Suche zurücksetzen
February 2023February 2023
SatellitRoute bearbeiten

February 2023

Februar 2023 - Mai 2024
Sailing to Africa, rounding the cape, & crossing the Atlantic! Weiterlesen
Aktuell unterwegs
  • 67Footprints
  • 8Länder
  • 478Tage
  • 376Fotos
  • 2Videos
  • 12,3kMeilen
Folgen Kalender Teilen Bucket List
Datum aufsteigend
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Ylang Ylang Farm

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    We visited a Ylang Ylang farm near Nosy Be, Madagascar. See that tree I’m standing under? It’s Ylang Ylang.

    And see how the trees are hunched over? They are pruned this way so that the blossoms can be picked without a ladder.

    Ylang Ylang blossoms are a lighter green than the leaves, nor do they look like a traditional flower blossom.

    At the entrance to the factory, they had a framed photo of Ghandhi with a wonderful quote, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

    Must confess that we were melting from the heat and humidity at the ylang ylang distillery.

    I much preferred our trek through the neighboring forest, where we saw bananas growing, and so many gorgeous plants.

    I smelled Ylang Ylang everywhere we went that day. It wasn’t until I undressed for a shower back on the ship that I realized I was the culprit; a little sprig of Ylang Ylang blossoms was snagged in my bra strap!    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Nosy Be Dancers

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    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!    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Balancing Acts

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    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!    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Madagascar Tortoises

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    They keep three kinds of Madagascar tortoise at the Ylang Ylang farm.

    The first photo shows a Star Tortoise. Their shells are so pretty!

    As you can see, male Soc Tortoises have a bony protuberance in front. They can fight each other with this, although I imagine it must be a very slow paced fight.

    And lastly, you see a Bell Tortoise named Napoleon. According to our guide, Napoleon is more than 220 years old.

    Sadly, he was shot during a war (stupid humans!) You can see the damage to his shell. This wound caused him to go blind when he was around 200 years old.

    Our guide says they make sure Napoleon stays well fed, and that he continues to thrive despite losing his sight.    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Snake Dancers

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    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.    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Feeding a Wild Lemur!

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    We saw many different kinds of lemurs in Madagascar, but whatever kind is pictured here, are may absolute favorites!

    There was no need to squint at them from afar, because these furry fellows hopped through the branches and shimmied right down to eye level.

    Our guide had brought some little bananas, which are a favorite treat for lemurs.

    When I held out a piece, one of them immediately hopped over. He delicately grasped my hand and raised it to his mouth so he could take it. (If you look closely, you can see the moment he let go of my hand in one of the photos.)

    The lemur was cute and his little hand so gentle that he absolutely stole my heart!

    One of our friends had an enchanting lemur encounter, too: After playing peekaboo with one of these fuzzy primates, the creature offered the human a piece of fruit, as if to say, “Thank you, friend!”    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Holy Tree in Nosy Be

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    If you remember the plot to the first “Avatar” movie, then certain aspects of the story behind this tremendous tree may sound familiar! Read on:

    In 1836, the Queen of the Sakalava tribe planted what has become an enormous banyan tree.

    Every year, the current queen conducts a ritual here during which a zebu is sacrificed in exchange for blessings to the Sakalava people.

    According to our guide, Philippe, his people come to this tree all throughout the year instead of going to a church. This tree is their holy space.

    In fact, the Latin name for “banyan tree” is “ficus religiosa” since the Buddha attained enlightenment while sitting beneath one. (Many banyan trees around the world are treated as holy spaces. Makes sense to me!)

    “My people believe this tree contains the souls of all our ancestors, and just as we cannot tell where the roots begin and end, so are our souls connected in the afterlife. We come here to feel that connection. Here we can communicate with our ancestors.”

    Philippe told us that as they sing and dance at the tree, “People can have a trance. Trance is very important to us.”

    People go barefoot during rituals at this sacred tree and Philippe showed us how the men wear a colorful wrap around their legs.

    In addition to his tribe, Philippe said that people journey from all over the world to meditate and pray beneath this tree. I certainly enjoyed a few quiet moments beneath its tremendous branches.

    “Many people tell me they feel an energy from this tree,” Philippe told us. “We believe it is our ancestors. When we come here to ask them for help, we leave offerings of coins, rum, honey, and red or white cloth.”

    “No zebu?” Larry asked.

    “Of course, zebu!” Philippe laughed, “But only for big requests, such as a marriage or funerals. We come here to make offerings, and we must drink a lot of rum to please our ancestors. We don’t like rum, but we must drink it for them.”

    I noticed that anytime the subject of rum came up, Philippe would deny liking it, but say his people had to drink it to appease their ancestors.

    There are many elaborate taboos in Madagascar, and for Philippe’s tribe, it may be taboo to say that you like drinking rum, but I’ll write about the complex “fady” a.k.a. “taboo” system in another post.    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Hellville Market

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    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!    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 11

    Voice of the Sea

    11. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    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.    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • ReisenderFebruary 2023
    Tag 13

    Blessings from the Chief

    13. Februar 2023 in Madagaskar

    The downpour continued as our boat pulled ashore so Lachaka suggested wearing life jackets in lieu or raincoats.

    A small crowd of locals met us as we disembarked. If they thought we looked silly in our life jackets, I couldn’t tell. Some were hawking goods, but most seemed to be there out of curiosity.

    Before we could interact, Lachaka directed us to a forested path that offered shelter from the rain. Between that and the life jacket, I was pretty cozy. It was so hot and humid that none of us felt chilled.

    After carefully wandering up a slick hill, we were ushered into a hut. (It reminded me a lot of our backyard tiki hut, actually.)

    Inside, two men sat at a table. Lachaka explained that the man in the hat was the village chief and part of his job was greeting all visitors.

    The chief spoke to us in Malagasy and I did not understand a word. According to Lachaka’s interpretation, however, not only did he welcome us to his village and extend blessings to us and our families back home, but he even offered blessings to our deceased ancestors, as well.

    After these words, the chief blessed us by dipping a tree branch in water and flicking water droplets on us.

    Lachaka told us that the hat on the table was there in case we wanted to leave a tip, and many of us did so.

    As I mentioned before, Madagascar has 18 different ethnic groups. Lachaka and the members of this village are part of the Betsimisaraka people.

    Betsimisaraka means “the many inseparables,” and mainly live on the eastern side of Madagascar.

    As coastal peoples, they have interacted with Europeans for a long time, and integrated many things into their own culture.

    As we wandered the village, we saw people pounding rice (to de hull it), and cooking meals over small charcoal fires.

    I don’t usually carry any money ashore, but a little voice told me to take a bunch of ones this morning. I’m glad I did, because so many people in the village had hats out for tips.

    I noticed a well for the village that was donated by Muslims and it reminded me of our other guide’s “Hakuna Matata” remark about how the people of Madagascar are comfortable cherry-picking from any religion that appeals to them.

    Our visit ended with a fruit buffet and live song and dance. Everything was delicious, but my favorites were the mango and the little bananas.    Weiterlesen

    Übersetzung anzeigen
  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Start
  • Über uns
  • Blog
  • Gruppen-Tracking
  • Presse
  • Nutzungsbedingungen
  • Datenschutz & Cookies
  • Support
  • Impressum
  • Deutsch