An Adventure in the Seychelles – A Paradise of Eternal Summer

Autumn has been enjoyed, and before the beautiful Latvian winter sets in, it's time to explore the World. This time, we've chosen to go to the islands of eternal summer, or Paradise Islands, as many world travelers call them! We'll try to find out if that's really the case over the next two weeks.

We had planned to fly to these islands a while ago, but it kept getting postponed until we finally set a specific date, and now that day has arrived – we've landed in the Seychelles.

This time, there are four of us traveling: Evita Eidina, myself, and my friends Larijs Roze and his wife, Agnese Roze.

Thanks must go to the Seychelles Tourism Department, which helped us plan this entire trip and will show us the most beautiful and interesting places on these islands.

This is the second time I've flown across the Equator, and this time I'm better prepared. I've even brought gifts from Latvia. There are several gifts from the company Puratos, Pūre jams, because even though they have various exotic fruits here on the islands, they certainly won't have tried cloudberry jam.

And the second isn't really a gift, but a way we want to build a great friendship between schools and children. The 3rd-grade students of Dobele Primary School have written 58 letters to children studying at a school in Seychelles, and I am determined to bring these letters, deliver them to the teachers and their students, and with great hope that I will be able to take just as many letters back to Latvia from these students. Who knows, maybe our efforts aren't in vain, and these schools will start befriending each other.

We chose Turkish Airlines for our flight to the Seychelles because their offer was the cheapest, 740 Eur round trip. Knowing their quality, there was no need to think twice, and the tickets were bought.

The flight lasted 3 hours to Istanbul, 3 hours at the airport, and 8 hours to the islands. Since the flight from Istanbul was an overnight one, departing at 2 AM, I managed to sleep soundly for 6 hours and arrived in the Seychelles quite refreshed and energetic. We stood in lines for a bit, where all documents are checked – yes, there are many here. Beforehand, a special entry permit must be arranged, which costs 10 Eur, and you must have reserved hotels for all your days. The entry permit can also be arranged at the airport, but it will take a very long time and will cost 70 Eur there.

Having passed all controls and collected our bags, we went to look for our guide. As soon as we stepped out of the border control doors, we were greeted by a dark-skinned woman who spoke perfect English. She helped us arrange a SIM card and showed us where to best exchange money. A SIM card for 21 days with 10 GB of internet costs 42 Eur, but if you pay for it when arranging your entry permit, it costs 35 Eur and includes 15 GB of internet.

Internet purchased, money exchanged, we head to our car, a minivan, which will take us to the hotel. This time, our hotel is called Savoy Resort Hotel & Spa. The hotel is located on the beachfront, with a large garden, and walking through it feels like being in a botanical garden. But even driving from the airport to the hotel, it felt like we were driving through a botanical garden, with mangoes, bananas, various palms, various fruits whose names we don't know, and dumpling trees growing by the roadside – that's what we called them, at least, because the fruits on these trees resemble dumplings.

Our first day is a rest day, and the Tourism Department is allowing us to catch our breath after the long flight. But tomorrow, at 8:30, our new adventures begin on the largest of the islands, Mahe.

Today, we went for a walk along the sea, tasted various fruits, drank coconut water, which cost 3 Eur, tried some local street food, and, interrupted by rain, headed to the pool for a swim, then explored the hotel's Spa center. After a little rest, we managed to go to the sea for sunset, but as there were still many clouds on the horizon and the sun's rays struggled to break through them, our attention was more drawn to the large bats – they are truly huge here, and yes, we promise not to eat them here, so it doesn't end up like that Chinese guy!

Dinner was dinner, tonight an Arabic evening and in the buffet restaurant all the dishes were full of Arabic food and you already know how such dinners end! With the words, why did I have to eat so much!

Good night to you, good night to us, and see you tomorrow evening, when I'll tell you how our first day of the excursion went!

And if you also want to go to the Seychelles, look up the travel agency Woops, they will definitely have an interesting offer! Travel Agency WOOPS

Our choice for the flight was Turkish Airlines and the tickets cost 740 EUR, round trip. Turkish Airlines

Second day in the Seychelles.

This morning we woke up at 6:00 AM, which is 4:00 AM Latvian time, and I can't say I wasn't sleepy, especially considering we hadn't really slept the previous night due to the overnight flight.

I get up, go to open the curtains, expecting it to be pitch dark outside, but it's already bright, and the sun rises here before six.

Having packed and organized all the belongings we'll need for today's excursions, and after waiting until seven, we head for breakfast. There's a wide selection for breakfast, but what's definitely worth highlighting are the freshly squeezed orange and watermelon juices and the fruits. My favorite is papaya, and this morning it's perfectly ripe, each bite melting in your mouth. I can't wait for dinner to have more papaya.

Our guide picks us up at 8:30, and after getting into the minivan, we head towards the capital of Seychelles. Victoria is considered the smallest capital city in the world and can be walked around in 2 hours.

Today, the weather is warmer, the sun is shining, and it's noticeably more humid than yesterday. It's useless to tell you that driving to the city center, we once again feel like we're in a botanical garden, and it will be like this all the time, we just have to get used to it. After 15 minutes, we are in the city parking lot and go to see the Indian temple, where a worship service is taking place. After the temple, we go to the market and get stuck there for at least an hour, because everything is new to us, and we want to learn and see so much. Having seen fish and fruits, bought spices, we are ready to move on and walk through the city streets. We buy two types of lychee lemonades, hoping that one will be similar to those in Thailand, because in Thailand lychee lemonades were our favorite drink. One was sweeter, the other not so sweet, but the lychee flavor is very pronounced. By comparison, if such a lemonade cost 20 cents in Thailand, here it's 1.5 Eur.

At the next kiosk, Evita buys a dress with butterflies for only 15 EUR.

After exploring the city, we drive up a hill to a viewpoint that offers a magnificent view of the entire city and Eden Island, where wealthy people live and which is artificially created. But it turns out, in half an hour we have lunch planned on this island, at the Bravo restaurant.

Having reached the island, we take a short detour, admire the impressive yachts, buy souvenirs – turtle-shaped and large coconut-shaped soaps – and head for lunch. On the way, we learn that in 3 days we will be staying here for one night in a hotel right on the seafront, with a view of the large yachts.

Bravo restaurant is located on the beachfront, and we sit on the terrace next to large catamarans. Our guide recommends various dishes, but we prefer something traditional or popular with locals. I'm drawn to a picture in the middle of the menu: tiger prawns on a skewer, hanging from a specially designed stand. Evita Eidina chose tuna in a local marinade, Larijs Roze chose medium-rare tuna, and Agnese opted for mango and smoked fish salad. It's hard to describe how delicious everything was, but my top 3 dishes are, first place Evita's tuna, second place Larijs's tuna, and third place my tiger prawns. As Evita said about her tuna, it was the best tuna she had ever eaten in her life. This was a surprise to me too, and indeed, I had never tasted anything like it before. For dessert, we were served ice cream with sweet potatoes, cooked with coconut milk, which tasted as if the sweet potatoes had been soaked in hot condensed milk.

Well fed, we head south of the island and after just 15 minutes, we start driving along the very seashore. Everywhere there are white sands, light blue water, it looks very clean and we just want to get out of the minivan and go for a swim. We ask the guide if she can drop us off, we want to film and photograph this beauty, but she says that this is nothing beautiful, all the beautiful things await us in the coming days. We look at each other and the question arises: what awaits us in these days, if this beach isn't even worth stopping at.

A few minutes later, we arrived at the local rum distillery, Takamaka, which in recent years has become not only the most popular rum in the Seychelles but also gained worldwide popularity. It turns out that this rum can also be purchased in Latvia, in several stores. We are greeted by Arita, who works in this family business, and she undertakes to tell us all about this rum and, in the end, to let us taste it all. Our guide, MJay, has arranged for part of the tour to be led and his story told by the owner and creator of the idea himself, one of the brothers, Bernard.

We had the great honor of not only meeting the owner, but also having a great interview, and you will see all of this in the series about the Seychelles, on REtv and our YouTube channel, Gold Barbell.

We learned everything about rum production, its different types, its beginnings, the genesis of the idea, the pace of development, and at the end, we tasted many different rums, received gifts, walked through their garden, which again seemed like a botanical garden to us, saw two large tortoises named Taka and Maka, and spent at least two wonderful hours.

Returning to the hotel, we still made it for the sunset, swam in the Indian Ocean, swam in the pool, and then it was time for dinner.

Tonight we are going to the restaurant and ordering a seafood platter: tiger prawns, fish, lobster, squid, and mussels. The chef allows us to film the entire cooking process, gives me a chef's hat, and even lets me film in his kitchen. Everything is delicious and just enough so that we go to bed tonight without overeating. Happy with our not-too-full bellies, walking back to the hotel, we decide to pop into the buffet restaurant, just to see what was delicious for dinner tonight – well, I won't say anything more here, you already understand everything yourselves.

But tomorrow we fly further, with whom and where we don't know yet, but that's the most interesting part of our adventure.

 Is it truly Paradise?

The third day of the Seychelles adventure begins with breakfast, where the main dish is papaya. If you asked me what the Seychelles tastes like, I would say papaya; that fruit has grown on me even more.

With all our bags packed, at 8:30 AM we are already downstairs to check out of the hotel and wait for our minivan to take us to the airport. The minivan arrives, our bags are stowed in the luggage compartment, and we set off. Only this time, we are taken through the North of the island, and the minivan driver is ready to show us the most beautiful spots, and after less than 15 minutes, we see them. The minivan stops at the side of the road, we jump out and photograph this beauty. White sands, palm trees, and the large, characteristic rocks of the Seychelles – it feels like we've seen a wonder of the world. Even though we've seen hundreds of photos and many videos before coming here, seeing it in person is something completely different. I find a path and run down to the beach, and stepping onto the white sands, my feathers are ruffled, and I'm so surprised, both by the beauty and by my own emotions, that I allow myself to shout as loud as my vocal cords can manage. It really is Woooow. Crabs, both large and small, come out from between the rocks to greet me, then disappear back into their holes. The water laps between the rocks, and Evita and I take photos on our first Paradise beach. But we are convinced this isn't all, because today we have to fly to a small island called Platte.

In less than an hour after leaving the hotel, we arrived at the airport, at the gate for local flights. Since the plane was delayed by more than 1.5 hours, local staff approached us and invited us to go to the second floor to relax in the Lounge area. We didn't miss this opportunity and, of course, agreed. In the Lounge, we were greeted with coffee, water, and air conditioning, and after a while, we learned that everyone is allowed one bag, and it must not exceed 23 kilograms. So we rearranged our bags and packed all the items we would need for 2 days, but after an hour, we were called downstairs to check in for the flight, and 40 minutes later, we were sitting in a small plane with two rows, and only 1 person could sit in each row. The total seating capacity was no more than 20.

Soon we are in the air, and after 20 minutes, we see a very small island with a runway in the middle. It turns out this is our island, Platte, and the hotel where we will be staying for 2 nights covers the entire island. The hotel's name is Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island. The plane lands on the island's runway, turns around, and pulls up to the hotel's very doors, where smiling hotel staff greet us. Upon disembarking, we are welcomed with cold tea and cold, damp towels to wash our hands and place on our necks, thus regaining our vigor after the flight. We are greeted by a girl from Ukraine and a man from Estonia. We are escorted to reception, where they show us the main building, which houses breakfast and the main pool. Afterwards, we are seated in electric golf carts and taken to our respective villas.

We are fantastically surprised and can't even believe that all this is happening to us, and that all this is real!

This is paradise on earth, and every spot we see here is worthy of a postcard or a magazine cover.

I knew such a place existed in the world, and I have finally found it; nothing like this has ever been experienced or seen before.

To get to the villa, you have to drive on a road that looks like it's in a jungle, green all around, but at the same time very well maintained. We drive and wonder what this villa will be like, how far we have to drive, what it looks like at the villa, and how far is the sea? But after driving for one minute, we turn into a small path and see the house with number 3. From the outside, it's a normal, ordinary house, with two bicycles standing by the house, which we can use throughout our stay, and each has a small number with our names on the back, because all guests use these white bicycles and to avoid confusing them, for example, when going to breakfast or to the sea, these numbers are attached. The girl who brought us to the villa invites us in, and we are surprised by what we see: a large antechamber and living room, with a huge TV and panoramic windows overlooking the sea and the area with a pool. In the living room, there are two cabinets; one has a bar with a refrigerator, the other a coffee machine with various coffees and teas. In the antechamber, on a hanger, there are two hats, which are gifts from the hotel, as they take care of their guests so they don't overheat their heads in the hot sun. On the table, there is a large suitcase, reminiscent of an old-fashioned trunk, but it looks quite fresh; at first, I thought someone had forgotten it, but it turns out it was placed there specifically. I didn't get to ask about the suitcase; they lead us further and show us the large bedroom and tell us about the smart electronics, how to turn things on and off and feel comfortable. Immediately behind the large bed is a niche or corridor with a large built-in wardrobe where all our clothes can be stored, and our suitcases are already placed there. We go further and there is a huge bathroom, with a bathtub in the middle and sinks on both sides, but the toilet and shower are in separate rooms, as well as an additional door leading to an outdoor shower, which can be used when returning from the sea or after the pool. In the living room, bedroom, and bathroom, there are huge display-like windows, facing the sea and the courtyard. Opening the glass doors in the bedroom, we enter a terrace with swings, 4 chairs with a table, a round bed, a pool, and sun loungers, but after 10 meters, there are palm trees, sea sand, and the ocean. Since the hotel is not even a year old, everything is very fresh, clean, surprisingly modern, and chic. We have never lived in such a villa before, and this is incredible; I want someone to pinch me; perhaps I fell asleep flying to this island, and all this is a dream.

After exploring the area, we return to the room, and the girl has opened the suitcase that had been bothering me all this time. It turns out there are various items and drinks to make 2 cocktails; she makes something sour for Evita and something sweeter for me, puts all her tools back in her bag, and says goodbye to us. We walk around for a long time, unable to believe that this villa is ours for 2 nights, and both sigh loudly at the same time, realizing at this moment that these two days will fly by unnoticed and soon we will have to leave this magical place.

In 20 minutes, we have arranged to meet the hotel manager at the reception, so we stop marveling, call Larry and Agnes, and cycle to the scheduled meeting. On the way, we ask Larry how he likes the villa, and he gives a very short answer: "It's insane!"

We meet the manager, discuss our activities and filming plans, and after 20 minutes, we head to the Spa center, which is located on the other side of the island. To get there, we have to drive across the airfield, an experience none of us have had before. But fast forward in time, we will not only drive across the airfield several times; we will even ride back and forth, film, and take pictures on it.

At the Spa center, they tell us about all the possibilities and what can be done here, from hairdressers to saunas, hot stones, waterbeds, and Hammam. We film all of this in between. All Spa buildings are designed to look like the large coconuts that only grow in the Seychelles when viewed from above. We will definitely tell you more about these coconuts.

After the Spa, we change and head to the pier, located near the main building, where Evita has a training session scheduled with the hotel manager. They will both exercise, do yoga and Pilates, enjoying the sunset at the same time, while we will support them from the sidelines and take great pictures.

Needless to say, the heat is intense, the humidity is also high, and there isn't a moment when I'm not sweating. Every day I lose 1 kg, despite eating well and drinking plenty of water.

After training, we have dinner at a restaurant where 6 dishes are served, each more delicious than the last. The chef explains that they grow many fruits and vegetables themselves, and we arrange for them to show us the garden the next day.

After dinner, we each head to our villas, swim in the pool, and go to bed, because we have to wake up at 5:00 in the morning to go to the other side of the island to watch and film the sunrise.

I will tell you about the adventures of the second day, a brief history of the island, and the hotel itself tomorrow!

You will surely wonder how we got there and how much it cost.

Many thanks for this opportunity to be on this island and enjoy all the hotel's amenities must go to the Seychelles Tourism Department, who arranged this two-day adventure for us in exchange for our filmed video material. This hotel is not among the cheapest, and, of course, coming here for a holiday would be beyond our means, but perhaps many Latvian tourists who enjoy maximum comfort will take this opportunity and come, for example, for their honeymoon.

Private planes fly here from Mahe island, and a ticket costs 700 EUR, round trip. The flight duration is 20 minutes. Staying in this hotel, in villas, costs from 1200 EUR per night up to 10000 EUR per night, but dinner is 200 EUR per person.

We have filmed excellent material, we have filmed interviews, and we have seen a lot of this island, so this will be a great film that you can see on our YouTube channel, Gold Barbell. Therefore, to not miss the film about one of the most exclusive hotels in the World, subscribe and wait for this video. A small part will also be included in the general series about the Seychelles, which can be seen on REtv.

One of the World's most exclusive hotels on Paradise Island.

Until now, I had only seen something like this in movies!

This article was lost, so I am reposting it.

The island has no mountains, and its name, Platta, comes from the French "La Platte," meaning flat. The island is located 130 km from the main Seychelles island, Mahe, and is 1 km long and 450 meters at its widest point. Once, there were coconut plantations on this island, and coconut oil was extracted here, but then it was abandoned, and in 2020, construction began on the island, with the resort itself opening on December 31, 2023. The island is protected from large waves by reefs; the large waves break far from the shore, so the waves do not reach the island, and the water all around is calm. As is typical in the Indian Ocean, you can experience impressive tides here, and even at our villa, in the morning, the water reaches the palm trunks, but by the afternoon, it has receded so far that you can walk 100 meters into the sea.

Our second morning on this Paradise Island starts early; we wake up at 5:00 AM, I open the curtains, and it's already a little light outside. The sun rises around 5:45 AM, so by 5:20 AM, we are already on our bicycles and heading to the East coast of the island to find a beautiful spot to film the sunrise and enjoy this magical island at the moment when the sun illuminates us and says good morning. We cross the airfield, turn right at the roundabout, and park our bicycles by the third villa. We walk along the path around the villa, go through the villa's territory, and are on the beach, with white sand, palm trees, and seashells that move continuously and very quickly. It turns out that small crabs, without their own homes, have found empty seashells and comfortably settled in them, carrying these seashells along and pretending to be snails. There are so many of these crabs here that it's teeming, but every now and then, larger red crabs also appear on tree trunks, and gray crabs crawl out of their burrows and rush about their daily business, moving quickly sideways. As the locals say, you have to watch your flip-flops, which we leave on the beach when we go swimming, because these crabs like to borrow them. If at first we photographed every crab and were surprised by their diversity, by the evening of the second day, the crabs no longer held any interest for us, because even when cycling, they run across the road, right in front of the wheels, perhaps that's how they get their daily dose of adrenaline.

Having set up the camera and turned on Time-lapse mode, we can walk around the beach and take pictures, both of beautiful places and crabs, and there's no shortage of either here on the island.

After spending an hour on the beach, waiting for the sun to be in the sky, we head back to the villa for a swim in the pool, and by 7:00 AM, we are off to breakfast.

Breakfast here is à la carte, not a buffet, so we sit by the pool and order various dishes; we even manage to order things not on the menu, like an omelet and my favorite papaya. We are the only ones having breakfast; other guests are here to relax and use the morning for sleep, a walk, fishing from a boat, or some physical activity; the gym and tennis courts here are open 24/7.

After breakfast, we have a little time to change, set up all the cameras, and by 9:00 AM, we have our first training session, which this time is a game of Padel. I had never played anything like it before, but it's similar to tennis, only the court is smaller and the rackets are different, but the balls are the same as in tennis. We will play with Mark, a guy from Estonia, who is the second-highest boss here after the director.

Mark is already there at 9:00, explains the rules, and soon we try our first steps in the new sport. Even though it's only 9:00 AM, it's sunny, hot, and humid outside. I turn on the tennis sport mode on my watch and monitor my pulse; it fluctuates from 130 to 160, but the sensation is pleasant, only I feel that the sun is burning my bare arms and my face is not only sweaty and wet but also starting to sting. Everyone tries the game, Evita Eidina, Larry, and Agnes. Some did better, some not so much, but everyone agreed that this is something interesting and they would gladly play it again. After an hour of sports and a good sweat, I squeeze at least half a liter of liquid from my shirt. We say goodbye to Mark until the evening, go to wash, change, and by 11:00 AM, we have an interview scheduled with a girl from Ukraine who has been working here since the hotel opened.

This and other interviews, you will see in our big film about this fantastic place, on our YouTube channel Gold Barbell.

After filming the interview, we get on our bikes and once again head east of the island, to the restaurant where we had dinner last night. Here we meet the chef, who shows us around and tells us about his garden, about the plants, vegetables, and other products they grow for their restaurant's needs. While filming this garden interview, it's so hot that we have to go into the restaurant every now and then, catch our breath under the air conditioning, with a cold and wet towel on our necks.

The entire hotel strives to operate on very green and biologically efficient principles. Seaweed is collected and later used to improve the soil in the garden; approximately 85% of the necessary electricity is obtained from solar power; all drinking water is taken from the ocean and processed. Almost all raw materials are environmentally friendly, and the buildings are no taller than the palm trees.

After seeing what grows in the garden, we also get lunch. The starter consists of various pickled vegetables, including a hot pepper, which makes Larry Roze and me cough, cry, drink water, and cry again. The main course is a salad of various leaves and vegetables with chicken or tiger prawns, and for dessert, a fantastically delicious passion fruit ice cream with coconut sauce.

After lunch, we have an hour for rest and recharging. We jump into the pool, but it's hard to cool down; the water is warm, and all surfaces in the sun are so hot that it's difficult to walk barefoot. We lie down in bed, in the room, because at least there's air conditioning there, and we catch our breath.

Our afternoon activities include a kayak trip and snorkeling. At the agreed time, we are at the beach, parking our bikes directly under a Java apple tree. I remember we had these on a fruit platter on the first day, so we pick an apple, taste it, and it turns out to be quite delicious. After eating Java apples, we are ready to head into the ocean. We grab our kayaks and pull them into the water, and as soon as I take my first step, I yell and jump back onto the shore; the water feels hot. Have you ever experienced hot water in the sea or ocean? And I'm not exaggerating; the water is truly warmer than anything I've ever experienced. Mark said that this year, in February, the ocean temperature around the island reached +36 degrees Celsius for a few days.

Since this island is a popular place for turtles to come ashore and lay eggs, we are very eager to see them and paddle our kayaks close to the shore, hoping to spot turtle tracks. We are not experts at paddling, as they say, we do it however we can, and after the first few minutes, we are wet, the kayak is half full of water, and because this water is warm, it feels like we are sitting in a warm bath and paddling.

After a few hundred meters, we get out on the shore and see tracks, but we are a little late; the turtle has already gone back to the sea. We walk along the western coast of the island, don't see any turtles, get back into our kayaks, head back to the boat pier, get on our bikes, and ride to the south of the island—time to snorkel.

You have to ride your bikes onto the airplane runway and head south. On both sides, there are palm trees and everything is green, similar to a jungle; these sights bring to mind scenes from movies where drug traffickers land with small planes, exchanging drugs for money.

Having reached the beach, we meet a couple who have just finished snorkeling and are delighted with what they saw, near the cliffs not far from the shore. We have put on our fins, masks on our heads, GoPro on our arms, determined to open the Seychelles snorkeling season, but then the hotel manager arrives and advises us to reschedule this activity for tomorrow morning, because due to the hot ocean water, it is murky and it will be difficult to see anything. Of course, we listen to her and go to the main reception building, where there are also pools, the breakfast restaurant, a library, and a cafeteria, with excellent, freshly roasted coffee and home-grown teas. We drink cold teas and cold coffees, we are ready to continue our work, and next up is Mark's interview. We decide to film this while driving an electric buggy. We drive along the road that also leads to our villas and stop at the very end, at the last villa. Mark wants to show us a two-bedroom villa, which is 370m2 large, and on this island, there is also a five-bedroom villa, which is 1200m2 large. All villas are in the same style and design, only the sizes differ, both for the buildings themselves and for the territory.

After seeing the villa and chatting with Mark, we head to a new restaurant for us to enjoy dinner. The main dishes in this restaurant are African-style, but before we start tasting the exquisite wonders of African cuisine, the waiter from Tanzania introduces us to the local Takamaka rum, which is made exclusively for their customers and can be purchased here for 240 dollars.

For dinner, we are served four different starter dishes, two main courses—roasted pork with bone and fish—and then four desserts, each more delicious than the last.

And so, our day on this paradise island has passed. We've lost 1.5kg, and due to excessive sweating, we've changed 5 T-shirts and 3 pairs of shorts.

Returning from dinner, it's already 10:00 PM local time, or 8:00 PM Latvian time. We need to write a summary of our day and go to bed, because tomorrow, at 6:30 AM, we are scheduled to go snorkeling.

We wake up at 6:00 AM, go to the ocean, but the water is almost washing against our fence; where we took pictures and sat on a palm tree yesterday, everything is now underwater. So, high tide has reached its maximum, and low tide should start soon. We put on our fins, get on our bicycles, and ride to South Beach to snorkel. The sun has risen, but clouds have partially covered it, so the water is not as transparent as we would like. Once all the equipment is on, we wade into the ocean, try out our masks, and try to remember what it's like to breathe underwater with a tube. Our goal is to see as many fish as possible, and if we're lucky, maybe even a turtle or a ray. We slowly swim in the direction that those who had snorkeled here yesterday showed us. As we enter the ocean, the shore is always on our right, because we are right on a bend. Since the tide has started to recede, the undercurrents are quite strong and quickly start pulling us into the ocean; no matter how much you resist, you will swim where the ocean wants. This scares us a little, but it's good that we are not yet far from the shore and can stand up. There are also cliffs and rocks here, which are supposedly full of fish, and this is the perfect place to start exploring the ocean's underwater world. We start snorkeling and see various fish, each more colorful than the last, and a group of black fish hide among the rocks, which, upon seeing me, start looking for new rocks to hide under. Some swim so calmly, as if I wasn't there, and I can even touch them. I look up, and there's a whole school of herring-like fish. While we are enjoying the fish, I hear Agnes's voice, "Turtle!" I surface to see where Agnes is, and by the time I go back underwater, we can no longer see the turtle. It's so fast that it's hard to follow; it can swim up to 35 km per hour.

But in the next half hour, we see 6 more turtles, many different fish, and as we exit the ocean, I almost step on a stingray; I even manage to film it, and happy with what we experienced and saw, we are ready to go for breakfast. All our underwater adventures will be visible on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel.

We are the only ones at breakfast again, and the staff promises to feed us properly, because since we have a plane in 3 hours to fly to the main island, Mahe, they cannot let us leave with empty stomachs. Therefore, for breakfast, we have an omelet, pancakes, pizza, a fruit platter, a special papaya platter for me, a banana and coconut smoothie, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a papaya and pineapple smoothie. As Mark later said, the papaya had run out at the restaurant; someone had supposedly run to the garden to get more. Such breakfasts, with freshly squeezed juices, fruits, and smoothies, I could eat every day; it's a great start to the day.

At 10:15 AM, our bags must already be packed, as staff will pick them up, and we ourselves must arrive at reception by 10:45 AM, and our flight to Mahe island is at 11:45 AM.

We give Mark the Pūre jams we brought with us, go with him to see the large tortoises living on the island, say goodbye to all the staff who were with us for these magical days on Paradise Island, and board the plane.

It's a pity this time flew by so quickly, but we have explored, seen, and enjoyed this island. We've filmed and photographed a lot, and we're sure there will be a great movie. Most importantly, we've made some new friends.

As we take off from the island's runway, we see incredible colors around the island due to the low tide, colors that are hard to even imagine. After 20 minutes, we land on Mahe Island, where the same bus driver awaits us and takes us to a hotel on Eden Island. Today is a day of rest for us, and tomorrow we'll continue our adventure, filming great shots for the big Seychelles movie and taking lovely pictures to delight you.

The most emotional day, and we even made it onto local Seychelles TV and into a newspaper.

But more on that later.

We are glad to have a day to rest and catch our breath from the demanding filming schedule. After checking into the hotel, we go to the store to buy something to drink and eat, and we decide to spend the evening on the balcony, eating only what we bought from the store. Our rooms are very spacious with large balconies overlooking yachts. The shower, located in the middle of the room and completely transparent, surprised us the most – all that's missing is a camera, and we could film 18+ movies! During the day, we allowed ourselves to sleep, swim in the pool, and in the evening, we had a picnic on the balcony. We bought bread similar to pizza, chicken broth, various fruits, and various lemonades. But when we opened the bags of chips, perhaps because we're used to our own chip flavors, we rejected theirs.

The next morning we have breakfast, again with my delicious fruits, papayas, and thus the day promises to be successful.

At 9:00 AM, our bus driver picks us up and takes us to the Hilton Canopy hotel, located on the other side of the island and only opened this March. Our task is to film a short video about this hotel, as one of the sponsors for this trip is the Seychelles Tourism Department, and their sponsor, in turn, is Hilton Hotels. Waldorf Astoria on Platte Island is also a Hilton chain hotel.

At this hotel, we film the grounds, rooms, pool area; bartenders prepare various cocktails for us; we also film the Spa center. In the evening, Evita Eidina and I enjoy a bath on the balcony of one of the spa villas, with a view of a small channel where mangrove groves grow.

Once the work is done, we go to dinner and then to bed early, because the next day is a big day for us; we are finally going to the Seychelles school to deliver the letters written by Latvian schoolchildren.

As I prepared to fly to the Seychelles, I spoke with my son, Rodrigo, and told him I was sorry he couldn't come along this time, but asked if he might want to write a letter to a child from the Seychelles, and I would take it to the islands. If all went well, I would bring back a letter from a child his age. Rodrigo was very happy with this idea, and at that moment, I thought I could offer this to Rodrigo's entire 3rd grade class. I called Dobele Primary School, spoke with teacher Inga Ozoliņa, explained the idea, and within 10 minutes, I received confirmation that not only the students from Rodrigo's class, but all three third-grade classes, were ready to write these letters.

Before flying to the Seychelles, I stopped by the school and picked up 58 letters written by children, which I am committed to delivering to the children here.

As soon as the idea for the letters was approved, I contacted the Seychelles

Tourism Department, explained the idea, and said I really wanted to give these letters to the students and also bring back just as many letters to Latvia. The department was also very happy with this idea and promised to arrange everything.

A new day, a new morning, we head for breakfast before 7:00 AM, bags placed at the door, to be picked up by hotel staff. As discussed the previous day, our bus driver is there for us at 7:30 AM, and soon we are on our way to the hotel where we have a masterclass planned: we'll be cooking local dishes with a chef.

Carana Beach Hotel is located in the North of the island, on the oceanfront, on a beautiful beach of the same name, Carana. A few days ago, on our way to the airport, we stopped here and ran down to take pictures by the big rocks. This was the place where our emotions were indescribably heightened; here our first pictures were taken with the characteristic Seychelles rocks, white sands, beaches, and turquoise ocean water.

We are back at this beach, and the hotel manager kindly greets us, offers us a delicious cold tea, and gives us cold, wet towels to wash our hands and place on our overheated heads. The heat and humidity have not been canceled here; they continue to challenge us, and today is particularly humid, with humidity slightly above 70%!

The hotel manager first leads us to the sea, where their bar, restaurant, and pool are located. Walking along, it feels like we are in a botanical garden; there are so many different flowers, ornamental shrubs, banana trees, and other interesting and unseen trees, like one tree whose flowers are used by fishermen – they collect them, throw them into the water where they intend to fish, and then the fish become intoxicated, making them easier to catch.

Having stepped onto the white sands, we cannot stop marveling at the colors of the ocean water; as the sun shines, they change from turquoise blue to turquoise green, and the water is so clear that you can see all the rocks and cliffs underwater from a drone.

After the beach, we go to see the cottages, which are located slightly uphill, and each has an ocean view and a small private pool, as well as a large balcony and a fantastic room. Living in such a villa, one could spend evenings and mornings on the balcony, gazing at the ocean's colors, listening to the sound of waves, and conversing with the large bats that occasionally fly over the green hotel garden. This hotel has received various awards, including for being the most romantic hotel in the Indian Ocean.

After seeing the apartments, we are led to a secret little beach where newly married couples or romantics spend a day together. Evita enjoys this beach so much and takes photos in every direction that she doesn't notice a wave, and it wets her feet and fancy sandals.

It's time to enjoy the cocktail masterclass, and immediately after that, we'll also film the cooking masterclass. The most popular drink on the island is the local Takamaka rum, and this rum is included in many cocktails. This cocktail turned out great, and now it will be our favorite. But what are the ingredients? We'll show that in our film about the Seychelles, on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel.

If the cocktail was ready in a flash, the food took longer to prepare, but it turned out great. We'll show all of this in our series about the Seychelles.

Today, Gretel, an employee from the Tourism Department, is with us, and she starts rushing us a bit because there isn't much time left; we have to be at the school in an hour. We get into the bus and drive towards the city; we need to be at the school exactly at one o'clock. On the way, we still don't understand why such precision; I can just arrive, give the letters to a teacher, and that's it. But, oh boy, was I wrong.

We pull up to the school, still outside the gate, but we see children in red uniforms running around. The driver slowly enters through the gate, parks the car in the lot among many other cars, and we get out. From a distance, we see MJ, the woman who was our guide for the first two days; she is with several other women, carrying bags, one in each hand. With the Latvian children's letters in my hands, I go to greet them. On the way, I meet some other women, greet them – they could be teachers. I approach and greet MJ, and behind her, I see a large hall full of chairs, television cameras in the middle, children running around, and a lot of noise. I ask MJ what kind of celebration is at the school; maybe we've arrived at the wrong time, my letters can wait, but she smiles and replies, "This is all for you; this is a big event for us, and the children are incredibly happy and excited about this opportunity, which is why two television channels, radio, and a newspaper have been invited. The students will gather here, and we will have to speak in front of the whole school and explain how the idea came about, and we will also have to present these letters to each child ourselves." At this moment, I froze, and my first thought was, no, rather a question to myself, "Why did you need all this?" I went outside, explained the entire plan to our team; they were also in shock, but comforting me, they said, "What needs to be done must be done, and everything will surely turn out great."

Since we've come and a promise has been made to the children to deliver these letters to other students, we must do it, and we will film all of it. This adventure will also be seen on our YouTube channel, Gold Barbell.

I meet and greet Lena, the head of the Seychelles Tourism Department, with whom I had corresponded via email until now and who is supporting our collaboration. Slowly, children, both younger and slightly older, start arriving, and very soon the hall is full.

The children start settling at the front of the hall, and the teacher arranges them by height. Very soon, the first children's song begins, with various movements. All the children are so open, move well, and sing well; everyone looks at the teacher and imitates the movements. After two songs, MJ starts speaking first at the microphone and explains who we are and what we are doing here in the Seychelles. She talks about our joint project and mentions that I have brought letters. Then the school principal continues, asking the children if they know where Latvia is, and everyone answers that they don't. The principal highly praises this idea, where children are given the opportunity to correspond with other children from another part of the world, and during his speech, he emphasizes that he very much hopes this idea will live on for many years.

MJ introduces me and Evita, and we step out in front of the large hall, television cameras turned towards us, teachers looking at us with great curiosity, children's mouths even open with interest, and we have to start speaking. But I realize that from nervousness, I've even forgotten my own name, let alone how to explain my idea and a little about Latvia in English. I look at Evita, sigh, and start to speak; honestly, I don't remember what I said, but the children liked it, at least it seemed so to me, and they applauded. After my fragmented speech, we go to the children and distribute the letters. Unfortunately, there weren't enough for all the children; when only 2 letters were left, but there were still many children in the back rows, we asked those children who really wanted letters to raise their hands, and of course, all the children raised their hands. It was such a pity that we couldn't give letters to absolutely all the children, but we promised to make amends. We arranged with the teachers for all their children to write, and we would find someone to give these letters to and would definitely send back even more letters so that all the children could receive one.

Some children volunteered to come to the front of the hall and read their letters, but the girl who received my son, Rodrigo's, letter said it was difficult to read but promised to write a reply.

It turns out the bags brought by the Tourism Department contained treats for the children, and after this event, everyone could eat and drink juice. But now, we gather everyone for a group photo. After the photo session, both television channels invite us for an interview and ask us to explain again how the idea came about and what future we see for this school collaboration.

Satisfied with a job well done, we say goodbye to everyone, take a few more photos with the children on the way, get into the bus, and head to the port, where in an hour we have a ferry to another island called Praslin.

Another Seychelles island, Praslin!

We check in our luggage; each person can check one bag up to 30 kg, the rest must be taken on board. We find seats on the second deck, outdoors, in the fresh air, with just a roof over our heads to shield us from the sun, and within an hour, we are on the new island. The ferry travels at high speed, and rocked by the waves, Evita and I sleep through half the journey.

At the island, a driver with a minivan greets us, puts our suitcases in the luggage compartment, and drives us to the hotel. I sit next to the driver, the others in the back. We start asking the driver about the island, and it turns out he is also a guide, and tomorrow he will take us on a tour to the national park, where the world's largest coconuts, Coco De Mer, grow.

In the bus, we see an impressive music system installed. We ask him to turn it on. He jokes back, "You really want that?" and laughs. When we confirm that we do, he turns it on, and the volume is so loud that it feels like our hair will be blown off. However, in the mornings, when he came to pick us up, we could hear him 5 minutes before his arrival.

After 10 minutes, we are already at the hotel, but the owner comes out to greet us and says that we will be staying in a villa, 100 meters back. So, we drive to the villa, and the owner is already waiting in the yard. The villa is behind a concrete wall, on the oceanfront; only a road and 10 meters of dune area separate the villa from the ocean. In the yard grows a huge mango tree, banana trees, many different ornamental shrubs; everything is green and beautiful. The villa itself is two stories, with a large terrace, a huge living room, a large kitchen, and our rooms at the end of the living room. Each room has its own bathroom, and our bathroom also has a large space for storing belongings and all our bags.

A figure of a local woman is set up in the living room, and at first, we were even scared, thinking a live woman was sitting on the table watching us. But such figures are also placed in the restaurant where we will eat dinner and breakfast. Near the rooms, a tortoise shell is placed; it turns out they have 10 large tortoises on the property.

Having unpacked and changed, we head for dinner. We step out onto the street and walk 100 meters along the ocean and past local shops to the hotel grounds, to the restaurant. The sun has already set, and dusk has fallen. This hotel area and restaurant are so beautifully lit in the dark that they look even better than they did in daylight. This reminds me of Mexico, the city of Tulum, where everything was also built from natural materials and had thatched roofs. Entering the restaurant, you can feel that it was built and designed with love. This whole place belongs to a married couple, and 25 years ago, their business started with a small restaurant and 4 small rooms. Entering the restaurant, to the right is the bar, to the left are tables and chairs for visitors, further in is a grill bar and kitchen, another bar, but passing through, there is a pool area that looks fantastically beautiful at night.

We sit down at the assigned table, order dinner, enjoy the evening, and soon head to bed, as the next day promises to be long, busy, and very interesting. Everything will be available in video format in the Seychelles series on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel, and parts of it also on REtv.

In the next article, all about the adventures on Praslin Island.

The world's largest nut, the biggest coconut, Coco De Mer!

The morning starts early; even before six, I go out into the villa's yard and launch the drone to get a clear view of everything around. The colors of the ocean surprise me once again, as this morning the ocean is at low tide, and the boats that were rocking in the waves yesterday are now on dry land.

We have arranged to go for breakfast after seven, so we have an hour to set up all the cameras, finish charging batteries that we didn't do overnight, iron our clothes, and by seven, we leave the villa gates for breakfast. The village is already awake, and local people are going about their work; a fisherman comes from the sea with a full bucket of fish, someone passes us on a bicycle, and most importantly, everyone smiles and greets us. We can only manage to answer everyone with "Hi, Hello, good morning." The people here are kind and welcoming; it's a great pleasure to receive a smile and give just as many smiles back to them.

We are the first for breakfast, and my first task is to find the fruit shelf and make sure there is papaya for breakfast. And yes, there is plenty of it, and by its color, you can see it's ripe and juicy. I immediately fill a large plate. So far, I've been lucky; at every breakfast, I've had fantastic, delicious papaya.

We also order an omelet; usually I ask for everything to be put in it, except mushrooms. Sometimes I forget that chili is popular here, and if you ask for everything, they add chili too. The omelet turns out spicy, but very tasty, and with the sweet papaya on top, breakfast and the start of the day are a success.

After eight, we are ready and sitting on the villa's terrace, and in the distance, we hear our bus and cool driver approaching our villa, windows open, music at full volume, and a song about the Seychelles playing inside. We had heard this song before and liked it, so we asked the driver to play it again while driving with us. We will include this song in one of our series, which can be seen on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel; unfortunately, we won't be able to play this song on REtv.

After 10 minutes, we meet our friend Gretel at the port, and together we head towards the national park, along a winding road up the hill, where outside the windows we see palm-like trees with very large leaves.

It's about a 10-minute drive from the port to the park. We pull into the parking lot, and our bus driver will also be our guide here. He's a local and loves this park and everything related to these large coconuts so much that his greatest joy in life is bringing people to this park and seeing the surprise on their faces when they first enter and see these massive nuts. Our surprise was also immense, and upon entering the park, it feels like you've landed in a dinosaur-era forest or an artificial park, because nothing like it has ever been seen anywhere else in the world. Filming with large cameras is not allowed in this park, but we can use a GoPro, and we film everything the guide tells us, and you'll be able to see this whole story and forest in our Seychelles series, and as always, this story will be more extensive and longer on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel than it will be in the REtv series. Therefore, I'd be happy if you subscribed to this channel, and you'll be sure not to miss our series.

We could write extensively about this park, but we'll leave that for our video series. I can, however, tell you a few interesting things about these Coco De Mer trees and nuts:

1. These trees have male and female sexes.
2. You can tell the age of a young tree by the number of sprouts.
3. For a coconut to develop successfully, geckos have to work hard.

The gecko first licks the flowers of the male tree, and if there's a female tree nearby and its small fruits start to become juicy, the gecko has 24 hours to lick these fruits, thus pollinating them, and then these large nuts form from those fruits.

4. There can be 2 or 3 nuts in one husk.

Each weighs about 15-20kg.

5. Black parrots, found nowhere else, live in this forest, and we managed to see one.

You'll find out other interesting facts in our video.

After leaving the park, we browse souvenirs and drive to the other side of the island, up a mountain with a magnificent view of the ocean and beach. Later, we take a loop around the southern part of the island, driving along the ocean and enjoying its wonderful colors. We film our drive with a drone and after 30 minutes, we arrive at Anse Lazio beach, which is ranked among the Top 5 most beautiful beaches in the world. Here, on the ocean shore, we have lunch and a couple of hours of free time to enjoy the beach, the ocean, and the characteristic Seychelles rocks.

Back at the hotel, we shower and prepare for dinner. Tonight, the restaurant has a buffet and live music, to the sounds of local rhythms. Once we've eaten a bit and regained our strength, dancers join the musicians and perform local dances, slowly engaging the audience. Our ladies, Evita Eidina and Agnese, are also drawn into the dancing and dance their hearts out.

Our evening doesn't last long, as we have to pack our suitcases again, charge all the batteries, and be on the ferry in the morning, which will take us to the next island, La Digue.

About the adventures on the next island in the next article.

The Seychelles island with its beautiful beaches, seen by the whole world, certainly in pictures!

The morning starts with breakfast, and as every morning, papaya is the main ingredient of my breakfast. Having quickly eaten, I go out to look around and film the area, but immediately behind the pool is a stone fence. It turns out that 8 large tortoises live there, and I have arrived just in time when the owner comes to feed his pets. It's a good thing the owner's bucket is full of mangoes, not papayas, because if it were papayas, I would have had a second breakfast with the tortoises.

We have placed all our suitcases in the shed and are waiting for the driver, guide, and DJ in one person to arrive. Meanwhile, the local gardener has already entered the yard and started his morning duties, and the first task is to water all the bushes and plants. He starts watering a large tree, and only now do we notice that it is a huge mango tree, with many green mangoes hanging from it. We walked past this tree for two days and hadn't noticed it. There are so many different trees, bushes, banana trees here that it's hard to grasp everything at once. This is yet another botanical garden where we spent two wonderful nights.

We hear music in the distance, we're already opening the gates, and soon the bus arrives. We pack our bags, get on the bus, and after 5 minutes, we're at the port. As we approach the port, the music is blasting, the windows are open, and all the locals already know this driver, and hearing the music, everyone starts dancing, smiling, and giving thumbs up.

After 30 minutes we are on the ferry and another 15 minutes later we sail into La Digue port. There, a girl from the tourism department meets us and takes us to her office, which is on the oceanfront, right by the port. We put all our bags in the electric buggy, cool down in the air conditioning in the office, meet a Latvian woman who is waiting for the ferry with her husband to go to Praslin island, and accompanied by the woman from the tourism department, we go to the next street for our bicycles. Today's plan is to cycle to the National Park and visit the most popular beaches of Seychelles.

Having gotten our bicycles, which have plastic baskets in front, similar to those in our Maxima stores, and placed our belongings in the baskets, we set off along the town street, towards the park, enjoying the town's small hustle and bustle at a leisurely pace. Tourists cycle or walk, while locals work as transporters with electric buggies or minivans. Along the way, we stop to buy water, and with sparkling water, there are problems here too; there is only one type and only in a glass bottle, making it immediately more expensive than still water.

Having placed the water in our baskets, we get on our bicycles and, heated by the sun, pedal away. Even though we're not rushing anywhere and moving a little faster than tortoises, after 5 minutes we're completely soaked, our arms and legs are burning from the sun, and we're dreaming of the Latvian snow that fell last night; we saw pictures of it sent by our family members this morning.

Entering the park, the security girl tells me I need to buy tickets, but we have permission from the Tourism Department and are let in without tickets. We slowly move forward and see a huge, dark-colored cliff. I remember this image from the video blog ''Ceļo ar Ediju'' about Seychelles and know there will be many tortoises there, and indeed there are many tortoises of various sizes in the shade of the trees and next to the cliff. You can feed them here; there's a pile of different blades of grass nearby, and they happily eat them. Some are engaging in mating rituals and making funny noises; this causes laughter among the surrounding tourists, but it doesn't bother the tortoises!

We continue driving and enter a vanilla plantation. As I recall, this is the first time I've seen vanilla trees, or rather vines. We also see workers trimming these vines, but we don't see any vanilla pods; perhaps it's not the right season.

Another 5 minutes and we've reached the ocean. Through the palm trees, we can already see the turquoise blue and green hues that constantly evoke emotions in us, no matter how often and how much we've seen such views. We park our bikes, grab our bags and water, and head towards the beach. The first rocks and the first magnificent views, the first pictures and the first videos, and the further we go, the more pictures are taken and the more beautiful it becomes, the harder it is to control our emotions. It's hot outside, the sand is scorching, the ocean water is warm, even hot, our arms and legs are burning, but we, like soldiers, charge into the attack of beautiful sights, beaches, and rocks. That's how our first 30 minutes pass; we run everywhere, take pictures, film, climb on rocks, and take pictures again.

Once 1000 pictures are on each phone, we've found some shade and a few sunbeds, placed under palm branches in the shade, which can be used by those who have bought a cocktail at the local bar. The girls and Larry also order freshly squeezed fruit cocktails and pay 70 Euros for four cocktails. It turns out the bartender mixed something up and made 7 cocktails, so one cocktail costs 10 Euros.

The girl from the Tourism Department has reminded us that we need to be at the restaurant, located in the park area on the oceanfront, by 1:00 PM, so we don't get to rest long on the beach. We say a few sentences needed for our film, in a fantastically beautiful spot, and head back to the bicycle parking lot to get on our sun-warmed bikes and go to the restaurant.

We arrive at the restaurant 5 minutes before the agreed time and still manage to climb onto the wooden pier, film a snake-like fish, photograph the beautiful water colors, and take some group photos.

For lunch, everyone chooses a dish they like. Agnese enjoys octopus, Larry tuna, I have beef, and Evita seafood salad. At the lunch table, we get to talk more with the girl from the tourism department. We tell her about Latvia and learn that they enjoy vacationing in England and have never experienced or felt snow.

After lunch, we head to the town center, check into our new hotel, which is a large villa with two bedrooms, a large living room, and a large kitchen, with a small pool nearby, coconut palms on one side and banana trees on the other. After cooling down a bit in the pool, we get back on our bikes and head to the other side of the island to find another beautiful and enchanting beach. We succeed, and we've filmed all these views with a drone, which we'll show in the Seychelles series on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel, so we'd be happy if you opened this channel and clicked subscribe, thus not missing our latest series.

In the evening, we enjoy the sunset at a restaurant by the ocean, delicious food, and go to bed early, because the next morning, we'll be getting up at 5:00 AM to go to the East Coast of the island to film the sunrise.

My most beautiful and dangerous snorkeling experience, but it was worth it! But more on that at the end of the article!

The day starts at 5:00 AM when we get up and prepare to drive to Grand Anse beach to watch and film the sunrise. By 5:30 AM, we're already in the electric buggy and on our way to the beach. It's bright outside, but the sun hasn't risen yet. The road is both paved and asphalted; we drive past houses until we enter a forest, where Coco De Mer trees also grow, but there are no nuts here. Seven minutes later, we're on the beach, and on the horizon, we see a red line that looks like it's drawn with a pencil, but that's where the sun will soon rise. We set up the camera on a tripod and fly the drone; these morning colors create magical shadows on the rocks and cliffs, and from above, we can already see the edge of the sun, ready to appear to its first viewers this morning.

As soon as we see the edge of the sun, a few minutes pass, and the sun has fully emerged from its night's slumber and is rapidly ascending into the sky.

We head back to the hotel by buggy, still manage to jump in the pool, pack all our belongings, and go for breakfast, which is in a separate building, right next to our villa. What do you think is my daily morning question? Correct, will there be papaya for breakfast, and I was lucky again, it's on my fresh fruit plate again.

After breakfast, we put all our bags in the buggy, say goodbye to the hosts, and drive to the tourist center, near the port, and leave all the large suitcases there that we won't need today, and only take the bags that are meant to be taken on the boat, because we will spend most of the day in the ocean, riding a boat and snorkeling.

After 30 minutes, we are introduced to today's captain and a young guy, the guide, who will accompany us both on land and while snorkeling. We are all on the boat, and today we have a private trip, without any other company. Our main question before boarding the boat was whether there would be a canopy to hide from the sun, because after yesterday's beach visit, we are all thoroughly sunburned and look like baked crayfish. When the boat is untied from all ropes, we start moving slowly through the port area, and the captain tells us that we will be going to Anse Lazio beach, which is on Praslin island and where we were 2 days ago.

On the way to Praslin island, we stop at a beautiful, small island called St Pierre. There are a few palm trees on the island, but mostly large rocks and cliffs, and the water is so clear that we see many different colorful fish, and we are already ready to put on masks and jump into the water to snorkel, but the captain says we will snorkel here on the way back.

In less than 10 minutes, we are already at Anse Lazio beach and jump into the ocean to snorkel. Larry stays on the boat to film us, but Evita Eidina, Agnese, and I try out the first diving spot, where we see various fish, both in the deep ocean and those swimming right next to the boat, so curious that they observe you much more than you observe them. To fully enjoy this process, the waves are a bit disruptive and our skills are somewhat lost, so this spot is more like a training ground to get used to the new mask and snorkeling in waves. Here, we occasionally swim to the boat and rest, but in the next spots, there won't be such opportunities, the boat will be further from us, so we have to train as much as possible to fully enjoy the underwater world of the ocean later and not have to worry about staying afloat or breathing correctly.

After the first training session, we transfer to Curieuse Island, where we land on Anse St Jose beach. The captain has to pay some taxes, but we will continue to the other side of the island, a 1.7km walk to Anse Papaie beach. Initially, we walk along the beach, then the path turns deeper into the island, we climb stone steps up a hill, surrounded by jungle, the sun is scorching like a pan, and we sweat again, drinking all our water in the first few minutes. Having reached the top of the hill, a magnificent view of the beaches opens up, which we should reach in about an hour. In such mountains, over rocks and roots, people usually wear special hiking boots, but we are in beach flip-flops, our guide walks barefoot, his skin seems to have turned into a Michelin tire. We walk, enjoying the beautiful views, which cannot be said about the hot sun rays; along the way, we meet people going in the opposite direction, all so happy and positive, and it feels like the sun isn't shining on them at all, all the rays are directed only at us. We reach the viewpoint, take pictures, rest a little, and continue our way down the mountain over roots and rocks. Our feet are so sweaty, our flip-flops are heated by the sun and are no longer size 45, but some 48, so they don't stay on our feet properly and twist in all directions as they please, constantly hitting our toes on roots and against the edges of rocks. But that doesn't stop us from enjoying this hike, and these fantastically beautiful views are worth enduring a little hardship. Soon we reach the mangrove forests, climb onto a wooden boardwalk several hundred meters long, and enjoy the interesting nature; the guide tells us that when it's high tide, turtles and small sharks swim here. After a short while, the guide spots a large turtle stuck under the wooden boardwalk, he jumps down and starts scratching its neck. It turns out that large turtles really like it when their necks are scratched, and they enjoy it very much; this turtle also enjoys being scratched and finally crawls out from under the boardwalk.

We continue walking and the guide shows us local coffee bushes and coffee beans growing on them. The Seychelles islands also have their own coffee. A few more meters and we have reached the beach where we will have lunch, where we can relax and swim in the warm ocean. There are many large tortoises here, they move freely in the wild, without any restrictions, they can go swimming in the ocean and go into the jungle if they wish, but they are all used to people and want their necks scratched or beg for bananas. There is a large shed in the area where lunch is prepared for tourists, and at large tables here, at one time, at least 100 people can eat. While we wait for our lunch, we take pictures with the tortoises and go swimming in the ocean, but there we are surprised by baby sharks, the size of our Latvian pike, which can swim between our legs, completely ignoring the presence of humans. Having waited for lunch, we sit down at the table, but up on the wooden beams are perched a flock of red canaries, looking at us and asking each other, what are these? They look like burned Latvians! We eat lunch, but large tortoises try to crawl up the stairs into the shed, they are surprised that we have started lunch without them, so we, as polite nature lovers, bring them bananas, they eat both the bananas and the peels. We come back to our plates, but there are canaries in front of them, sitting on the edges of the plates, feeling at home and helping us eat the rice with sauce.

Having spent at least 2 hours on this beach, befriended the local birds and animals, it's time to say goodbye, but as we board the boat, we agree that we will meet again someday.

Having reached the island we had seen in the morning, with full stomachs, we jump into the ocean and start snorkeling. The guide shows us the direction, clockwise, we swim around the island and try to enjoy snorkeling and the underwater world. The morning training has paid off, and here, even though the waves are quite big, I feel comfortable, at ease, and safe. The boat follows us, about 50 meters away, the water is clear, but the underwater world here is not particularly rich. Here you can enjoy cliffs and gorges, which occasionally become deeper, but there is not much color here. After we have swum for 30 minutes, the guide invites us to swim back to the boat, and once we are on board, he offers to take us to a pristine place where the underwater world is said to be very lively and colorful. Of course, we agree, and after just 10 minutes, we arrive at a very small island with only one palm tree, but surrounded by large rocks and cliffs. Here the waves are even bigger, but after a minute, Evita, the guide, and I are in the ocean. We put on our masks, the guide asks the captain for a lifebuoy, tells Evita to hold onto it, and we begin to explore the underwater world. After the first immersion of my head in the water, I realize that it is truly beautiful here, with a lot of diverse life, colorful fish, and a rich underwater world. I swim along with the guide and Evita and film everything I see with my GoPro. The waves rock us, and they are so big that sometimes we can't even see the boat, but we are not afraid, because I am seeing such a beautiful underwater world for the first time. I have snorkeled in Egypt and Mexico before, but I like it most here. The guide pulls the lifebuoy and occasionally points out an interesting and colorful fish to me, which I immediately film. Earlier, when we were snorkeling, the guide occasionally dived to the bottom, and Evita liked it so much that she also wanted to try how it feels to dive a little deeper. While exploring underwater life, I hear Evita calling me. I come to the surface and see that she and the guide are behind two waves. I swim closer, and Evita tells me that the guide is going to teach her to dive deep, and that I should film it. I turn on the camera, the guide turns his head down and dives, Evita turns her head down, her butt above the water, and starts kicking her legs, kicking and kicking, but her butt just won't sink. I choke on water from laughing, take off my mask, pour out the water, and realize I need to keep swimming and exploring the underwater world. Then the guide slaps my hand and points to the left; a turtle is slowly swimming there, and the sunlight shining on it makes it a very magnificent ocean dweller, which I had only seen in pictures until now. I swim after it and film it. It is about 3 meters directly below me. Suddenly it stops and doesn't swim anymore. I also stop. Then a wave pulls both of us back and then throws us both forward with great force. I hear someone calling me, I lift my head, but no one is there. The waves are so big that I can't see the guide or the boat drifting in the distance. Then suddenly the guide shouts for me to try to swim towards him and to swim as hard as I can, because the waves will soon throw me onto the rocks. I see them and start swimming. The GoPro camera, strapped to my hand, doesn't allow me to swing my arms properly, and I can't manage. I put more strength into both my arms and legs and slowly start to move away from the rocks. When I reach the guide, I grab onto their lifebuoy, and the three of us, rowing as hard as we can, move so far away that it becomes safer, and we can continue snorkeling again. All three of us hold onto the buoy, and the guide again pokes my hand and points downwards. A shark is swimming 5 meters deep there. It's not a big one, but it's enough to get an adrenaline rush. Every now and then, schools of fish swim past, another shark, and again we spot a turtle. I start swimming after it, and it isn't afraid at all. I can even touch it, and it seems to like it. Evita and I swim alongside it, and we have managed to film fantastically beautiful shots, which you will be able to see in our Seychelles series on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel. After having seen and experienced so much, we are also a little tired. The guide suggests going to the boat, and we conclude this day's snorkeling with such wild and fantastically positive emotions that it is hard to put into words. As soon as we get on the boat, Larry films our emotions and happy faces, and we will never forget this.

Half an hour later, we are back on the island, and an hour later, we are already on the ferry, heading back to the main island, Mahe. Our great bus driver meets us there and takes us to the other side of the island, where we will stay for 3 nights in one of the largest hotels in the Indian Ocean, but more on that in the next article.

The third-largest hotel by area in the entire Indian Ocean, Constance Ephelia Mahe Seychelles.

We will spend the last 3 days at this hotel and finally be able to relax a bit, enjoy swimming in the ocean, lounging by the pools, and exploring the vast territory.

As in all hotels, we are greeted here with cold tea and cold, wet towels, seated in electric buggies, and taken to our room. Along the way, they tell us what is where, but in the evening, driving in the dark and having spent the whole day in the water, our perception is not so good, so we leave the exploration of the area for the next day.

Our rooms are next to each other, in a two-story building, near the main restaurant and 50 meters from the ocean. The rooms are spacious, with a large bathtub next to the bed, a large wardrobe to store all our belongings, two sinks, and a separate shower and toilet. Opening the large glass doors to the terrace, we can enjoy the evenings on the sofa or in soft chairs and gaze at the ocean.

We wash up, change, and go to dinner at one of the five restaurants. The restaurant is on the oceanfront, and we are seated at a table where there is ocean sand under our feet. For dinner, we order tuna, shrimp, salads, Asian soups, eating slowly and enjoying the evening. In the Seychelles series, which you will be able to see on REtv and the Gold Barbell YouTube channel, a lot of time will be dedicated to food, as Seychelles stands out for its delicious and fresh cuisine.

Electric buggies constantly circulate within the hotel area, transporting people along a fixed route or taking them directly to wherever you ask. As we leave the restaurant, a buggy pulls up to us, we get in, state our room number, and are dropped off right at our door.

After such a long and tiring day, sleep is excellent, but we still wake up at 5:30 to film the sunrise from the ocean beach. By seven, we are already washed and ready for breakfast. It's a 2-minute walk to the restaurant, so we decline the passing buggy's offer to drive us there. As always in a new hotel, my first task is to find out if there are papayas among the fruits. This time I don't see any and can't believe there are no papayas in such a hotel. So I ask those who are cutting fruit, and they promise to cut some for me. Five minutes later, as I walk by, I am handed a full plate of fresh and ripe papaya. Breakfast is very rich, and there's no need to list everything; we will show it in our videos on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel.

After a very tasty breakfast, we go to our room to change, as we are already sweaty. We go for a swim in the pool, and after 30 minutes, we get into a buggy to go to the other side of the peninsula to see another beach, and on the way, we also visit the fitness center, with an excellent gym and a pool in the middle of the area.

Having waited for the next buggy, we continue our journey and, passing through mangrove groves, enter the village on the other side of the peninsula, where there are villas with private pools and large fences, allowing for complete privacy, undisturbed by anyone. On this side of the peninsula, there are also several restaurants, bars, beautifully maintained gardens, a magnificent beach, and it is this beach we have come to see. As always, the blue-green color of the water already breaks through the palm branches, and in the sunlight, the water is strikingly bright. Here it is possible to rent boats and jet skis, as well as snorkel and even scuba dive. From the beach, we see several villas stretching in a line up the hill. Who could those be?

After walking along the beach, we wait for a buggy and head back to our side of the peninsula, but on the way, we spot a Spa center, which we definitely have to see. At the Spa reception, they kindly explain everything that is available here and what we can enjoy, and we politely decline the couple's massage with Evita Eidina, as we are not yet ready to pay 700 EUR for a massage. However, we stay and enjoy the saunas, cold and hot pools, but most importantly, we film and photograph a lot, because it is very, very beautiful here.

After the Spa, we return to our rooms and allow ourselves to rest for the remainder of the day, swimming in the ocean, swimming in the pools, watching the sunset on the beach, and at 7:00 PM, we go to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Today we skipped lunch, giving our stomachs a rest day, so now we are ready to eat everything they offer us. We eat Seychellois-Italian dishes, everything tastes great, and with full stomachs, we walk back to our room, where we end the evening with a card game on our terrace and cold Takamaka rum, which we bought at a local shop outside the hotel grounds.

The morning begins with a swim in the ocean, breakfast, papaya, and in the first part of the day, we record a video about the entire trip, recalling the brightest moments and those times we will never forget. We also give various tips on what to definitely bring with you when going to the Seychelles. You will see all of this in the film, which we will show on the Gold Barbell YouTube channel!

Since it wasn't easy to go without lunch for the entire long day yesterday, and to avoid overeating at the restaurant in the evening, we decide to go out to the street, to the store, to buy something for lunch. We find instant noodle soups, canned tuna, bread, interesting drinks, and local sweets.

We take all this back to our room, wait for the buggy, and point on the map where we want to go. Today we want to go up to the villas located on the hillside, with a view of the beautiful beach. It turns out these are separate villas, and at the very end is the presidential villa, and these are the most expensive on this peninsula, costing about 20,000 EUR per week. The buggy takes us to the hillside, where the road uphill begins, and from there we have to walk. On the hill there are also several Zipline descents and specially equipped trails for those who like to climb mountains. After 10 minutes, walking through the forest, where Coco De Mer trees also grow, we reach the villas and only through the leaves of the trees do we see that the villas offer a magnificent view of the ocean and each villa has a swimming pool and a relaxation area in front of it. After another 5 minutes, walking towards the presidential villa, we notice a path that leads along the villas and goes towards the ocean. We don't hesitate for long and follow this path to large, black rocks, from which there is a view of the ocean and a small beach. In the distance we also see some people, which means that this beach can be reached and we also want to go there. Right at this moment, a person from the hotel passes us, accompanying two guests towards this beach. We follow them and reach a path that leads directly to this beach, but we have to overcome a steep hill and many stone steps. But it is worth it, the beach is fabulously beautiful, the colors of the ocean are magnificent, the water is warm and we immediately go swimming, or rather, we go to swing in the waves. From here I fly a drone and film all this beauty and it will all be shown in the film.

Having returned to our hotel room, we swim in the pool, and then Evita and I go to the beach where the large rocks are. We need to take pictures for the underwear company Intimissimi, as they have given Evita underwear for Seychelles and are awaiting some photos. The photoshoot takes place in the water, on the rocks, and in a bed set up in a palm tree right on the beach. The pictures will definitely be great, some of which you can also see in this album.

After the photoshoot, we go to the spa to relax in the pools. There's a pool with very cold water here, which at least refreshes; all the other pools are too warm, even the shower water isn't cold enough.

After the Spa, we have lunch, eating instant noodles and bread with canned tuna. We rest, lie down for 30 minutes, and then it's dinner again, this time at the restaurant where we also had breakfast. As we walk to the restaurant, we hope it won't be a buffet so we don't overeat for the night, but upon arriving at the restaurant, we realize we'll have to eat again.

The next day is also our final day, and in the evening we have a flight to Istanbul. By 10:30 AM, we have to pack all our belongings, leave them in the luggage room, rent a taxi, and it takes us to Victoria Center to buy various souvenirs and things to take home.

Having returned to the hotel, they let us into the Spa center, and for 5 hours we spend time in the pools, saunas, and jacuzzi, but at 7 PM, the great driver and Gretel are there to pick us up. They take us to the airport, Gretel gives me a large envelope with children's letters to take to Latvia, we take a picture together, say goodbye, and board the Turkish Airlines plane to fly home, via Istanbul.

I was sleeping through the night, but someone woke me up; it turns out Evita had arranged with the flight attendants to bring champagne and candles because it was my birthday. The surprise was successful, and a big thank you to Evita and the crew. Flying from Turkey to Latvia, the flight attendants came again and wished me a happy birthday, celebrating my birthday for the second time today! Thank you!

Since we had a 10-hour layover in Istanbul, we took the metro to the city center, walked around the Grand Bazaar, and bought various cool things, some bought bags, others tracksuits.

The Seychelles adventure is one of the most exotic I've had so far, and certainly the most impressive. I really want to relive it with you, watching our series about the Seychelles.