01.28 It is the middle of the night. We are sitting on some benches and wait at the airport, Julius Nyerere International Airport. We are thus in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Here we have been sitting for a few hours now. The only entertainment is to look at some people who repair the ceiling and the women's soccer match in the Olympics between Germany and Zimbabwe that is shown on a few TV sets here. I will in a week from now, if everything goes as it should, be at home in my own bed. In about three hours, we should be boarding the plane that will take us north to Nairobi´s airport. This is also said on the monitors here. Earlier our flight wasn't mentioned which made us a little nervous.

02.17 We are once again in the no man's land that is at international airports. Thus, it is the area between the passport police and gates.

02.32 Not much happens here. We have, in any case, found some of the sought-after seating places here. An overweight man of eastern European origin sits and snores, so that no one else risk falling asleep. Christer think that he recognize him from the border passage between Kenya and Tanzania earlier on this trip.

03.14 Through the speaker system we´ve been asked to go to gate 5 for boarding. It feels early. Well, here we are at gate 5.

03.20 OK, we are on board the plane. We have seats 14 A and C. They are right next to each other.

04.08 We got up in the air earlier than expected. The boarding card says that we should take-off at 04.45. We fly with Kenyan Airways and their Embraer 190.

KENYA

05.15 We are back in Kenya again. This time for a (hopefully) short stay.

05.37 We are in the interior of yet another airport. We are resting at Nairobi's airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Not too long ago there was a big fire here at the airport. Perhaps that is why everything looks so new and fresh. Once again, we have spotted people carrying backpacks of the model Kånken. It is made not far from where I live.

06.57 We have found yet another branch of the Kenyan chain Java House. It suits us prima. Now we are waiting for our newly ordered breakfasts. In the past we have visited Java House in Kisumu, Nakuru, and at two locations in the centre of Nairobi.

07.41 The hunger and tiredness is for the moment muted. A particular energy increment can be noticed. Now we are going to continue to wait. For some reason, we manage to always have some part of each summer trip that is as energy-intensive and on the verge of painful. Sometimes it is enormously long bus trips, sometimes general hassle and sometimes nights without sleep like this.

Time for breakfast at Java House.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.

After all the waiting it was time to wait for a while.

Our plane is waiting for us.

08.47 It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to stay awake here on the bench. I rest, relax and drift away. Christer sits and yawns. We need fresh air and perhaps above all beds. It will be really nice to sleep. We'll see if we get it in the beds on the Seychelles or during the next flight.

09.28 We take the opportunity to fill up the liquid supplies. Christer drinks Fanta passion fruit. I have a Coca Cola.

09.50 After filling with new fluid we did away with the old. Now we are at gate 19 and wait to board.

10.03 It has been a lot of work and lot of struggle to arrange with the flights this night and this day. In addition to all the hours we waited and tried to stay awake it was, to say the least messy already at the bookings. First we had bought tickets for a flight that would leave in the morning from Dar es Salaam to Nairobi for a change before the flight on to the Seychelles. We planned to use the ferry from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam and spend the night at a hotel instead of sitting on the benches at the airport. After the tickets were paid Kenya Airways decided to change their schedule. Our plane to the Seychelles would depart before we landed in Nairobi. It took all of March and all of April before we got back the money we paid back so that new tickets could be purchased. Unfortunately, we had to travel in the middle of the night to catch the right plane.

It´s time to fly again.

With Kenya Airways from Nairobi to the Seychelles.

We are landing at Seychelles International Airport.

10.55 It has now become time for the third and last flight of this part of the journey that began last night at the Zanzibar. We shall once again fly out over the Indian Ocean.

CHANGING TIME ZONE

13.45 Time has now been adapted to our next destination. We have been served a light meal on board and I have slept a bit. The flight goes well. Outside the window it is cloudy, hazy. The sea beneath is not visible at all.

14.43 The plane has begun to lower itself towards a new airport, new island and a new nation. Lovely tropical islands have started to emerge in the beautiful blue sea.

SEYCHELLES

16.04 We have reached the last country on the trip, the Seychelles. Upon arrival, everything went so great to show our yellow fever cards, our passports, baggage x-ray and exchange to Seychelles rupees. When it came to the pre-booked transport to our accommodation, it was a different story. Christer had been promised that a man would stand with a sign with Christer´s name on it. The driver shone with his absence. We had to arrange with a taxi. We are currently in one now.

16.28 In the time between the booking of our room/house at Petit Baie Chalets and now there was as mentioned earlier a change in the flight time. Our hostess assumed that the first time, 21.00, was right. This despite the fact that Christer had mailed and given confirmation about the change of the time and needs of an earlier pick up. This happened to us in Cuba as well. Someone responds to an e-mail but do not write down the new information. Never mind, we have a room. The room has a large double bed, this despite the fact that we wanted to have two separate. The extra bed that we can use is in another room, the kitchen. We do not mind that except that it just is the bedroom which has A/C and thus cool temperatures. We are on the Seychelles, the country that is known for their tortoises and sea turtles, and the double coconut.

17.27 We are starting to get hungry. Our young hostess told us about a place five minutes away. She were right regarding the time it took to go there, but it was unfortunately closed. Something that was open was the little store next to where we stay. We have now bought the ingredients for today's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast. Here in the Seychelles you will either stay in the fantastically expensive hotels or rent a private room from a family. This is what we have done. The disadvantage (or advantage) is that you get to cook your own food. It is quite far between the restaurants.

19.30 Today it will be classic Swedish home cooking, in other words, pasta and sausage.

20.18 The food was really good but maybe not so exciting. We have not come here for the food culture, so the main thing is that we are satisfied. We are beginning to take notice that it was a while since we slept. The bodies are screaming for rest.

A perfect place to relax.

No restaurant tonight. The dinner is served in our own kitchen.

Behind the pasta.

Friday 5th of August

09.40 We've slept properly. It has been a quiet and calm morning. The only thing we´ve done is to fix breakfast in our kitchen. Parts of the Seychelles are pieces of the original continent of Gondwanaland. It is an example of what we learned by reading through the papers we have brought with us about the country. The papers are printed from various internet sites and copies from library books. It is not so easy to borrow a book when you shall be away as long as we are.

10.17 There is nothing wrong with the last home on this trip. We have a large and lovely bathroom and a bedroom, covering up a surface that matches some of the rooms we had in the past. Add to that that we have a decent kitchen where we can prepare our own meals. Outside of all this, we have a terrace, exterior corridor, recreation area with a nice view. We will have a great time here.

11.30 There is not much energy in us. I strongly believe that the journey here has taken more stamina from us than what we expected. The energy is sufficient in all cases to sit and read in the tropical heat. We have read more about the country, sights and tried to make some kind of plan for our days here. We have four days here in Seychelles.

11.41 What can we say about this island country? In Seychelles, the French language is more common than the English language. The islands have belonged to France from 1756, Great Britain from the early 1800s, and it is an independent country since 1976. Here there are 115 islands scattered on a surface three times the size Sweden. The archipelago got its name from a minister of finance, namely, Jean Moreau de Séchelles, who was active during the reign of king Louis XV's time on the throne of France. We are on the east coast of the main island, Mahé.

Our house at Petit Baie Chalets.

Peter is locking our door. Now it´s time to explore our surroundings.

The exit out to sea and road.

Petit Baie Chalets is in the village Au Cap.

12.30 In order to avoid being completely lazy and overgrown with moss and also to see more than the room, we will now head out for a walk.

12.37 With the help of Google Maps we have identified a restaurant a bit south along the coastal road. We are now on the way there on foot along the roadside.

12.52 The planned lunch restaurant Asian Fusion Restaurant was unfortunately closed for us. It was booked for a private event. I assume that we are not invited. One of the staff referred us to another place. Things haven't gone that well. After buying sodas and sweets in a small shop, we head on and hope that the place that was closed yesterday, is open now.

13.04 We are at the beach right near our accommodation. It is low tide, ebb. Far out from the normal beach line, we see the timidly retreated sea. Are there dogs out there?

13.36 I sweat! On the way to lunch we stopped for a while at home. I sweat! Here we'll wash the faces before we continue. I sweat!

14.01 The cleaning woman knocked on our door and we went out. It was as we had hoped. Yesterday's closed restaurant is open today. Now it's finally time for lunch at Juliana's Villas Cafe (http://www.julianasvillas.com).

The beach on the other side of the road.

Some dogs are discovering the bottom of the sea when the water is away.

The Seychelles, a tropcal paradise.

The reef, the sea, the beach, the road.

14.34 We chose the hamburgers for lunch here at Juliana's. It is simple food but tasty and also cheap, in any case, in this country. The Seychelles is not exactly known for having low prices. They offer tourism for people with big wallets, not a country for us backpackers. At the cashier hung two small crossed flags, the British and the Swedish. The woman who served us did not know that much about the flags so we don't know why they hang there.

15.06 We did some dinner shopping before we went home again. It is handy to have one of the village's small shops next to our entrance. We will now prepare ourselves for the salty blue. It is a small beach on the other side of the road below our home. We shall soon visit it.

15.55 I am about to wade out into the Indian Ocean.

16.12 It was not so warm as I had expected in the water. Christer has been swimming as well and then climbed, entered, a rock, large stone. He poses in the style of Andersen's "The little mermaid"

16.37 On the way back we discovered that there are pets here in the garden. Two large giant tortoises striding around in a small enclosed area below our house. We have not noticed them before. It is not so strange. They make no sounds and barely move.

Lunch at Julianas Villas Café.

A new country, a new beer.

Peter is waiting for his lunch.

We didn´t expect to see a Swedish flag in the restaurant.

A bus and taxi meet on the coastal road.

Peter is swimming in the big blue.

Christer is swimming in the sea outside Au Cap.

17.11 It is always nice to come home and take a shower to get rid of the sea salt. Hopefully we didn't get too much tan out in the sun because it was so late in the day as we exposed our pale bodies.

18.37 The ingredients for tonight's dinner is slowly getting less frozen on our kitchen sink. Later today (night our time), it is also the opening ceremony at the Olympics (summer games) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Six years ago, we were right there. We had hoped to get to see parts of the Olympic games on TV but there is something wrong on the box connected our TV so we can't get any picture.

19.14 This evening's culinary effort has begun. The next dinner is on the stove. Out in the trees hangs a few flying foxes up and down. It is with some surprise we note that the large animals come flying in the twilight, and land into the foliage of the trees around us. Flying foxes are megabats feeding on fruit.

20.10 Pasta with shrimp and bacon mixed with sweet and sour sauce. It was a delicious dinner, despite the fact that it was a result of improvisation, something we put together based on what we found on the shelves and in the freezers in our little shop.

22.03 It is a tradition to have a balcony/evening beer. We are currently having one each. This evening, it is a EKU Bavaria each.

Our neighbours, the giant tortoises.

The dinner is prepared in our kitchen.

The darkness surrounds our comfortable porch.

Saturday 6th of August

09.12 It's morning again. We are starting to get spoiled with having the opportunity to sleep in and be able to decide when we want to eat breakfast. During the night, the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro had its opening ceremony. We are about to have breakfast. Later today we'll go with a a bus for the first time in this country. We've made a few fruitless attempts to get our TV working, but without success.

10.05 I've been away and had told our hostess that we don't have any picture on the TV screen.

10.27 Everything is quiet and calm here at Petit Baie Chalets. Now we will read some in our books.

11.13 The books are great, the temperature is not bad either and the view is fine.

11.43 The time has come to do something we had previously done in all the African countries we have been in, besides Tanzania. We'll travel to the capital to see it. There will be an exception however. This time, we shall not stay/sleep in the capital. It is in any case not planned. We'll use the cheap blue local buses from SPTC (http://www.sptc.sc which goes to most places here on Mahé island. Now we will head towards the bus stop which is located near a craft centre a short distance away along the road.

The tortoises are sleepy.

It´s beautiful along the coastal road.

We are waiting for a bus to Victoria (which is almost everyone).

We are going with the locals to town.

Victoria Bus Terminal

11.58 Various buses passed by and it was important to keep track of the bus numbers. It was also important to have some luck. Some buses are new, comfortable and some are of an older model. We are on the way and ended up in one of the older buses. There are plenty of people in the bus.

12.17 According to a petrol station, the cost a litre of diesel, with a reservation for a missed figure 16,50 rupees, around US$ 1.25

12.22 We have passed the airport and stops continually to drop off and pick up passengers. It takes a while before we reach the capital centre.

12.33 Victoria is the 14th capital city of Africa and the 99th in the world that I write a travel journal in. We have just stepped off the bus at the bus terminal. Now we'll start our walking tour in the city. Including suburbs, the city has a population of just over 26 000 people.

13.06 The capital is small, orderly, quiet and relaxed. We can undisturbed without any problems wander around. However, there is a problem, we have not found the planned lunch restaurant. We need to keep an eye open for another option. However, we have visited an expensive souvenir shop, seen St. Paul's Cathedral, an old clock tower and a work of art, monument or whatever you call it, with stylized swordfishes. Right now we rest in a small nice park with a fountain. We are in the vicinity of the national library.

Palm Street, Victoria.

Saint Paul´s Cathedral

We are walking along Albert Street.

The clocktower from 1903 is a copy of a similar one in London. It was brought here as a memory of Queen Victoria (dead 1901).

Art outside Seychelles National Library.

Christer is resting in the tropical heat.

13.27 Café L'horloge by the clock tower has prices for the food which make us gasp for air. They want over US$ 17,60 for a pizza and that is one of the cheapest. We will try to find a more sensible option. It is clear that the restaurants in this city cater to tourists with big wallets.

13.58 We looked but found nothing sound, reasonable and sensible restaurant option. There are some over-crowded barbecue places, but what we need is to get to sit down in peace and quiet in the cool temperature and eat a tasty lunch. Thus, we are after all, back at Café L'horloge. It is in the intersection right next to the aforementioned clock tower.

14.41 Despite the prices it was a well-attended restaurant. It costs over US$23 for a pizza with juice. The juices taste great, but prices at about US$6 for a glass was beyond expensive. Well, it cannot be cheap wherever we travel and this will be our only restaurant meal in this country. Now we are going to leave and continue our Saturday stay here in Victoria.

15.11. We have been in Kannus the supermarket (grocery store) in the shopping centre Unity House opposite the bus terminal and bought various ingredients for upcoming meals at home in the house. Among other things we have bought several disposable packages of coffee. We are running out of the instant coffee I brought with me. Now we are waiting for the right bus. We are wondering just which is right for us to take us home again.

15.24 Stop O was the correct answer. We had to ask at the information kiosk to find the right one among all of the platforms and identical buses with unknown final destinations. In the bus, it is hot and crowded. It would probably be worthwhile to invest in larger buses here.

Christer in front of a fountain in Victoria.

In love with a country.

Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles.

Good but expensive pizza at Café L´Horloge.

Peter is eating an expensive lunch today.

16.22 If you want the bus to stop you just press a switch. Then it says ping, a lamp lights up and the driver stops at the next stop. Now we have done just so and even walked home. The door to the room was open when we arrived and in the lock there is a key on a key ring.

17.22 The keys have been fetched by the hostess's dad who noted that his cleaning wife probably had been forgetful and forgot both keys and to lock. We have received news that the black TV box is dead, broken. It should be replaced, something that unfortunately can take time. We are mostly pleased that it is not we who killed the TV this time. We have been successful in doing so in the past.

19.13 Mixed scents, all not-so-aromatic, reaches us from the neighbours in the house next door. They are about to prepare grilled meat. As usual at after-dark there is some bouncing in the trees around us. The flying foxes are back.

20.15 The time has come for us to start preparing the evening's dinner.

21.24 Today, we prepared buffalo meat (imported from Dubai), and pasta seasoned with HP sauce. Culinary, maybe not. Tasty, well, I guess that we probably might admit that. Where we satisfied, yes definitely!

22.08 We have now had two days here in Seychelles. During Friday we acquainted us with the surroundings and took a dip in the sea. Today, Saturday, we have visited the capital. Now is the time to fill the remaining two days with meaningful content.

Someone has forgot something.

The stairs down from our house.