Our Ponant Expedition

The word ‘cruise’ is not used to describe our current voyage.  Our ship, Le Jacques Cartier, does not stop in harbors and tie up to piers. Instead, it anchors off of beautiful beaches and transfers passengers to the beach via Zodiac RIBs (rigid inflatable boats). The landings are wet; going over the side of the boat and wading ashore. A wave may catch you in heavier surf soaking your clothing.

                                    Le Jacques Cartier in the Seychelles

Each landing has purpose: to see the rare Coco de Mer huge coconut trees and fruit, to visit a secluded refuge for seabirds, to experience a colony of tortoises. Or maybe, just to go snorkeling. We are always accompanied by local experts to explain all details. The outings are open to all passengers capable of the required activity level.

Loading a RIB when leaving the Seychelles.  We spent several days at sea voyaging to the Maldives.

Expedition crew members stabilizing a RIB in the shallow surf.  Crew members are hired for their local knowledge or for their subject matter expertise, plus physical health and strength.  They really seemed to enjoy their jobs.  Great adventure for a young person.

This is all possible due to the small size of the ship and limited passenger list (about 180 persons). The crew to passenger ratio is high to include all the positions for boat handling and safety needed help in these expeditions. Ponant is a French cruise line; as such, the crew is 90% native French-speaking.  Announcements are first in French, then repeated in English. About 1/ 3 of passengers are French, about 1/3 American, and 1/3 other- mainly European.  Excursions are separated into English and French-speaking groups.

The only thing we didn't like was dinner scheduled at 8pm.  I hate a heavy meal just before bedtime.  For me, there is the additional complication of being lactose intolerant.  French cuisine tends to feature butter, creme, milk, and cheese frequently.  But I am used to checking ingredients, and there are plenty of buffet options to choose from if the menu is not favorable.

We had some rainy weather for the first few days.  Snorkeling in cloudy weather dims all the underwater scenery.  Seychelles has beautiful beaches.  By the time we reached the Maldives the weather improved but wind continued.  We were able to do some decent snorkeling.

We asked about excursions when we signed up for this voyage and were told that the excursions would be discussed once we were onboard our ship, Le Jacques Cartier.  Everyone was invited to participate in every excursion, and they were of high quality.  Once we reached Sri Lanka, we enjoyed more excursions.  First was a visit to the fortress at Galle.  This had been built by the previous colonial powers, Portuguese, Dutch, and British.  Now it is an area of shops, hotels and other businesses within the fort walls.

Mahe Island NE Point, about 100 yards from our AirBnB

Island coast in the Seychelles.  Notice that the sky is cloudy which makes snorkeling less enjoyable.

Snorkeling and snacking off a sandbar in the Maldives.  Plenty of sun here.

Another excursion was to Yala National Park (about 24,000 acres) which we toured in small groups on safari vehicles.  We saw many birds, elephants, water buffalo and a few crocodiles (man-eating when large enough).  One group was fortunate enough to spot a leopard.

A large elephant greeted us at the entrance to Yala NP (looking for treats)

A family of elephants in Yala NP.

These were the type of safari vehicles used in Sri Lanka.

A wild water buffalo resting in the shade in the Park.

In Sri Lanka peacocks are plentiful.  With all the predators, including leopards, I can't understand why these silly strutting birds haven't been eaten.

The Hornbeak is a very unusual bird.

I was fortunate to get this picture just as this bird captured its prey.

Yes, that is a man-eating crocodile sunning itself on the edge of a pond.  Normally, they are well hidden; then, if you look closely, you will just see their nostrils protruding above the water's surface.

Looks like an eagle to me.

Sri Lanka deer, food for the leopards.

Sri Lanka has enough elephants that it also has several elephant orphanages for baby elephants who have lost their parents.  One elephant there has a prosthetic leg due to stepping on a landmine left over from a recent human conflict.  Feeding forty baby elephants at one time is quite a show.

The trainer has to be well organized to be able to feed three hungry baby elephants at one time.  This was repeated over and over for forty such babies.  He is feeding them a milk substitute; then they eat piles of tree twigs & leaves.

Sitting on concrete, scraping off the outer bark at a cinnamon 'factory'.  It was a simple open building with a corrugated metal roof.  Curing cinnamon laying in the rafters.  Workers sit there all day long.

Cinnamon drying in the rafters.  No comfort for the workers.  How would you like this job?

Our most thought-provoking excursions were to a dairy farm for water buffalo, a tea plantation, and to a cinnamon 'factory'.  We discovered that I could eat curd with treacle.  The curd comes from the water buffalo, and the treacle comes from palm trees; it makes for a yummy treat like yogurt.  

This is the dairy farmer's home; considered to be fairly nice.  He has a herd of about 20 water buffalo which are milked by hand.

Notice the posture.  When the plants grow taller, it will be easier.  Why is it always women?  We were able to see some workers homes.... small one room shacks.

Tea leaves are usually harvested by women plucking the new green leaves by hand. For an expensive tea, the leaves are snipped using scissors and handled wearing rubber gloves to avoid any skin oils.  The work conditions of the women are depressing.  Their pay, about 1000 rupees per day, converts to not much more than three dollars.  In the processing of the leaves, we were proudly shown the ancient equipment used.... 145 years old.  Has nothing better been invented?  

Using ancient equipment, plus hand shoveling and hand distribution.  Nothing better has been invented in the past 145 years?  The woman on the right is supposed to spread the leaf mixture evenly across the perforated conveyor belt by hand.  She can hardly reach the far side.

Our most shocking revelation was the cinnamon 'factory'.  The factory was a concrete slab with a corrugated metal roof and open sides.  The workers sat on the bare concrete floor and stripped the outer bark off of branches using paring knives, all day long!  One woman had her infant daughter sitting on her lap.  Could the working conditions be any less comfortable?

This was our introduction to the overwhelming poverty of average citizens in Sri Lanka.  Much more can be said about the economic and political conditions.