Iles Des Palms

In a nature trail around the rainforest surrounding the beach resort, Iles Des Palms in Praslin we heard of an ancient treasure that was hidden somewhere around the island by notorious pirate, La Buse. I almost tripped on the serpentine vines as the trail took us down the forested path where we saw a hollow carved in the rocks, believed to have been the pirate’s hideout centuries ago. There were trees everywhere―cinnamon, bread fruit, jack fruit, mango and a medley of palms and coconuts in this plantation spread over 180 acres.
But this was where I had the first glimpse of the Seychelles giant tortoise, the oldest in this group , which was said to be over 60 years old. These are endemic and the giants can weigh up to 300 kgs. Everything in Seychelles looked huge―including the large brown snail curled below my feet. I was taken in by the green gecko that stood out in the trunk of the tree. And then I heard some cackling and the Seychelles Bulbul made its appearance. But the bird of the day was the Seychelles Blue Pigeon, perched up on the tree looking down at us curiously why we were focussing our lenses on it.