Beau Vallon - a friendly village We quickly felt right at home during our two-week holiday in The Seychelles. We were the guests of Miss Veronica at Beau Vallon Bungallows, a small guest house in the village of Beau Vallon on the Island of Mahe.
This is a real place with real people, not a resort - and that's just what we wanted. The people of Beau Vallon use the beach the way city folk use sidewalks and parks - they meet here and talk and laugh and share the latest news. The children walk home from school along the beach, splashing in the waves and chasing each other on the sand. The men get off the bus after work and play a pick-up game of soccer on the beach.
And what a beach it is - two miles of glorious sand, edged by palm trees, holding the Beau Vallon Bay in the palm of its hand. In the morning we strolled along the water's edge, watching the play of the sun on Silhouette Island, the centerpiece of the seaview. In the afternoon we lay on the beach watching the antics of the ubiquitous ghost crabs and we swam in the surf when it was too choppy for snorkeling. In the evening, we sat on the monstrous granite boulders at the north end of the beach, watching the sun set into sea, the orange light on the church spire in Bel Ombre with the hulking dark mountain behind. For spectacular panoramic sunsets, Beau Vallon has no equal.
There are only a few restaurants and a couple of corner grocery stores in the village. For major shopping, people go over the mountain to Victoria - it is a twenty minute drive along the narrow, twisting road. As I say, we felt welcome and for that we are very thankful to our new friends, especially to Veronica and her crew and the gang at La Fontaine (best food in the Indian Ocean.)
Image:
Contact Marsha via e-mailmarsha@baileyartist.com to arrange a visit to her studio in Philadelphia to see many more assemblages !
All images and text copyright Marsha Bailey 2005-2011. All rights reserved.
