Other Tidbits of Seychelles Information...
August 8, 2006

  • The country consists of about 115 islands.

  • The total population of Seychelles is 84,000. About 85% of these people live on Mahe (the largest island).

  • Victoria (population: 24,000) is the Seychelles capital.

  • The national airline is Air Seychelles.

  • The French got formal possession of Seychelles in 1756. Before that, it was unclaimed but possibly used as a secret refuge
    for pirates.

  • Seychelles was passed from the French to the British under the Treaty of Paris (along with Mauritius).

  • The United Kingdom ruled Seychelles from 1814 until 1976. It became independent on June 29, 1976.

  • In 1977, the coup took over and Seychelles became a one-party state – The Seychelles People’s Progressive Front
    (SPPF).

  • Socialist rule was brought to an end in 1993 with a new constitution and free elections (though when speaking to a local,
    he said that it is only over in theory). Elections were just held last weekend and the SPPF was re-elected. The president
    is currently in Praslin and there are big celebration festivities going on. Tomorrow they will be taking place in Mahe.
    Everybody (at least everybody in the SPPF party) is wearing red and is waving flags outside of their cars as they drive
    by in honor of this.

  • The coco-de-mer (a double coconut) can weigh as much as 50 pounds and is only found in Seychelles.

  • Most people speak Creole (a dialect of French). Creole is a phonetic language (for example: ‘please’ in French is ‘s’il vous
    plait’ and in Creole it is ‘sivouple’). The country’s official languages are Creole, English and French.

  • It is almost impossible to give a description of what a ‘typical Seychellois’ looks like. Their ancestors include British and
    French seamen, freed African slaves, and Indian and Chinese merchants.

  • Seychelles lies four degrees south of the equator.

  • The Seychellois have a very unrushed way of life. They are very warm people.

  • The islands here are either granite islands or coral islands.

  • The Vallee de Mai forest is home not only to the coco-de-mer nut but also one of the world’s rarest bird – the black
    parrot.

  • The traditional way of transport on La Digue is the oxcart.

  • The granite formations have been shaped by sea and wind over the time span of millions of years.

  • When paying entrance fees or ferry rides, they only accept euros and U.S. dollars from foreigners. Even though the
    Seychelles rupee is their form of currency, they will not accept this from non-residents.

  • Things here are expensive. I have found only two reasonable things: bus fare and bread products.
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