Yesterday in the afternoon I developed a headache. I do not get headaches often but boy, this one was pretty bad. I put up a brave front while chatting to Donn, Mike and Alma who was taking photographs of our flying. By 3 I was out of it and took Alma back to Eden Island while Mike bravely flew over to the west side to do some training with the boys. By 6 I was there when he landed to help with the pack up. My headache held at bay by some serious pain tablets. No need for me to get in the air to fly…
In the morning we finally got EPE rigged and into the hangar. I did a 25 minute check out flight just to make sure everything was fine. The one EGT was running 30 degrees hotter than the other at cruise yet at full power it would go to 10 degrees colder. Puzzling! We will have to keep an eye on it.
But it was great to be back in the air with my old friend EPE. She was light and easy after the flying with XL (The float plane which is big and heavy) SO I delighted to float around the sky a bit (all within easy glide from the runway!) while taking in the scenery.
Seychelles really is a beautiful place. As far as tropical island destinations go it is as pretty as they come. The lush greens and turquoise waters and hues of the granite rocks not to mention the shapes make for some creation! Every beach is surrounded by huge granite boulders edged by the greens while the white sand and crystal water is hard to resist by even non swimmers – the beaches are really the best in the world. Eden Island too has turned into a beauty. In the early years while she was just a clump of rock and fir trees and then they started clearing even these and she looked barren and out of place and I though what on earth are they trying to do here? Many of us speculated at mans folly, trying to create a rich man’s paradise? Well, initially it did not look good. The few units they had made the island look like a desert town – in tropical island style paradise it was lost. But then more units were built and two years later it is almost full, along with beautiful palms, ferns, banana trees (with large bundles of bananas on them unlike on the main island where the locals nab them before they can turn ripe) and other greenery that has made the man made creation fit the part. Though much works still needs to be done, It is pretty and it works. Better still, we are living here and it is very comfortable. 😉
Of course it rained again yesterday (and the day before) and last night. This time of the year it rains every day they say. The air is very unstable and any cloud buildup usually develops into a CB cell. We have to be on constant alert while flying. Of course with floats it offers a great many more options for bail outs! I will tell you a bit more about the float plane next time. It has been a pleasant surprise.
