Madagascar
Hell-Ville

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    • Day 34

      8 Fevrier Nosy Be

      February 8 in Madagascar ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

      Après une belle navigation de 684 Mn, nous voici arrivés à Nosy Be.
      Nous avons réussi à descendre à terre à bord de la première chaloupe.
      Une belle journée d’excursion nous attend. Météo magnifique, grand soleil, mer d’huile, très très chaud
      À 08h30 nous sommes prêts à partir pour notre balade en bateau, direction Nosy Komba, une petite île de 32 km2 , un vrai paradis. Les locaux ont inventé la regligion Musulique un étonnant mélange d’islam et de catholicisme.
      La visite du village et des environs a été une très belle expérience. Les enfants étaient très heureux des petits cadeaux que nous avons apportés.
      Les lémuriens sont superbes et presque apprivoisés. Un endroit magnifique.
      Marielle a enfin trouvé son chapeau en radia…
      Puis direction Nosy Tanikely pour se baigner. Séance snorkelling au top avec de belles tortues, l’eau de mer doit faire 32deg, c’est très très chaud. La plage est magnifique.
      Repas sympa sur la plage où nous avons goûté du Zébu qui était dur comme de la semelle.
      Nous retournons à Hell-Ville pour un tour en tuk tuk qui nous mène au marché, où nous achetons de nouveau de la vanille.
      Sur le retour nous avons rencontré deux petites filles trop mignonnes à qui nous avons offert des jouets.
      Retour au bateau après 17h00 avec de merveilleux souvenirs de Nosy Be.
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    • Day 91

      Nosy Be, Madagascar - 3 of 3

      April 15, 2023 in Madagascar ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

      Our last stop was the Hotel Espadon in Nosy Be for local snacks and a chance to step into the Indian ocean at the beach … for the first time.

      Note: the videos here are of the lemurs discussed in prior post and Tuk Tuk traffic jam.Read more

    • Day 11

      Madagascar Canoes

      February 11, 2023 in Madagascar

      No sooner had our ship set anchor near Nosy Be, than a dozen or so dugout canoes paddled right up to us.

      One man sold fruit directly to passengers as they sat in their tender boats. Others sold handmade souvenirs.

      A few, however, seemed to be visiting our ship out of curiosity more than anything else.

      We also saw single sail boats. Having grown up with one, I have a soft spot for that type of water craft. It reminds me of many happy hours sailing with my dad.
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    • Day 11

      Snake Dancers

      February 11, 2023 in Madagascar

      As we wandered through the beautiful grounds, we came upon a group of locals singing and dancing.

      As you can see, one guy had a snake around his neck. He kept quite a grip on the creature’s neck, which made me wonder if it was venomous. (Maybe it was just not in the mood to dance!)

      The dancers all wore shirts labeling them as staff, so I’m not sure if they were holding a snake simply to impress tourists, or if it held more significance than that.

      I would have liked to ask questions about the whole scene, but we’d lost our guide at this point, so I wasn’t able to do more than just observe.
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    • Day 11

      Hellville Market

      February 11, 2023 in Madagascar

      According to Philippe, the difference between a town and a village in Madagascar is that a town has electricity and a village does not.

      We ended our tour of Nosy Be with a visit to the the town of Hellville.

      I noticed charcoal for sale in various places. Philippe says most people rely on it to cook food. “Our villages have no TV, of course, so that’s why we have so many children,” Philippe joked.

      “Before, every family in Madagascar wanted 14 children. That was the wish. But now, our government tells us that’s too many. So now we try to only have a few, maybe five or six. Not so many as before.”

      Philippe went on to explain that, “We have many problems here, but religion is not one of them.”

      Philippe told us that since the 18 tribes of Madagascar already have such a wide variety of different beliefs, “So no one cares if you have a different religion. People can worship what they like. We even have ‘Muslics’ here. These are people who observe Ramadan, celebrate Christmas, and whatever else they want.”

      As we contemplated his words, he added, “Everything’s ok here, you know? It’s Hakuna Matata, baby!”

      It was an entertaining ride to the Hellville Market. The spice section of the market smelled lovely. Larry and I bought some vanilla from the woman in the first photo.

      Madagascar is also known for its pepper corns. I love pepper, but wasn’t sure why they put them in old plastic water bottles.

      As I walked over to a basket of muddy crabs, I thought I saw a cat zip by out of my peripheral vision. I even felt a little whisper of air. According to Larry, however, it was a great big rat!
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    • Day 125

      Nosy Be, Madagascar

      April 15, 2023 in Madagascar ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      New-to-us port #36.

      Madagascar = Lemurs. So, there was no doubt in my mind as to what we would be doing when Insignia finally brought us to Nosy Be.

      My initial plan was to do the boat trip that takes visitors to a lemur reserve in the jungle. Then I did a bit more research. It quickly became apparent that with heat and humidity added to the equation, the trek was out of the question for me. I’d melt before we ever got to the lemurs!

      So, we did the next best thing. Together with Sonia and Boris, we hired a couple of tuk-tuks that took us to Lemuria Land. This is a zoological park set on a plantation with ylang ylang trees and mangroves along the river … with several types of the 117 known lemur species roaming freely.

      It is possible to wander around Lemuria Land at your own pace, but we decided to accept the services of a tour guide — tip in addition to the park admission. It turned out to be a smart move as he was able to take us to the lemurs — and other critters, such as tortoises, crocodiles, and chameleons — without wandering aimlessly in the sweltering heat that felt like a sauna.

      In fact, it was so hot and humid that once we accomplished our goal of seeing lemurs, we skipped not just the ylang ylang distillery on the property, but also nixed plans to take the shuttle into town.

      Air conditioning never felt as good as it did today!

      P.S. Signage was in French, so researching the types of lemurs we saw is going to have to wait until I have better internet.
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    • Day 11

      Balancing Acts

      February 11, 2023 in Madagascar

      It would never occur to me to go for a stroll with beach bag on my head, but here in Africa people carry many things this way!

      This trio of young men, for instance, looked like guys you might see anywhere as they checked their cell phones, talking and laughing… except for the bundles of fabric they casually carried on their heads.

      At one point, I noticed a woman gracefully carrying a box of bread on her head, as well as a baby in a sling on her back.

      As I admired her balance, another woman waved her over. The bread lady casually weaved through traffic, then knelt in front of her.

      After this customer chose a loaf and money changed hands, the bread lady rose to her feet and continued on her way!
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    • Day 11

      Voice of the Sea

      February 11, 2023 in Madagascar

      Larry and I were chosen to take part in the ship’s Voice of the Sea competition. Larry auditioned with Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind,” while I sang Sarah Brightman’s “Think of Me.”

      For the show, Larry performed “My Way,” since it’s such a crowd pleaser and he does it well.

      The ships had a very small list of songs to choose from and I couldn’t find anything for a soprano in the English choices. On a whim, I chose the German song, “99 Luftballons.”

      I could have sung it in English, but I’ve met a lot of nice Germans on the ship, and no one else was singing a tune in their language.

      I figured German people might get a kick out of it, and it would be a fun challenge, to boot. My German friend, Tom, helped me with pronunciation.

      I learned a lot!

      Our server, Edgar, kept the wine flowing during dinner on the night of the show and even sent us out the door with a couple glasses to go!

      We weren’t able to watch the show, alas, because they kept us backstage where we could only see it on a black and white monitor.

      Singing with a live band is so much fun! Larry and I had a great time. We even made it to the final 3.

      In the end, a woman from Holland won. She sang Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” It was well deserved. Her voice is beautiful.

      I really hope they will offer regular karaoke on the ship. This was fun, but I much prefer singing when it’s not a competition. It’s a wonderful way to meet fellow music lovers.
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    • Day 11

      Nosy Be Dancers

      February 11, 2023 in Madagascar

      When our tender boat reached the dock at Nosy Be, it was a chaotic scene.

      As passengers rushed up the gangway, I peered into the azure water and saw that it was thick with fish! Most appeared to be silvery herring, but these were punctuated with bright orange and yellow fish, as well.

      Unfortunately, the throng of impatient passengers prevented me from being able to stop and get a photo of this wondrous sight.

      Locals greeted our ship’s arrival with an energetic dance as tuk tuks zipped by, taxi cabs called out to us, vendors hawked their wares, and tour vans parked willy nilly.

      The dance was really something: One woman casually balanced a bottle on her head, while the other women took turns writhing face down on the ground and twerking!

      Add a hefty dose of heat and humidity to this and you have one hectic scene!
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    • Day 17

      Sunday Bloody Sunday

      August 28, 2022 in Madagascar ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Sono le 10 e mezza e ancora non trovo la forza di alzarmi dal letto. Viene a svegliarmi Alex che mi racconta di quando Santi è arrivato a svegliarlo nel corso della notte per chiedergli di lasciargli la stanza per mezz'ora. Nel frattempo, scopro che l'atto è stato consumato nel bagno dell'albergo e che Santi è stato prima cacciato e poi proprio BANNATO dal tornare al Les Boucaniers... È IL MIO EROE!
      Alle 16 abbiamo la barca per tornare al campo. Facciamo un po' più tardi perché non riusciamo a prelevare nonostante aver provato con 3 carte diverse in 2 banche. Sarà per un'altra volta. Fortunatamente ho ancora un po' di soldi da parte al campo.
      Con Alex rimediamo un po' di erba da Lara. Ci racconta che ha passato 5 proprietari diversi. Nei prossimi giorni la proveremo.
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