Location: Baie Beau Vallon, Seychelles
A 4:30 AM wake-up snuck up on the half of the Vela crew that went surfing this morning. I, along with twelve others, hopped in Tia and Angkahn for a sunrise dinghy ride to shore, where taxis drove us to an epic beach on the south side of the island. We were greeted by three instructors and plenty of boards to play around on through the morning. By the end, nearly everyone had caught at least one wave, and all of us were exhausted. Finley and I took a break onshore, building Vela in the sand while Trey, Elle, Max, and a few others pushed through the tiredness to use every set they could.
Around 10:30, we walked across the street for milkshakes and sodas (which to us may as well have been gold). The owner of the restaurant treated us to stories of her life, Seychellian history, and ice for everyone’s water bottles. We got in the taxi to Baie Beau, where, if the excitement of being in a car wasn’t enough, we saw gorgeous views of the Seychelles from its best spots.
Meanwhile, on the boat, the rest of the team got ready for a day of diving and swimming. Jess, Shona, Martin, Dylan, Angie, and Tom motored the boat from Port Victoria to Baie Beau. Later that day, Angie and Myra both completed their open water diving certifications while others began their advanced.
On land, we split up to explore restaurants, grocery stores, and the coastline. Trey finally got his frisbee, Danar bought more snacks than she could carry, and Sierra and Val got (well-earned) massages. I am happy to say I’m close to achieving my main goal for the trip — having enough chocolate bars so that from here on out, I can eat one Every. Single. Day.
Jess shuttled us back to Vela for showers, dinner, and sleep. At the squeeze, we shared what we thought the Crayola crayon-type name we thought the person to our left would have, what type of geographic feature we would want to be, and, as always, our appreciation. Emily, named “sunshine salt,” said she would be the entire ocean, while “Funky French Fry,” Finley said he’d be Shrek’s swamp. Other highlights include Henry the receding Icelandic glacier or “Revelstoke” Max.
Now, we’re prepping to watch Maiden all together in the salon. Today’s dive group gets ready for a day on shore and early wake-up tomorrow, and we get ready to keep working on dive certifications from the boat.
– Sam W.
Photo;
1. Vela from the beach
2. Swim time
3. Val and Danar
4. Max
5. trey
6. Val