Letter to the Editor-Seychellois friendliness made holiday most enjoyable |05 May 2009

I found an intruder on my yacht at Anse Lazio and, after bringing him ashore, he managed to escape. He had not stolen anything but had boarded the boat and was “inspecting” our wallets! Unfortunately we did not hold him securely enough and he escaped.

The police from Baie Ste Anne were extremely diligent in trying to identify this individual and phoned me on the day of my departure to say they had arrested and detained the person, who confessed to the crime. The interest and action they took was impressive.

My elderly mother was walking towards a hotel in Beau Vallon with a bandaged leg when a car stopped and offered her a lift. She and my father befriended the driver and the graciousness shown by him – he is an employee of the state in the Ministry of Finance – will be remembered.

The driver dropped them at a recommended restaurant and went as far as to order a bottle of wine as it was my father’s birthday.

These particular occurrences made my tourist visit remarkable. I must comment that the cleanliness of the islands remains an absolute joy. I found it noticeable that there is a more outgoing and friendly attitude from all people we met.

After six visits this was certainly the most memorable and enjoyable – mostly because of the interactions with local people, something which seemed to be lacking in the past.
The plans for a repeat trip are already being laid!

Peter Muller