Gaetan has not been back to his home island (7 generations of ancestors) since he was about 19 years old.  The island has been sold on a 99 year lease to a South African company and there is a Hilton Resort on it – the original inhabitants were given the choice to move to Mahe, or if they stayed on the island, work for the new company.

While we were there we saw two groups of people helicoptered in, and a boat full of guests arrived just as we were leaving.

We have a really interesting walk around the island with Gaetan showing us

• the owners, the Dauban family, home
• the place where the hospital was where he was born,
• the Dauban family mausoleum,
• the track to the cemetery,
• the cemetery,
• the holy point of the island with a Madonna and Child shrine.
• and a great private beach (the people there from a yacht probably wondered how we had wandered down to their seemingly private spot!).

We head back to the bay for a nice lunch cooked by the crew on a charcoal bbq set up on the road – chicken, fish and salad and warmed bread rolls!