branched murex seychelle islands

We saw seashells by the seashore on our shelling and sailing vacation in the Seychelles!

Seychelle seashells

We saw spectacular seaside sightseeing views.

Seychelle Island View

We saw stunning sandyΒ beaches … spawning smiles. ;)

Happiness.Β We couldn’t think of a better way forΒ Clark and I to celebrate our 20th Anniversary!

Pam and Clark Rambo Seychelles

The Seychelles Islands are on the east coast of Africa right smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean. We flew from Miami to Paris then Paris to Mahe Island in the Seychelles. We spent a few days on Mahe Island exploring the beaches … we rented a car but we do NOT advise doing this. The roads are crazy narrow with no room for error. Clark did an amazing job of driving but I think my feet are still sore from slamming on my imaginary breaks on the passenger side- eeek! If you go, just hire a cab- seriously. Then we boarded a 44 ft Sunsail Catamaran to sail to a few of the other Seychelles Islands…. with Captain Jeremie Bossy. Let me tell you, Jeremie was THE best captain we could have ever hoped for. We love him!

Clark Pam Rambo boat captain Jeremie Bossy

Our first hour on the boat, we sat down with Jeremie to chart our route. He looked at us like we were crazyΒ when all of our questions were about finding areas with seashells. He grew up on the water in the Seychelles with his parents (and 5 brothers) and has been a captain since he was 18… he had never met anybody who wanted to spend their vacation in search of seashells. Fishing, yes. Diving, yes. Birding, yes. Snorkeling, yes. Reading books, yes. Β Shelling? Never.

By day 2, he was combing the beaches right along side us. He was hooked.

Jeremie Bossy beach comb shelling Seychelles

So with now 3 sets of eyes… we found SPIDER CONCHS…

seychelle seashell spider conch

and beach bling like PENCIL URCHIN SPINES…

seychelle sea urchin spines

and SEA GLASS…

Seychelle seaglass Indian ocean

Our favorite little island was LA DIGUE. We loved it so much we ended up staying there 3 days and renting bikes to explore. Gorgeous!

Biking La Digue Island Seychelles

We found most of our shells while biking around this island. It was soooooo much fun.

seashells and seaglass in Seychelle Islands

But we didn’t just comb the beaches. The Seychelles Islands are known for their conservation efforts so lots of the beaches are marine parks to protect the sealife and all wildlife. Jeremie knew where we could beach comb but also where we could observeΒ but not collect. He also took us where we could lots of wildlife for photos…. like seeing the amazing rare GIANT TURTLES. haha They are so dang cute and friendly! Β Now don’t worry that Im so close to him (yes, this one’s a him), its ok. They are part of the landscape and their lives just like you’d say hi to your neighbor or their dogs or cats.

Aldabra giant tortoise La Digue Seychelles

In one of the marine parks, we saw “shellions” of live MANGROVE WHELKS laying around at low tide. We saw plenty of empty ones but they are off limits to collect, as well as quite a few other types shells. It’s still fun to see them by the masses and to learn about their habits at low tide.

Seychelle seashell giant mangrove whelk

Anther very cool thing to see in the Seychelles is the very rare coconut… Β COCO DE MER. This is the only place on the planet to see these wild coconuts and they are protected as well. They look like… well, you decide. haha

Coco De Mer coconut seychellesHonestly, this little LITHOGRAPH CONE (i think that’s what it is) is my favorite find of the whole trip. It’s sweet and perfect and it makes my heart skip a beat every time I look at it.

chick pea cowries lithograph cone

We didn’t find an overwhelming amount of shells but we found enough to put in a beautiful bowl in our home to see them every day and remind us of our amazing trip. They are perfect souvenirs on our hunt for shells which took us on quite an adventure on the other side of the planet to see breathtaking views, rare animals, lush foliage and a trip of a lifetime we will never forget.

clark and pam rambo world shelling seychelles

pam rambo shelling trip boat

PS- I have a phone number for Jeremie if you ever want him to be your captain- just leave a comment.

UPDATE: I had quiteΒ a few people already interested in Jeremie’s info so I’ll post it here too. So he said he doesn’t go online or look at email all that often (maybe once a week) but he has a mobile phone (which for some reason one number he gave me wouldn’t go through from my phone) so just be patient when you try to reach him.

Jeremie Bossy- 002482632253 or 002482753768 …Β jeremiebossy@gmail.com

and PSS- Yes, I have major jet lag (31 hours travel time) bit couldn’t wait to get back to working on my shell art project ( to be revealed soon!) so I haven’t been sleeping. Β Please disregard all the run-on sentences and/or misspellings and anything that doesn’t quite make sense – just read between the lines, k? ;)