“The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in the winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?
Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?
Not at all. They could be carried.
What? A swallow carrying a coconut?”
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
No, after one day at sea, I have not gone crazy. And yes, I am quoting Monty Python. Why you say? Well, we spent the day cruising in the vast blue sea. After four glorious days exploring the Seychelles, we are on our way to the Maldives. It is over a thousand miles away and we spent all day without any sightings of land, with the sea around 12,000+ feet deep.
We reflected on our time in the Seychelles. Birds, snorkeling, hiking, and beaches. In the Seychelles, we spent a lot of time amongst not only coconut trees but also amongst the Coco de Mer, the largest of all seeds. Living only on two islands here in the Seychelles, they have drifted the ocean wide and far and are legendary wherever they have been found. But what does this have to do with Monty Python and swallows? Well, near sunset, as National Geographic Orion was passing squalls and rainbows, a migratory swallow, probably European and not African, came to visit us here in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Briefly hitching a ride onboard, it continued on its way as we continued on ours.
I am pretty sure, however, that “a five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut” and especially not a FORTY pound Coco de mer.
