World Traveller November 2019

Lemuria, earns the right to brand
itself as an exclusive luxury resort.
Not only providing unparalleled levels
of service (thanks to the staff to
guest ratio), the resort is also home
to nesting hawksbill turtles and a
host of five-star dining experiences.
Pulling up to the hotel’s entrance,
most of the passengers in my car
were charmed by the pretty view of
Lemuria’s 18-hole golf course – its
fairways sparkling with dew. But
to my golf-ignorant self, there was
something far more interesting to
the right. Just before the gates of
the hotel, standing in solitude, was
a solemn grey-hued bungalow.
Its cracked walls and missing
windows giving it an eerie feel, as
if it was abandoned either halfway
through a remodel or demolition.
While pondering the reason it
stood neglected, I met the eye of a
disembodied dolls head pierced by
a stick. One of its eyes was sharply
open and seemingly glaring at mine,
while the other seemed to droop
shut in disdain. Before I could react,
the voodoo-esque doll was out
of sight, as we zoomed through
the gates and were hurtled up the
winding paths to reach the lobby.
Large pillar candles lined the path
to the grand, mahogany doors,
which remained firmly shut until the
staff shuffled into position. With
the loud striking of a gong, the
heavy doors were swung open as
the smiley team chorused in unison,
“welcome to paradise”. And as
twee as it may sound, there was no
denying that the vista ahead was
nothing short of archetypal utopia.
The indoor-outdoor lobby,
surrounded by dense foliage,
had kestrels flying overhead and
peacocks roaming on nearby
rocks. It overlooked the swimming
pool, before the view seductively
unfolded down to the white sand
beach and ocean beyond.
“According to folklore, the island of
Lemuria was where people and nature
lived in perfect harmony before it sank
to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. In
keeping with the legend, we create a
balance between nature and humans
at the resort,” the friendly host,
‘
THE DARK
GREEN FOLIAGE
SURROUNDING
THE COVE
SWAYED
RHYMICALLY IN
THE BREEZE
’
Alyona, explained as she showed me
to my room. Attesting this, Constance
Lemuria was the first resort in the
Seychelles to receive a Green Globe
award and continues to be one of the
leaders for environmental practice
among the neighbouring resorts and
the local community. A welcome
sight for my ‘save the planet’ attuned
eyes, the hotel's green initiatives
meant reusable glass bottles of water
replaced their plastic equivalents in my
suite. Helping myself to a thoughtfully
placed, handcrafted dark chocolate,
my stomach began to rumble.
Lemuria’s creole influenced
restaurant, The Nest, produced
creatively displayed yet hefty
portioned and richly flavoursome
dishes. The first course appeared to
be an elegantly constructed melon
salad. However, a few bites in and
I was pleasantly surprised by the
white fruit’s uncharacteristically
moreish, carbohydrate-rich taste. It
turned out that the incognito fruit
was, in fact, breadfruit. Breadfruit
trees (suitably named after the fruit’s
starchy consistency) were brought
to the Seychelles along with a host
of goods and folklore from around
the globe by the archipelago’s first
settlers. And much like my appetite
for the lore, I couldn't help but dig
into a second serving of the fruit.
Another fine moment for my taste
buds came a couple of days later while
sunning myself on a beach in Mahé.
With an expert whack of a knife, the
coconut stall man handed me a green
nut from which the nectar was now
mine to slurp. Sipping away merrily, I
watched local children play football
to a soundtrack of hip-hop classics
being pumped out from a Bluetooth
speaker. A stark contrast from the
quiet beaches of Praslin, Mahé’s
beaches were, much to my enjoyment,
abuzz with life. Quite rightly so, all
the beaches in the Seychelles are
open to the public, so here on the
main island it is commonplace to be
milling among the locals even inside
the confines of your five-star resort.
This resort, named Ephelia, another
of Constance’s hotels, spans over
120-hectares of land and caters mainly
to families (or couples who easily
bore of one another) with a solid line
up of activities. Opting for a spot of
snorkelling one afternoon, I headed
to the beach, passing the vibrant
red hibiscus trees that lined the path
in an orderly fashion. By this point,
feeling suitably settled into the island
spirit, I picked a fresh flower from the
ground and placed it behind my ear.
“Do you know what that means?”,
the watersports shack assistant asked
me, pointing to the flower in my hair.
“Err…” I mustered while wracking
my mind for hibiscus trivia.
“No,” I concluded.
“It means you’re open to meeting
someone special,” he laughed. And
while this was not on my atoll agenda,
not one for abiding to convention, I
decided to leave the flower in my hair
as I waddled into the ocean, flippers
on feet, snorkel in hand. As I swam
beside the entire cast of Finding
Nemo, apart from Nemo (aptly) the
hibiscus flower floated into the ocean
along with the last of the Seychelles
folklore I had time to uncover.
When my five nights on the Creole
isles drew to a close, I had gotten
more than I bargained for, with an
awakened lust for island living that
made returning to the city seem near
impossible. The Seychelles is not only
profoundly beautiful, but vivaciously
full of life and grit. And if you’re
mystically minded, the island’s deeprooted
legends are the gifts that keep
on giving. Days later as I sit dreaming
up ways to return to the Seychelles, I
wonder if perhaps there’s something
in that breadfruit legend after all.
Inspired to travel? To book a trip, call
800 DNATA or visit dnatatravel.com
58 worldtravellermagazine.com