Popular belief has it that the “Source d’Argent” bay on the island of La Digue in the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean, is the most-photographed bay on the entire planet. This of course raises the question: why? Out of the hundreds of thousands, even millions of bays which exist worldwide, this is the one, the “Silverspring Cove”.
As on so many tropical islands, coconut palms thrive on La Digue. These are a symbol deeply entrenched in our minds, triggering images of desert islands with white, sandy beaches and coral reefs. However, this fact doesn’t begin to answer our question. The answer is simple, but not immediately apparent to all at first sight. It is the unique interplay of these palm trees with granite rock formations, formed by the water, most likely over hundreds of millions of years, into incomparable figures. These massive monoliths, between which the palm trees spring out, create the essential atmosphere, the fundamental tone, so to speak, which ultimately defines my fascination for this bay.
Surreally erotic rock formations give rise to an almost transcendental atmosphere,
which, together with the palms, creates an exceptionally rare composition of line, form
and colour that seems to cast its spell over everyone.
In the mid-1980s, my childhood best friend spent three weeks on holiday in the Seychelles with his parents, during which time they spent a few days on La Digue. I must admit I felt quite jealous even before his departure, and all the more so when I received his postcard describing all the unbelievable things he’d done. This was not so much because of the surfing, diving and paragliding, but most of all because he had been able to experience that incomparable atmosphere, which I had always imagined to be the essence of paradise.
Even Mother Nature has a flair for design, and I find she has really hit the mark with this little cove: perfectly designed, the quintessential dream beach on a paradise island, where we might hope all our dreams come true. This bay is duly depicted time and again for publicity purposes. The perfect cliché: ” Escape the daily grind and drift off to paradise!” For us in the West at least, this bay has become the ultimate backdrop for the projection of our hidden desires; the stage, as it were, upon which each of us can enact the fulfilment of our dreams.
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