Shamefully, my image of the Seychelles consisted of little more than white beaches and cornflower-blue seas before I boarded Spirit of Ponant. My three days on board were a whirlwind, piecemeal introduction to this stunning archipelago of 155 islands in the Indian Ocean.
Some are formed of dramatic, ridged hunks of granite like giant dinosaur molars, some of coral. They are variously home to giant tortoises, huge fruitbats and dazzling sea creatures, and the cuisine, culture and language is a heady blend of African, French and English.
