Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Market
(Market St; 5.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, to noon Sat)
No trip to Victoria would be complete without a
wander through the covered market. It's very small by African standards, but it's a bust-
ling, colourful place nonetheless. Alongside fresh fruit and vegetables, stalls sell souven-
irs such as local spices and herbs, as well as the usual assortment of
pareos
(sarongs) and
shirts. Early morning is the best time to come, when fishmongers display an astonishing
variety of seafood, from parrot fish to barracuda. It's at its liveliest on Saturday.
MARKET
Clock Tower
(cnr Francis Rachel St & Independence Ave)
The focal point of the city centre is this downsized rep-
lica of the clock tower on London's Vauxhall Bridge. The replica was brought to Victoria
in 1903 when the Seychelles became a crown colony.
MONUMENT
Old Courthouse
(Francis Rachel St, Supreme Court)
The old courthouse beside the clock tower will appeal to fans
of Creole architecture, as will the colonial buildings that are scattered along Francis
Rachel and Albert Sts.
HISTORIC BUILDING
SEXY COCONUTS
This must be the sexiest fruit on earth. The
coco fesse
(the fruit of the coco de mer palm) looks like, ahem, but-
tocks with a female sex. It has been the source of many legends and erotic lore, given its peculiar shape. Now you
can understand why these strange, sensual fruits excited the 17th-century sailors who first stumbled upon them
after months at sea. Before 1768 the coconuts, which were occasionally found floating in the Indian Ocean, were
believed to grow in a magic garden at the bottom of the sea. This rare palm grows naturally only in the
Seychelles.
Only female trees produce the erotically shaped nuts, which can weigh over 30kg. The male tree possesses a
decidedly phallic flower stem of 1m or longer, adding to the coco de mer's steamy reputation.
Harvesting the nuts is strictly controlled by the Seychelles Island Foundation (
Click here
), an NGO that man-
ages the Vallée de Mai on behalf of the government.
Kanti House
HISTORIC BUILDING
