Your Bucket List Trip to the Seychelles Should Begin on This Ship

Do you ever look at a picture of some far-flung destination and know — right then and there — you need to get to that exact spot? It happened to me after I first gazed at an image of Anse Source d’Argent, set as a desktop wallpaper. I would later learn this is one of the most famous beaches in the Seychelles: supernaturally turquoise waves set against alabaster sand, guarded over by these granite boulders brandishing the contours of velvet drapery. I had to find out firsthand if it really existed.

At the time I knew very little about the Seychelles, only the very basic intel: an island nation in the middle of the Indian Ocean, about 800 miles east of the Kenyan coast. The more I researched, the more apparent it became that the way to explore this archipelago was by boat, and I kept running into this name: Pegasos.

It is a modest sized vessel with 21 cabins run by Variety Cruises — a family-owned operation out of Greece. The company sets standards high, dubbing its eight-day, ten-island adventure “Cruises In The Garden of Eden.” It was available to book during high season (July, August and December, January) for $2,000 per person.

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So in June I hopped on the 18 hour flight (including a connection through Doha) and arrived on the main island of Mahé, packing few expectations and no agenda save for the itinerary that Variety had provided. It included a final day stopover at Anse Source d’Argent.

Greeting me upon landing was Christer Figaro, native Seychellois and full-time guide on the Pegasos. He was tall and teeming with an infectious energy. We strolled the stalls of Victoria Market in the nation’s pint-sized capital, as vendors slung fresh papaya and mango, wrapping for locals the day’s daily catch.

“It’s a place where people can actually find themselves,” Figaro said to me. “You breathe, you relax. You can just be you.”

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Once aboard the ship, Figaro acted fast in sourcing me a Creole Smash: a tropical assembly of local citrus, Grand Mariner, and the country’s native rum — Takamaka. The rest of his crew, which consisted largely of locals, was busy preparing a welcome dinner. Soon I had an intimate sense of traditional Seychellois cuisine, which draws influence from East Africa, western India, and the south of France. The meal leaned heavy on grilled and salted seafood: job fish, snapper, marlin, octopus. It was accompanied by bananas and breadfruit, dressed under spicy curries and lentils.

Over the next week the global cadre of Pegasos voyagers were treated to myriad feasts of this fashion … and lots more rum cocktails. But Figaro was adamant about taking these experiences ashore. Frequently they came together on grill tops abutting unspoiled beaches, under the shade of coconut trees, with massive Aldabra tortoises waddling by. “The nature here is at your fingertips,” he reminded me as we plowed through a plate of spiced Pilau rice. “I think this is the spirit of the Seychelles.”

Activities on the cruise include trekking through  forests of coco de mer, an endemic tree known for producing the world’s largest seed (with some weighing over 30 pounds) and visiting several islands that were home to thousands of birds and zero humans, one of which is quite appropriately named Bird Island. We ate unreasonable amounts of coconut fish curry and didn’t wait the recommended 30 minutes before subsequently snorkeling the surf. 

By the time we arrived at Anse Source d’Argent, finally spying the mystical impetus of my 8,500-mile-long adventure was almost an afterthought. I’m not going to say it was a letdown. But I will admit that my desktop wallpaper hasn’t been the same since.