good as it still took a long time for our passports to get their visas in them. During this time I went to the toilet there I managed to get myself locked inside it which was a bit frightening. I had to thump on the door repeatedly to get out. Eventually we cleared the airport by about 1:30 pm and we were taken to lunch in a nearby restaurant. The food with passable but the ambience was somewhat lacking ,with plastic over the table and a cloud of flies everywhere. Still, it was a nice gesture to give us lunch as apparently the hotel would not be serve anything by the time we arrived. Then just a short mini bus ride to the Hotel. After an efficient check-in we found our room, 205, which had tremendous views but no balcony and was somewhat basic. I went down to reception after awhile and asked for a second chair, three more hangers to add to the two that were already in the room and two hand towels to be provided for us and these arrived fairly promptly. Later in the trip there was a constant battle to get a reasonable number of towels in our bedrooms
After sorting ourselves out, we went for a walk around the grounds and discovered a revolting swimming pool down by the beach which had not been used for 18 months but it was a pleasant beach although far too rough to swim on. We stopped and chatted to Sue for a while and then Olaf joined us near another bar. Then back in the room and some washing and showering before venturing out to dinner sometime after 7 pm we found most of the rest of the group sitting at a large table and sat near them but not with them. We ordered two Caipirinhas and a pizza and did not have to wait ages for them as we had been warned. We were joined by Ching who brought along his vodka and Tabasco which David bravely drank with him, but which overpowered his Caipirinha completely. But it was an interesting evening chatting. Then back to the room for the night
Friday June 19, Comoros
A much better breakfast than than at Dar or Stone Town. We set off at 8:30 am in a somewhat clapped out mini bus which did not give good views. At our first stop, which was a Fortress near Moroni, we climbed up a steep flight of stairs to a lookout point at the top: four of us stopped halfway as the going seemed to be getting quite difficult. When the others came down, they did say that coming down from the top was quite problematic. We walked round an area adjacent to this, were the witches once brewed up concoctions to sell to people for favourable outcomes in their lives. A bit like places in South Africa, but not necessarily with human body parts (although this wasn’t ruled out completely here in the past).
Our next stop was in Moroni where we walked along a street with loudspeakers blaring out the local producers wares (they do not shout out their sales talk now, but use a pre-recorded tape with a loudspeaker). We then went into a market where we stopped for some time for some of our group to buy fridge magnets: not something we collect. Then further on into the market where the highlight was the chopping up of a horses head.
Finally back to the van and we progressed. to a "vanilla plantation" which was just a quick stop and Omar‘s explanation of a vanilla plant at the side of the road rather than a commercial plantation. Omar, the local guide gave us a fanciful story of how a slave had discovered the pollination process without the help of insects in the 1850s! Then on to lunch. It was billed to be at a beach restaurant which turned to be a series of shacks by a stunningly beautiful beach. The local guides had brought a barbeque, plates, tablecloths and food with them. And they turned the setting into one of the most memorable lunches we have ever eaten, as the local lobster was barbecued as we looked beyond the barbeque to the sandy beach. The local lobsters, rice and beans were followed by fresh fruit. Our group ate in two different huts with six of usin each and it was a lovely setting and a memorable meal. We had 20 minutes walk down to the beach where two of our party had a swim, but Chris decided that it was too difficult to get changed and the waves were probably a bit too much for her anyway.
After lunch we had quite a long journey in the van before stopping at the Dragon Rock. This involved a walk which proved to be more than just problematic as we had to hack our way through the thick undergrowth most of us just wearing sandals and shorts. There were several obstacles such as fences to be mounted, many of them with corrugated iron jutting out in awkward places. Chris had to be manhandled over these. Then we got to the Dragon Rocks, where Omar said that if we climbed further up, then it was a much easier way afterwards. I knew I could climb up the slope, so went up there only to them be told that the easiest way to get back to the van was to slide back down to where I had come from. I was not best pleased. We then followed Omar along a track for a while, before he suddenly disappeared back up the rock, leaving us to walk down to the beach and wait for there for him for a considerable time. The others finally came down from the rock, some of them on their behinds, so the story of an easier way once up there was something of a myth. Josh seemed very angry about this.
Eventually all of us were back at the van, and we proceeded to the Crater Lake, which was quite scenic and then to a baobab tree which apparently had served as a prison once according to Omar (later checking on the web, we found that it had never been a prison) . We got back to the hotel just before six and one of our group, Derek was heard insisting that tomorrow’s trip end by 3 pm as he felt the day was far too long. We returned to the room and had a shower once the water cut had finished. We had the chicken sandwiches, leftover from the flight the previous day. Then a shower before going to the bar and having two Caipirinhas and a very enjoyable crêpe filled with banana. Then back to the room for the remains of the previous night’s pizza and dictating this diary.
Saturday June 20 Comoros
We set out for the day again at 8:30 am, minus Derek who had wanted the tour to be curtailed and ended by 3 pm at the latest, but his wife Bee Cee did come, Our first stop was in Moroni and we walked along a wide street with market stalls on either side and some loudspeakers being used for advertising. We then turned down dark stairs to enter the buildings behind. This was the entrance to the Medina, which was an area where the nobles used to live (the nobles were one of three classes on the island) . However nowadays these buildings are just rented out as shops by the noble class. After this we headed out of town a bit and eventually stopped at an old palace by the sea. It was in ruins. We then headed back to the museum which, believe it or not was closed for reparations. So we arrived at our lunch restaurant soon after 11. This was not a problem as we had a gorgeous coconut to drink and then some guava juice before the actual meal which was again lobster. This time accompanied by noodles or rice and some yam and hard boiled eggs: the last two were the best part of the meal which I thoroughly enjoyed. It all took place in a covered gazebo at the back of a restaurant.
After this we headed south down the west side of the island passing a blue and white village (donated by an Arab Sheikh) until we got to a beach which was meant to be wonderful and might well have been had it had less rubbish. The tide was well out so there was no possibility of swimming and we just stayed there for 15 minutes to stretch our legs. On the way back we stopped at a distillery where they made ylang ylang , a perfume from the local flowers. It was not operational on the day we were there and was very low tech and hidden down a wooded path well away from anything. There was also a stop to look at baobab trees, the tour operator obviously wishing to include as much as possible, even where there really wasn’t too much to be seen .
We had a stop to look at a lava field. Unfortunately it was the town dump, and they were actually burning the rubbish, The thick acrid smoke set me off coughing quite uncontrollably. I stayed in the van with the door shut and eventually the van moved up wind of the smoke and the people who had exited the van caught us up. No apology was given for this stupidity of stopping here.
So back at the hotel by about 4:30 pm. We had a snack in our room and read until 7 pm packing up to be ready for the 8:30 am trip to the airport in the morning, then we went down to the restaurant and enjoyed some Caipirinha and crêpes filled with bananas which were yummy.
Sunday June 21. Comoros to Mayotte
An uneventful day with transport to the airport at 8:30 for 11.45 flight. Then a 40 minute flight to what turned out to be a small island off the main island of Mayotte. The hotel was a 100 metre walk from the airport terminal. We had to wait for our rooms until 1.45 and sat round the pool during the 45 minutes wait. It was a good pool but when we returned to it after receiving our rooms there was a disco there and loads of children so it was not a very agreeable place to sit and relax.
The first room we were allocated was on the ground floor and was shabby and looked out over a wasteland and the car park. So I went back to reception but met Olaf on the way there. He asked what was the matter and then he offered to swap his room on the first floor. He said he really wasn’t affected by what sort of room he had and the first floor room was indeed more modern having been updated and had a slightly better view though very dirty windows. So we thanked him profusely and accepted the offer and settled in. Later we went down to the pool, but this was out of the question with the volume of noise there so we moved our sun beds as far away as possible in the large garden and sat there until 4.30 when I ventured out for a swim. By this time most of the children and the adults had disappeared from round the pool and I was able to enjoy the swimming although the volume of the music was still far too loud After this we went back to the room and read for a couple of hours.
We went down for a late dinner but found that the only choice was a buffet or a pizza , so we settled for the latter, the buffet at lunch had been €59, which seemed excessive in this very basic three star hotel but it was Father’s Day and they were making the most of it. They did offer the buffet in the evening at €29 but we declined this. We get "buffeted out" on this sort of trip.We sat outside their fairly pleasant restaurant overlooking the pool and enjoyed a mocktail piña colada with a honey and goats cheese pizza. We then had a long chat to Carol who was also looking for a light snack so had one piece of our pizza. We hope that we do not encounter any other hotels on this voyage of this standard.
Monday June 22. Mayotte to Reunion
I had a swim before 7 am breakfast and we were away at 8:30 am with the group. We had two taxis to take us to the ferry that went across to the main island of Mayotte Grande. It was a really pleasant ferry ride across, very crowded as it was rush-hour, and we felt we were really exploring islands. A much better way to do so than by planes. Once at the other side, we again had two mini vans to transport us around. First stop was the Ylang Ylang distillery, a much more commercial set up than what we had seen in Mayotte.
Our guide for the day. Ibrahim was absolutely useless , but as Olaf said, he was useful for obtaining transport. After this we went to a salt production site which was interesting. The surrounding land was flooded at high tide and they dug up the salt infused earth at low tide, put it in a bucket and then carried it to a vat of boiling water, the salt remaining after the water evaporated off.. The logic behind this was at the soil contained more concentrated salt than just obtaining a bucket of salt water from the sea. There was a lot of dispute and horse trading about how much Olaf had to pay for us to see this.
Then back to the ferry terminal where we had lunch in a very pleasant restaurant and the food was really good, although its arrival was very erratic. The return journey by ferry was not rush-hour and we had almost the whole ship to ourselves. Once back on land, we drove to a spot where we went off on a walk to see the crater lake. It was not a long walk but about five minutes of it was quite awkward with loose stones. But the view once we got there splendid and we had a little walk beside it before returning. When we got to the main road, the taxis that we had arrived in had disappeared. There was a long wait before Ibrahim got more taxis for us. We got into the first taxi and arrived back at the hotel about 2:30 pm. But apparently the other taxi never came and so they had to wait till ours got back to rescue them.
Back at the hotel they were busy demolishing the reception desk and there was a lot of debris around. I found where the towels for the swimming pool , and got changed and enjoyed a swim in a very quiet pool. After this, I sunbathed for a while to get myself dry. We then left at 4:15 pm for the airport which was only a two minute walk from the hotel. Checking in, passport control and security clearance and then an hours wait before boarding just before 6 pm for our 6:45 pm flight to Reunion. The flight lasted for almost 2 hours and we landed in Reunion at 9:30 pm, there being an hours difference in time between the islands.
Then a 20 minute ride to the Radisson hotel check-in , which was efficient and our room was adequate but nothing special, no views and limited suitcase room for our cases. We indulged in some Baileys which David had bought at the airport along with a bottle of wine which we will crack open in the morrow. A late night almost midnight before we turned in and we have to be ready for the off again at the later hour of 9 am tomorrow.
Tuesday June 23. Reunion
A very good breakfast and extraordinary pleasant surroundings at about 7:30 am. Then I went for a swim and we were ready to leave the hotel with the group at 9 am. It turned out to be a full day tour and we travelled in mini buses or large taxis. Our driver was Alexis and we also had his wife, Christiana, a Vietnamese 50 year-old lady, absolutely charming, and had been born and raised in Paris of Vietnamese parents. She sat on the backseat with us. We could not hear what Alexis were saying as he was rows ahead as a driver. So I really enjoyed chatting to her. There were several stops during the morning. Two stops were for waterfalls: the first of which, ironically called Niagara, had virtually no water in it but they surrounds the high cliffs covered with vegetation and vertical were absolutely stunning. The second waterfall was more bountiful but had the same sort of setting. We also walked along and across an abandoned bridge and went down to a beach where there was a restaurant earmarked for lunch was shut.
After this it was a half an hour drive more to another restaurant which was full of character. Here we sat down on a long table for 14 people and most of them had a main course, but David and I just indulged in a tiramisu, a beer and a passion fruit we left here about 3 pm and David and I sat in the front of the van for a change and had a super view for the next three hours which was mainly motoring. We stopped at a very rough coastal area and walked along for awhile. Stops at lava fields where the road had been cut by molten lava six months ago, but had amazingly been completely repaired. A stop at a church surrounded by solidified lava, but miraculously the church itself had been completely spared. A further stop at a blow hole and finally at Palm Beach in the Lagoon where we observed the Sun setting.
We were back at the hotel by 6:30 pm. We then had some Baileys and a snack and a cup of tea in our room before setting out for a walk about 8 pm. We walked through fairly empty streets of St Denis, the capital of Reunion, to the Cathedral where suddenly there was a vibrant nightlife with many many restaurants with tables outside on both sides of the street. We bumped into six of the other nine in the group during our meander. Back at the hotel we went up to the sunset bar and found this absolutely charming but with not an awful lot to see in the darkness.
Wednesday June 24. Reunion
A leisurely start the day of relaxation after battling with a shampoo and so-called conditioner bottles in the shower. We went down to breakfast around 9 am and had a very pleasant time there . We then set off on our 4 km walk round the town about 10:30 am. There was no Internet connection so we were unable to download the route to take with us but we went across to the small park between the hotel and the sea and discovered that Roland Garros, after whom the airport is named here and after whom the Paris stadium for the French Open is named, was born here in 1888 and was a famous pioneer of aviation, being killed at the end of the war in 1918. One learns something new every day.
We then dipped back into the hotel to see if there was any connection but there was not - the whole island was cut off for almost the whole day. So we proceeded without a live web map feed and walked to the cathedral and went inside. It was quite plain. We walked down the main shopping street and were surprised at how modern the shops were there. We side tracked to a small market, before reaching two museums one of the works of Savely, very bright and vibrant - the other of general paintings over the years. After leaving the museums we proceeded down the Rue de Paris, formerly the rich peoples street, but most of their villas have now been flattened for redevelopment. . A few impressive looking mansions remained and if the building had been destroyed, an old photo was hung on the railings outside. It certainly had been and seems to continue to be, an upmarket town. We eventually came through to the seafront and made our way back to the hotel by which time it was about 2 pm.
And there was still no Internet. We were unpleasantly surprised to find that the room had not been done, but we found a receptionist along the corridor and arranged for it to be done at 3 pm when we thought we would be at the swimming pool ,which we were indeed. I had a very present swim doing the full 10 lengths and then got changed down there in a shower room with very poor drainage. It eventually became too cold for us to stay and we came back up to the room soon after 4 pm and had a cup of tea. Then after 5 pm, we went up to the roof lounge and joined six of the others at a big table and had a banana and coca cocktail and a terrine between us. We stayed there for about 90 minutes then came back down to the room, packed one of the suitcases and then had a snack and a Baileys in the room. Ready for an early start and breakfast by 6 am in the morning.
Thursday June 25. Reunion to Rodrigues
An early morning start breakfast at 6 am for a 6:40 am depart to the airport which was only 12 minutes away. We got through check-in eventually as the locals have so much luggage. Our plane , took off by 9 am and we were in Rodrigues by 10:30 am. Their immigration seemed to think we were all a problem but eventually we got through, although Ching and Olaf had their luggage pulled apart.
Then we got into our large bus and had 15 minute drive to the giant tortoise sanctuary which had been established in 2016.. Although there had been tortoises here when Leguat, a French huguenot, came to Rodrigues when fleeing religious persecution in France. He arrived here around 1680 and recorded the tortoises, but were hunted by sailors for food and all disappeared. So the Aldabra tortoise was imported from the Seychelles. Olaf wanted us to have a tour of the sanctuary first and then to end up with lunch there. However they were unable to provide a guide and we ended up having lunch quite early and setting off on our tour at 1:30 pm. The lunch was in a very pleasant area, and the chicken and rice was quite good.
We found that there were 31 of us on the tour of the sanctuary and the guide spoke in a mixture of French and English. Apparently there were three types of tortoise but I never quite understood what these were. The track that we had to follow round the sanctuary was very up-and-down and quite uneven. We ended up in a 500 mete long cave full of stalactites and stalagmites. It was completely dark, and a little bit difficult at times. Bee See and myself were allowed to be at the front so that we could follow the guide with his large flashlight. We stopped in several places and had to wear helmets to protect our heads which indeed was necessary as we banged heads against the rocks in very many places.
From here it was 30 minutes to the hotel but we then found that they had a new system of check-in, which was absolutely ridiculous and nobody was allowed to go to their room until all the passports all had ben registered. Olaf had asked that he be allowed to do them all while we went to our rooms, but the stupid girl on reception trenchantly refused and insisted we all sat there while she went through registration. We were not amused at all as it was getting colder and I wanted to swim. They were quite impervious to the fact that David told them how stupid their system was. The room itself, once we found it, had a pleasant aspect with two chairs outside on a patio with a view of the sea across their gardens.
I went for my swim and this was a pleasant infinity edge which it was somewhat chilly. I unpacked a little and we had a snack on the deck chairs and then got ready for dinner. This was a buffet at 7 pm and the food was a reasonable quality but we were on a long table for 12 which is never for us an ideal way of having a meal. The table was red plastic, which did not help improve the ambiance. All the rest of the restaurant tables were wood. But a very pleasant cocktail and we sat on our balcony afterwards for a few minutes.
Friday June 26, Rodrigues
An invigorating swim at 7:30 am before breakfast at 8.00. We had breakfast outside on the balcony by ourselves and enjoyed it more than a communal breakfast. We took off en grupo at 9 am and visited several beaches on the island all of which were really delightful and the watercolours in the lagoon were quite outstanding ranging from pale blue to deep green and we could see the channels and the passes that allowed boats to get through the reef. The reef varied from about 500 m off shore on the eastern side of the island to 7 km offshore on the west side.
We also stopped several times for breathtaking views and there were many offshore islets in the lagoon, one of which was stocked with all the animals species on the island in case of a drastic illness that might cause extermination of all the animals on the main island. In that case restocking could eventually take place with uncontaminated stock. We then visited the museum which was really interesting apart from a seven minute video to start with. Unfortunately, we did not have long enough in this museum to take full advantage of it.
We then had a 45 minute stop in the capital, Port Mathurin. The town was not very uplifting. We walked around the block, visited the tourist information office which was fatal. Then back to the hotel with a stop at the church which was built in the 1930s practically all by hand with fantastic effort on the part of so many of the locals. It was the largest church in the Indian Ocean that has now become the largest cathedral. We felt it had little charm but it took 2500 to 3000 people. Two masses were held here each Sunday and one mass daily but attendance was falling.
Once back at the hotel, we went for a walk along the beach in both directions before I had a swim in the pool which was deserted of other people. Then a snack and some wine in the room until 6:45 pm when we went to have a cocktail with the manager, Nikesh. We had met him down on the beach and had another chat with him about a hotel‘s problems and he had invited us to have a cocktail with him in the evening. The cocktail was the hotel's signature cocktail , slightly spicy or rather too gingerish for Chris, but very welcome all the same with some great tapas too. We chatted to him for over an hour about all his problems and he heard some of ones that we too had suffered over the years. We them went in for dinner which we enjoyed on a table by ourselves, but the music was very loud and echoed throughout which somewhat took the shine off fairly reasonable food. Once back in the room we found that the staff had written "C Rodriguez" in twigs on the bed, very twee.
Saturday June 27 Rodrigues to Mauritius
I had a swim before breakfast and then we spent 2+ hours in the room on the patio before gathering at 11:30 am for the transfer to the airport. We have been informed the previous day that four of us, David, myself Sue and Ching were on a different flight to the rest of them, but only half an hour later. The others were scheduled to takeoff at 2:10 pm and us at 2:40 pm. They took off roughly on time but then we were delayed by almost 100 minutes so did not get to Mauritius airport until almost 6 pm. Olaf had sent the rest of them off to the hotel and waited for us at the airport. We got to the hotel around 7 pm, sorted ourselves out after a lengthy registration program, the hotel being in the same group as the one in Rodriguez and using this complicated, absurd check-in system.
We then went down to a pleasant bar where they turned down the music for us and we had three cocktails. We also chatted to a South African business man, who did not seem to like his work on Mauritius. The staff brought David another unordered cocktail which he sent back. Not once but twice when he had refused the first: we reckon this was a scam that they did regularly to increase their takings. We went on an explore of the hotel and found the pool and various other niches before retiring to the room and soaking in a hot bath.
Sunday June 28 Mauritius
A very pleasant breakfast outside beside the canal watching a little ferry crossing to the main part of the capital. We left the hotel at 8 am for a full day tour of the island. During the morning we had many stops: one of these at a waterfall , another at a site where there were seven different colours of lava rock all joined together, and a spice nursery, just established. At the spice place they grew different sorts of spices and had a house full of old photographs old implements, old kitchen gadgets and sold some of the spices. Then we went on to a somewhat tired restaurant for lunch which was included, but the group order for lunch was not actually taken for 45 minutes and the whole meal spread out to almost 2 hours. Given that it was not a nice ambience this was really too much when I told the local guide this he just laughed: later he told me that he thought I was joking. I left before the dessert which was just ice cream or fruit salad and David came out as Sue had pinched his order of ice cream much to his annoyance.
In the afternoon we visited two temples one a Hindu one beside a sacred lake, which was thought to have the properties of the Ganges And the other was in the midst of sugarcane plantations. Indeed, sugarcane was very much of the order of the day throughout our tour today. During the morning, the road had been remarkably bendy which made me feel slightly off. We also stopped for various views, one at a bridge over it very deep gorge which had been built in the early 1800s by the British for a railway to connect the sugarcane crops on either side.
There was also and natural bridge of lava with water sprouting out in different places. We eventually got back to the hotel well after dark about 6:15 pm. I asked a reception if the swimming pool was still opened and whether it was lit and was assured it was. When we went there it was almost in complete. darkness with just a few lights on one side of it. Nevertheless, I had a quick swim in the darkness and there were no towels to dry myself afterwards.
We then had an end of tour meal with all the group, paid for by what’s the company, Undiscovered Destinations, as Josh and Rob were leaving on the tomorrow. After this David and I went to the bar and had another cocktail.: It was our 59th wedding anniversary.
Monday June 29 Mauritius to Seychelles
A somewhat tiring day. After breakfast we went and sat by the swimming pool for an hour and I enjoyed a swim . We then vacated the room at 11 am taking our suitcases up to reception.
We took a small shuttle boat from the hotel, across the river to the main part of town, Port Louis and walked all the way through to the other side. We were impressed by what we saw, very modern a little reminiscent of Cape Town. We eventually found the slavery museum but we were disappointed in this as it was all in French and difficult to understand completely. It seemed an unlikely recipient of a world heritage site listing. We then walked back to the hotel enjoying a mango and a yogurt ice cream en route, and sat by the river front in comfy hotel chairs until 1.20 when it was time to muster. Then an hours journey to the airport with a few traffic jams in the first couple of miles. We got to the airport at 2:30 and checked our bags in. Then David and I were whisked through passport control and security due to age which was rather fun. Then an hours wait for the plane which was due off at 5 pm. We had a seemingly nice meal aboard but later on David suffered from an upset stomach and sicknessm so maybe not quite
Landing in the Seychelles at 7:30 pm , we had to hang around for hours as four suitcases did not appear. Apparently a whole truckload of cases had been deliberately left off the Air Seychelles plane as it was overloaded. The people in our group effected were Ching m Sue, Jacinta and Derek. They had to fill up forms and apparently there is not another plane for 48 hours . So tomorrow we will have to allow time for them to shop for some clothes, I think some of them think they will be going on a shopping bonanza courtesy of Air Seychelles. We eventually got to the Hilton hotel after 10 pm and then had a fiasco with them wanting to give us a welcome drink but not allowing us to take the glass to our room as they needed it for another set of later arrivals. So we transferred our drink to our room glasses and returned their glasses to reception. But by this time David was suffering from his stomach and we soon went to bed. The room seemed very luxurious and had plenty of space.
Tuesday June 30. Seychelles
David suffered during the night from his dickey tummy and for unknown reasons, I woke up incredibly tired and moved around like a zombie for the first three or four hours of the day. I decided I would go on the excursion but often wished that I had stayed sleeping.
We both had quite a small breakfast and then set off at 9 am, the promptness of the group to be assembled on time seem to be failing. We were at the back of the minivan and vision was not wonderful, and basically we just drove around for the day, seeing some indeed lovely beaches . We had an hour to wander around Victoria so that the four people without their suitcases could try and buy some new clothes but this was nigh on impossible as it was a bank holiday, it being the 50th anniversary of independence. We stopped at a so-called tea centre which was nothing other than a shop, all be it with a great view, selling Ceylon tea! Then we stopped for a takeaway and cold beer which we took to a beach. But David and I just had some beer, food is beginning to seem a problem for me. While David was under the weather anyway. In the afternoon we were meant to be stopping at the rum distillery, but this was closed for the day so that was not on.
We got back to the hotel about 4:15 pm and I went for a swim, but the pool was out of the Sun and seemingly too cold and windy for enjoyment. Then we went back to the room and we were meant to be going up for happy hour between five and six but when I suggested at 5:30 pm that we go David was asleep rather than not wanting to go at that precise moment and by the time we realised our misunderstanding it was too late. So we just stayed in the room and had a snack, some lemon tea and then eventually coffee and caught up with a few podcasts.
Wednesday July 1. Seychelles
We spent a leisurely day at this 56 room Hilton Hotel . Two glasses of champagne with breakfast and some very good scrambled and poached eggs and good fruit. Also a Portuguese chef came round with a very decorative pastry tray, including Pastais da Nata which were truly wonderful.
Then we had a little explore and found one of their beaches and sat there just above it for a little while. Then back to the room for a short time before going for an explore in the opposite direction and sitting above their other beach. Both of the beaches really scenic. We returned to the room about 2 pm and had a snack and a cup of coffee. We then went down to the pool again, where I’d had a swim about noon and I had another swim before the Sun left the pool. Back to the room again before going to happy hour at 5 pm. Here we were given a free so-called alcoholic cocktail and two good tapas before we went through and ordered the 33% off cocktails for ourselves. David had a rum planters punch and I had a piña colada and we watched the sun go down behind Praslin Island.
Olaf appeared before we left and said he would be watching the England match at 8 pm. So David went back there at 8 pm after we’d had another coffee and snack in the room, but the screen focus in the bar was not satisfactory, so he came back. We had a very relaxing Jacuzzi in the super bath. An early night ready for a really early start in the morning and a 47 hour journey home: I certainly do not think it can be any quicker. Meanwhile I think the non-suitcasers have probably got their suitcases back about 10 pm . Air Seychelles certainly has a bad reputation for just offloading cart loads of suitcases if it suited them.
Thursday July 2 and Friday July 3. Seychelles - Spain
An early morning start at 5:30 am from the hotel and a 07.45 flight to Dubai with Emirates. This was only half full and we had lots of room to ourselves. The food was edible though not wondrous. Breakfast is always my least favourite meal on a plane. It was just a five hour flight to Dubai and the time passed quickly. Once in Dubai. we were transported to an Emirates hotel room for the afternoon and night. It was 38°C, so was too hot to walk anywhere. At 5 pm I had a swim. At around 18.30 we explored a couple of bars, bought happy hour drinks and ended up in one decorated for the World Cup, complete with six televisions showing World Cup matches on them.
We them went into one of their restaurants and had their buffet (free from Emirates) which wasn’t too bad at all and I had a decent a cup of coffee there to finish the meal. Then an early night for a 5 am wake up the next morning. That’s 5.30 a.m. bus from the hotel to the airport, 7:45 am takeoff to Madrid. This time the plane was very large and full, but we still found that we were not too squeezed in. The fact that it was a daylight made it more endurable. Seven hours later we were in Madrid and here there was a two hour time difference. It was a long long long wait until our flight Valencia at 23.00, which had been forced on us due to the many changes of flights that Trumps War had produced. We were home in the early hours of the morning around 02.00 am, a 47 hour journey, but still worth it in order to to have visited all these new islands.