October 26th - Lemurs n big Baobab trees, Baly Bay

Very remote, we didn't n see any locals near where we anchored. We went to search for lemurs in the morning. Was told they love bananas but we ate all our bananas days ago. Marc first spotted them high up on a shady tree. We brought along some pineapple skins n placed them n hoped they would come down to no avail. In the evening, we went by again and saw quite a few playing n swinging on a tree right next to the beach. We enjoyed watching them until there were too many mosquitoes buzzing around us.

Lemurs- This one actually has a baby clinging to her.

these r the Baobab trees, they look like giant Ginsengs.

October 25th - Moramba bay, Madagascar

We dropped anchor at this remote Moramba bay just before a beautiful sunset.

We already got a wahu and small tuna early this am.. then later ..

Marc got us 2 beautiful yellow fin tuna!

October 24th - main island Madagascar !

About 5 am , we left nosy Komba and motored sailed south towards the main island..

Quite a few unknown islands as we move along..

 

 We got some raw unfiltered honey from this remote village..

A local fisherman and his young son paddled by ..He has some eggs for sale. He is a teacher here at the village ..his son gets water out of their little boat with half a cut out plastic bottle as dad paddles along.

October 22nd - Nosy Komba or Nosy Ambariovato

Today we left Nosy Be, motored a couple of hours and anchored onto north of Nosy Komba. Was told we can buy raw, unfiltered honey for very good price..see madagascar endangered mammals -  lemurs.

Some friendly locals waved as they and their simple sail boat came close to ours. They are so brave to sail on the big Mozambique Channel with nothing but worn out homemade sail.

October 19th - scenes from Hell-Ville

Madagascar Vanilla Beans are often regarded as the most popular vanilla. Plenty of them sold like this in the market.

Selling candied and roasted peanuts

Houses with satellite dish.

October 18th - bird and beer

We took a little hike on the island today. It was a bit warm and humid. Lots of mango trees and quite a few jack fruit trees.
The view is just so tranquil and beautiful.

And was rewarded with cold local beer.

Bird ..to be identified

October 17th- Hell-Ville, Nosy Be, Madagascar

Today we hired a taxi driver who assist us with some grocery shopping in Hell-Ville. Was told there is a road name Hellville dead ended to a Catholic Church lol.
Nosy Be is Madagascar's largest and busiest tourist resort.
Hell -Ville is the main city and harbor .
We changed money and bought SIM cards for our phones and Internet . Our taxi driver speaks some English. He also gets us better price and this market.

Just road side scene during taxi ride to Hell-Ville.

October 15th - Sakatia, Nosy Be, Madagascar

We arrived Madagascar just before sunset, we were welcomed by whales! We saw 3 or 4 of them breach the water n swim around us. Some schools of birds circling by where we anchored so there must be meal time for the whales.

We are actually anchored off island called Sakatia, next to Nosy Be, northwest of Madagascar .

Weather is just perfect, with tiny bit of humidity but not windy and chilly like in Rodrigues. This place is simply idyllic clean and quiet.

October 12th - flying fish

While at sea, it is always fun to see flying fishes jump and skim across the water. They look shiny white reflected by sunlight.
Their fins are long; made them look like they are 'flying'..
 just above the water. It's rather impossible to catch them on camera with their quick flying actions. Then they dive back into the sea.

Every now and then, we found a few on deck... dead :( of course.

October 9th - Goodbye Rodrigues island, Mauritius

This morning we depart  peaceful Rodrigues and sail towards Nosy-Be, Antsiranana, northwest of Madagascar. We have enjoyed a very pleasant stay, clean air and water ad beautiful friendly people here.We shall arrive safely in about 5 or 6 days, about 960 Nmi, nautical miles.
Think Wind.

October 7th - supply ship

A huge cargo supply ship came in to port today.. Was much fun to watch this big boat maneuver around and park itself . All of the boats previously parked right next to dock had to move out to bay for it to park.

Looks like ppl walking on waters ? Look closer, These are local fishermen walking on shallow reefs , hunting for octopus etc..

October 4th - Anse Quitor

Today I hopped on 2 local buses to visit Francois Leguat Giant Tortoise and Cave Reserve.  It was a very pleasant ride to the wild south west of Rodrigues island at Anse Quitor. The reserve has over 1500 giant tortoises including over 700 babies turtles.

October 3rd - local goodies n spices

Walked round waterfront  market, local woman selling jars of spices n sauces.

October 2nd - Rodrigues island, Mauritius

After 2 weeks of sailing across the Indian Ocean, we see land!!

Everyone was excited as we approach Rodrigues. It is a beautiful island, with sub-tropical weather, clean air and water! It was a windy afternoon when we anchored and started to drizzle. Andy scrubbed the deck while I rinsed with the salt water hose. We welcome the rain as it gave the deck a good fresh water rinse. I can hardly wait to walk on solid ground.