Madagascar – Diego Suarez and Nosy Be
Monday 15th February – Diego Suarez Madagascar
John’s birthday today! Madagascar seems like quite an exotic
destination in which to celebrate it!
Boudicca docks in the early morning. We are booked on a tour to the
Emerald Sea, a large coral lagoon with crystal clear turquoise waters. There is
a bit of disorganised chaos on the quayside getting everyone away on their
various tours, but eventually we set off in a small bus with our guide Julio.
It is a culture shock driving through the town where there is a great deal of
poverty though the people look happy going about their daily business. The
roads are not good, potholes everywhere, so we make slow progress to our
embarkation point a few miles away for the Emerald Sea. Julio tells us that his
parents live 500 km away and it takes him 5 days to get there because of the
state of the roads. At Ramena Bay we get
in local wooden boats, wading in the water and up a tricky boat ladder to get
in. Its much further to the Emerald Sea than we thought but a lovely trip and
they even get the sail up. The description of our destination is accurate the
sea is VERY emerald and the uninhabited
island has a beautiful beach.
We spend our time there snorkelling and soaking up the setting. We enjoy fresh fruit before heading
back. The return journey takes an hour and a half in the boat – no shade so
glad we had plenty to cover ourselves up with. See dolphins and flying fish as
an added bonus. We get back to Boudicca much later than advertised but before
the deadline (as we are on a Fred Olsen tour we don’t need to fret that they
will leave without us!). This evening there is a beautiful sunset and then we
meet up with 3 other couples we have met and celebrate John’s birthday with a
pre-dinner glass of fizz. At the end of dinner, John is serenaded by some of
the crew singing happy birthday and presenting him with a birthday cake. A
great day and a birthday to remember!
Tuesday 16th February
We have sailed round the north cape of Madagascar overnight
and anchor off an island in the North West called Nosy Be. We have been attending
lectures on the history and flora and fauna of Madagascar on sea days and today
we hope to spot some of the endemic wild life on our tour to Lokobe National
Park. After breakfast we get ashore very promptly on the tender and board our
bus. The town of Hellville (named after that Admiral again like Hellbourg on
Reunion) appears a bit more prosperous than Diego Suarez, relatively speaking.
We drive out to the countryside past ylang ylang plantations and arrive at our
departure point for our canoe ride. We do not have to do much paddling – the
front canoe has an outboard and we are all pulled along by ropes! – in this
heat and humidity it is a big relief not to expend too much energy.
John slightly excited as he is in the bow of the lead towed
boat and notices that the prow is being gradually pulled apart by the strain of
towing 6 canoes. However the water ingress is not dangerous so he keeps quiet
until we beach the boats for fear of causing a mild panic among the pampered
passengers! We land at a little village beside a beach and set off on our
hour’s hike through the forest. It is quite difficult terrain with protruding
roots, mud and a bit of an incline so we probably spend more time looking down
at the path than up in the trees to spot the wildlife! However, we do find a
couple of lemurs and a boa constrictor, but much less than we had hoped for.
Still its all a bit of an adventure and ‘the real thing’
traipsing through the forest rather than seeing lemurs in a Lemurworld type scenario. We are given lunch in the shade of the beach
and then back whence we came. We are very lucky to see a panther chameleon on our way back to the port so a good end to
the day. Boudicca is a haven of cool. Everyone is quite tired!
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