Seychelles Day 1: Anse Major trail

I have 4 great reasons to be in the Seychelles...

1. Long overdue family visit. I was last here 23 years ago. My uncle has been saying "Come visit" for years. Our trip in May 2020 was cancelled with COVID lockdown.

2. Need to renew my passport. I'm fortunate to have a Seychelles passport as my dad was born here. 

3. My cousin Fred is doing an amazing paddling challenge on Saturday. He is aiming to paddle around the main island, Mahe, in a day. I'm going to be assisting with his media updates on Team No Limit . Fred's dad (now passed) and my dad are half brothers (we have a grandfather in common). 

4. It's the Seychelles! That is reason enough. And I can really do with a good break. 

I arrived Tuesday evening and jumped into admin on Wednesday morning with my passport renewal (smooth, efficient and no paperwork - all digital). It will be ready on Wednesday. 

After a drive around the north part of the island and a scoop of cherry ice-cream with my uncle, it was time to hit my first trail, the Anse Major trail. The trailhead is about 3km from my uncle's house so I ran there.

With a high of 29C and a low of 26C and humidity like a steam room, it is hot. The overcast morning turned into a beautiful sparkly afternoon and the trail was great. It is well used and scenic with views of the mountains, see and nearby islands.

My aim is to find fungi and boost the species observations on iNaturalist. I made some finds, with one real gem that I could get an ID on that is not currently logged. 

Tomorrow - another trail. 👏

Edible but not much flavour. My uncle says these are called 'Prune de France'.

Dripping with sweat. Very humid.

Flax-lillie. Small, pretty flower.

View of Anse Major for which the trail is named.

The forests are the places to find fungi.

I was very chuffed with this one - probably a luminous porecap. If it is, it is bioluminescent at dusk.