Marsh

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!Read more