Day 95 of 138 of our cruise from Fort Lauderdale to London. Today we stopped in Madagascar off the coast of Africa! The big question: would it resemble the animated Disney movie or not?
This was the first time a Viking ocean cruises has docked at the port of Nosy Be, Madagascar. We were told that the town of Hell-vile was extremely excited that Viking Cruises was coming and they put out the red carpet for us. Our local guide told us that only 20 cruise ships visit them on a yearly basis.
Nosy Be is a small beautiful island off the north coast of Madagascar. March/April is the end of their rainy season so everything was very overgrown and very green. The town where the port is located is Hell-ville is named by the original French settlers in honor of the governor of Bourbon. The french language was primarily spoken here.
Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world (#5 on one list) despite its rich natural resources, unique biodiversity, and vibrant culture. Several factors contributes to its economic struggle, mainly corruption, weak infrastructure and geographic isolation.
Our full day tour was to explore the island of Nosy Be on a panoramic drive around the island. We boarded a 8 seat van and set off around the country’s largest island to gain a deeper understanding of local history and culture. We stopped at the sacred forest of Bemazava, a wooded sanctuary where the locals make offerings to their ancestors.
Then, we discovered why Nosy Be is nicknamed “Perfume Island” when we visited a ylang-ylang distillery where locally collected, sweet-smelling flowers are turned into essential oils for perfume. The perfume oil we saw was going to the US, but the owners also sends them to the perfume houses in France and Germany.
As we drove to Mont Passot, we stopped for a glimpse of rice harvesting and also saw a chameleon in a bush that we could photograph. Mount Passot is the island’s highest point, had stunning views of eight surrounding crater lakes. Then, we traveled to Andilana Beach and had a nice lunch at a restaurant near the beach. Leaving the beach restaurant, a gentleman had a small pet lemur and Gina had a chance to pet the lemur – she said the lemur was so cute and had the softest fur. Seeing a lemur was one of the bucket list items and we thought we would not see one, but we did. Would have like a photo but the man wanted $2 and we had no small bills.
Then we headed to Nosy Be’s second-largest village, Dzamandzar, where our group saw the local homes and markets. The number of tuk-tuks was amazing. We photographed two concrete homes that were built to withstand cyclones which have been known to hit the island.
Finally, we pulled off the road on the way back to the port to do some souvenir shopping where we got a few Knick-knacks including some nice crafted wooden dice and metal baobab statuettes that were adorable.
We found Nosy Be a quaint beautiful island however, like Mombassa we saw the struggle of the poor. Kids in school uniform walking on the side of the road who each school day regardless of how hot or rainy it is, walks to school in the morning, then back home for lunch then back to school for afternoon sessions often these walks are a mile or more each way! On top of that they are not sidetracked by cell phones and their uniforms were clean and neatly ironed. We were told that the minimum wage to survive is $2 a day so many set up a tent in front of their homes to sell various crafts. We were told residents don’t have bank accounts and live day to day in a cash society. there is no welfare and everyone tries to find a way to make some money as best they can. We were told that there are resort/hotel type places that visitors and tourist stay at that infuses the economy, and there are a few large well built houses that must be retreat homes for wealthy foreigners.
We returned to our ship after 4pm and our sail away was treated with a lightning and rainstorm which was ominous.
After we left the following three days would be sea days as we head to another poor country of Mozambique on the African continent.
Cruising at night, we did get a very clear sky for some star viewing and caught a couple of photos that an iPhone can capture of the southern stars. Amazing number of stars in the sky!
