The run west from the Chagos Archipelago to Cap d’Ambre on the northern tip of Madagascar was a routine 1600 mile passage. Routine in that we didn’t encounter any or the shiploads of Somalian pirates that were attacking commercial shipping north of us in the Seychelles. It is interesting that the pirates have been operation so long that they have become somewhat of an institution; they have an association and a spokesperson.; their union meetings must be very colorful what with all the robes and balaclavas. Soon it may be not politically correct to refer to them as pirates; possibly something alluding to maritime entrepreneurship would be preferred.
In any case it is good to be anchored in a harbor; although, the boatboys on the wharf rival the Somalians in cunning and subtle schemes to separate you from money. My particular favorite is the Health Inspector: one of the boatboys (the infamous Two-Pak – this year operating under the nomme-de-guerre Johnny!) arrives with a woman who will want to fill in some forms with you, clean out anything interesting from your fridge and charge you a fee for the process. We reasoned that if this woman, purported to be a doctor, was roaming the streets with Two-Pak the whole matter probably lacked official sanction. We said a simple no and went about our business and the matter died for the time; but you do get the feeling of being a hunted species.
Having said all of this the people of Madagascar are straight forward and pleasant. They are quick to smile and enjoy a joke – and with the way I speak French, humor abounds. Those happy hours spent conjugating verbs in Montreal are finally paying dividends. We cleared in at Hellville, where the main road, up to the church, is called Course de Hell (which you could translate as the Road to Hell).The metal street sign of the same name does look peculiar tacked onto the corner of the church.
There was a rum distillery here, which somehow managed to go out of business. Which seems odd since rum is the national drink of the poor (and the nation is by and large poor). A Chinese gentleman, who does nothing all day except take in money like a croupier, sells rum. His shop is bustling with people arriving with plastic bottles of every description for filling. At $2 per liter for the premium brand it’s a bargain. We filled two jerrycans, because, well you never know…. The recommended procedure here (since this rum does not sit aging in white oak barrels) is to add two vanilla beans, a dried banana and a dollop of local honey to the rum and let it sit. It is very good, with perhaps a slight tendency toward hangover, but the people who bought the more-bang-for-the-buck white rum, at 180 proof, had a trembly and faraway look to them. And of course the question remains hugely unanswered; where is all this rum coming from?
The national beer is called Three Horses Beer (or tay-ashe-bay in French) and it comes in heavy 650 cl. bottles that could fell a horse. Irene has worked herself up to two bottles over an evening – but that’s pushing the final frontier. It might come as no surprise that fighting is a very popular sport in Madagascar. Almost any man, it seems, is quite adept at a fast open style of kick boxing. Little boys three years old will play-spar on the beach letting loose shocking hook-kicks – and laughing happily when they land. Me, I just call everyone Monsieur and smile a lot!
Yesterday we escaped from Hellville and sailed over to visit a small village on neighboring Nosy Komba. The crossing was funny because we had to pass through the strait between the two islands which is current swept and strewn with sandbars. We had transited it once before when we arrived from Cao D’Ambre in the north. On that occasion I had very carefully plotted a route that threaded its way through the deeper possibilities and we followed it tightly. On our arrival in Hellville an hour later we discovered that the plotter was offset almost a half mile; so we were running a cautious route between obstacles that were on the other side of the channel, comforting. We met our first lemurs. They are quite amazing. You stand beside a tree full of lemurs and (firmly) hold a banana. It won’t be long before something the size of a cat lands on your shoulder and very gently eats the banana. They leap off into the tree just as gently and urinate in relief, although this order is not to be totally relied upon.
The types we saw had upright ears and bright yellow-orange eyes – they look surprised to see you. Their great bushy tails are double their body length and their delicate black hands are human-like, with well manicured nails. They are pleasant, reasonable with each other and make a constant chucking sound which Irene has learned to imitate. With her head cocked and a wide-eyed-look-of-amazement she is quite upsetting.
Irene continues:
From Nosy Komba we went to Nosy Mitsio. Maribe Bay is a very comfortable bay, because the swell we encountered in many other places is not noticeable there. We hiked the islands and met some village people. Nosy Antarea is 2 miles away and is a pleasant little island with a white beach. We liked this place, it had some interesting trees (see photos) and we had it all to ourselves. We are traveling with Blue Sky, an American boat with 2 kids (and their parents ). It is a comfortable way of traveling through Madagascar: we can keep an eye on each other’s boat!
Sakatia Island off the west coast of Nosy Be is really our favorite. John, a South African, runs a lovely little hotel there and is an ex cruiser, so we are very welcome to join for a sundowner. The hikes on this island are nice and the views interesting, but the best is Plage Longue, the long beach, because I can run my 10 km there….Through John we rent a taxi and Anatole, the taxi driver, will drive you anywhere during 4 hours on Nosy Be, so good shopping without having to go back to Hell….
We decided to venture a bit more south. Tany Kely was a pleasant day stop and surprisingly good snorkeling with lots of green turtles and good coral. Russian Bay is a very well protected bay with superb anchorages but not much to do otherwise. The Baramahamay Bay (actually a river) is well protected and has a bar on shore in the small village. We went up the river (where there are crocodiles but we never saw one fortunately) and met a man who was building a pirogue in the middle of nowhere. Nosy Iranja was really a highlight: we saw over a hundred turtles hatching from their eggs on the beach. It is a strange world: buried deep in the sand there are around 135 turtle eggs (these eggs are white and very round)which after 60 days will start to break and tiny turtles (smaller than my hand) are coming out and instantly start running for the sea. Once they arrive at the surf they start swimming immediately. Amazing and we were there for that particular moment! Nosy Iranja consists of 2 islands which are connected only at low tide by a huge golden sand strip or beach. We were very lucky because we decided to see the turtle hatching and stay overnight there, and miraculously we had no swell to speak of! On our way back to Sakatia island we saw 4 humpback whales breaching and spouting. They are magnificent animals and we completely forgot we were motoring into a headwind (again). We really like Madagascar; it is wild, not many tourists come here and the people are a pleasure to deal with. Anchorages are good in general and there is lots to see. And don’t forget the lemurs!!
Tips for Madagascar:
Make your visit to Hellville with your boat as short as possible. Don’t deal with the boatboys and watch out for Two-Pak. Make sure you get your visa (if you stay longer than 1 month), that you pay the harbor master and get a paper for that AND that you get a cruising permit (they do check harbors). You can sail down to Nosy Be from Cap d’Ambre and take your time; the islands up north are quite beautiful. Nosy Mitsio is ok but be aware when they ask you if you have been to Hellville: say yes, because otherwise they will tell on you! Don’t stay longer than 1 night in Nosy Mitsio if you have not cleared in yet…. Nosy Komba is good for lemurs and handicrafts and when the bay is too rolly, go 2 miles across to Nosy Be (south east corner) where the anchoring is good and you have hardly any roll (Lokobe). Always make sure you can see your dinghy and it would be good to see your boat as well. “Buddy boating” is a good idea. For easy shopping go to Sakatia island. Through John you can rent a taxi for 4 hours and you can do everything in Hell in the easiest way.
The people in Madagascar are the poorest we have seen; save all your empty containers (mayonnaise jars, jelly jars etc. etc.), and empty bottles, the people are in big need of those and you can either give it to them or trade them for fruit etc. Also ropes and anything for fishing is very welcome. If you are in the position of buying cheap footballs, buy as many as you can store, because nobody here has a football and there are lots of kids….