Third Time IS the Charm! - November 15

I was supposed to visit Madagascar on the 2018 GWV but they were just coming out of pneumonic plague so it was canceled (long in advance).  The 2020 GWV was also supposed to go to Madagascar, but Covid stopped that from happening.  Finally, today, I made it!

The reason I wanted to visit Madagascar so much was to see lemurs where they live in the wild.  My tour today was called "Nosy Komba: Isle of Lemurs" and I was worried it wasn't going to happen.  The problem?  Once we were cleared by authorities, a tender went over to Nosy Be to set up for us.  When they got there, they found that there was a two-foot difference between the dock and the tender.  Too dangerous to allow passengers on shore.  

We were waiting in the World Stage for the excursion which was supposed to leave at 11am.  At 10:53, Jeremy announced that the ship's carpenters were heading to shore to try to correct the problem.  We were told we could leave the room and do something else - get a snack, walk around, go to your cabin, etc. but to be back by 11:50.  

Around noon, we were told that they could fix the problem and finally were sent to the tenders.  The tour I was on was one the first to be sent down and we were the first tender with passengers to leave the ship.  We also had some pieces of wood, tools, and a couple of carpenters onboard.

Once we arrived, the carpenters took their equipment and worked to make a safe plank on to land.  It was really hot waiting on the tender and we all had our masks on (the Captain announced yesterday that everyone should wear a mask on the tender), which made it worse.  Eventually, everyone got off safely.

Since we were going to a different island, we only had to walk a few steps to get on another boat to go to Nosy Komba ("nosy" is the Malagasy word for island).  When we arrived, we had a "wet landing" meaning we had to get out of the boat and wade through the water to the beach and then make our way up to Ampangorina, a fishing village.

We wound through the village and then headed up to the lemur sanctuary.  The lemurs here are used to humans and many would come down from the trees to get the fruit the guide was offering them.  As we walked, the guide showed us some large turtles (and how to tell the males from the females), a chameleon, and a large snake (that you could have draped around your neck - I passed).  

The ground was very uneven, and the path was like a cobblestone - a very bumpy one.  A very nice gentleman on our tour held my arm as I walked down until we got to even ground (I might still be up there if he hadn't helped me).  We were then set free to shop.  There were stalls all along the walk with many things to buy.  The women of the island are known for their embroidered tablecloths which were beautiful but for which I had no need (I did see a few people who bought them).  I did pick up a few items and once I was back to the village, I went to pick up my included drink.  It was called "World Cola" and it was tasty.  They also had some food set out but I only ate a couple of pieces of pineapple.

When it was time to head back, we waded in the water again and onto the boat.  When the head count was made someone was missing.  The guide swore we had 40 coming over and now only had 39.  We waited about 30 minutes but they could not find the person.  Eventually, we left with the guides from other groups on the lookout for the missing person.  We came back very fast and everyone was wet to soaked from the spray.  As I write this, it is six hours after our return and my clothes are still damp (and I got less wet than most of the rest of the group).

Once back on board, I was starving and dinner was still two and a half hours away.  I went to the Lido and got a piece of pizza (that tasted wonderful).

I walked about three miles on the island so I did not need to walk the deck.  Instead, I sorted through my pictures.

Judy, Bob and I were the only ones at dinner and I went to the show afterwards.  It was called "Under African Skies" performed by the trio named "Shades of Africa" from South Africa.  I enjoyed the show.

One lap around the deck and then back to write the blog.

Tomorrow I am going to go into town since we saw nothing of Andoany, the port town on Nosy Be.

Smooth sailing until next time!

some of the small boats near us - later they put up the security sign that said stay 50 meters away

views from the boat on the way to Nosy Komba

cooking and washing Nosy Komba style

one of the embroidered tablecloths and a statue

the first lemur we saw

he's coming down to investigate

he really like this woman on our tour - he was licking her leg

the only cat I saw and quite a handsome one

a female - they are brownish-red while the males of this species are black

a male on this lady's shoulder

two large turtles 

a chameleon

the snake

lemurs live in groups of about 7 to 15 - there are usually more males although a dominant female leads the group

lemurs mainly eat seeds, leaves, fruits and occasionally insects and millipedes

the village school

one of the many stalls

the boat in the middle was the one we used

an ancient looking outrigger

we were told the island has no electricity so it looks like they generate their own power

the snack table and entertainment