15 The Seychellois Time
Although we had asked the taxi driver that
we were to be picked up at 14:45 the car
was a long time in coming. Watching other
people being picked up one after another
made us fretful because we had little time
before our flight but there was nothing we
could do as there was no bus access and no
cruising taxis. Finally it appeared at around
three o'clock with another passenger. The
driver had picked up a passenger who would
also go to the airport. The driver stopped
the car on the way to show a roadside waterfall
to the other passenger, which took us to
the edge because we didn't want to miss the
plane. Time seemed to run slowly in the Seychelles.
We arrived at the airport at 15:15. The taxi
fee was 150 rupees, a little cheaper than
average probably because we shared the taxi
with the other passenger.
Our plane, which was fully occupied, took
off at 15:40, a little later than scheduled.
We wanted to stay longer and actually there
was another flight later on. It was kind
of our travel agent to put us on the earlier
flight, and not to take a risk of us being
left on the island in case we were late or
in case the flight was cancelled but it was
a little disappointing.
After we went back to Mahe we took our supper
to the monastery ruin and waited for flying
foxes but we saw only one animal flying away.
Some tenrecs came to the lawn just below
where we stood at 18:45. They were roaming
and eating something on the grass. They might
be feeding on garbage. When my husband took
a picture, the shutter noise made them jump
and run away quickly.
We dropped by the gas station on our way
back and replenished the tank with 30 rupees
of gasoline. We could return the rent-a-car
with minimum gasoline but we filled up almost
half of the tank.