Nosy Be means “big island” in Malagasy. The people on this group of islands in the north of Madagascar are self-confident. They advertise themselves as the “new Maldives”. There was a lot of enthusiastic port chatter in the Seychelles about the unspoilt nature and beauty of the islands, and the friendliness of the people. However, a certain tiredness of green islands had recently taken hold. The desire for solid ground underfoot had become stronger. But now, after arriving in Hellville, it is back: the joy of discovering new things. The first impressions confirm the whispers. In the harbour off the capital, pirogues with colorful triangular sails sway picturesquely in the wind. Speedboats, which connect the main island with the many small islands around it, dart between them, transport ships lie low in the water. It is a colorful hustle and bustle.
The tuck-tuck, here all in subtle yellow, then takes you all over the city. Shopping is a daily task, as you have to go to various stations to place an order. Hours later, after the amount has been communicated by SMS, you can pick it up. You can use the time in between to fill your handbag with bundles of money, because 100 euros are worth 500,000 ariary. These are large wads of money that you carry around with you. The bills are counted very slowly when paying, as I said, you must be patient when shopping. But that doesn’t matter because there is so much to look at. The colorful dresses of the women, the smiling faces of the children and the serious expressions of the men playing dominoes. If you live here, it’s probably exhausting, but we like to drift along in the flow of daily activity.
Back on board, we enjoy one last view of the picturesque harbor scenes. The next few days will be much lonelier when we arrive in the south of the Nosy Be islands.
We were promised magical islands which, at low tide, grow like mushrooms out of the water as if they had been hydraulically pumped upwards, ancient baobab trees and lonely beaches where lemur monkeys frolic. We are not disappointed. The islands seem to float above the water at low tide and the mighty baobab trees stand like fairy-tale figures frozen into mythical creatures in the mighty rainforest that lines the snow-white beaches. At dusk, we see numerous lemurs jumping across the beach, shimmying through the trees and marvel at the mobility of these cute fluffy balls. They have incredibly long arms and legs and move sideways by jumping and hopping. They are only found here, where they have survived, unlike on the African continent. No predators live here, only humans are getting closer and closer to them and reducing their habitat. But Madagascar is still a natural paradise, and the inhabitants treat it more carefully than we have seen in many Asian countries. https://nosybeofficial.com/
Jacques, our guide, speaks Madagascan and has lived in Nosy Be for many years. He knows many villages and is a welcome guest. He makes sure that we can buy local products such as crabs, honey and bananas and that they are traded fairly. At the same time, his opinion is sought on medical issues. He takes a look at the situation and then we search for ointments, bandages and appropriate medication in the on-board pharmacy. This morning I was still reading articles about the efforts to colonize space and people who have become transparent through AI, and then I find myself in this place, without electricity or medical care, with a village school where the children are halfway prepared for life with the simplest of means. A life that doesn’t have much to offer them except fishing, boat building and a little farming.
Effective development aid
On the more densely populated islands, which are better developed due to their natural beauty or abundance of monkeys, things are more orderly. Here, electricity is generated by solar panels, which is a development aid project of the Federal Republic of Germany. This is help that gets through. There are stalls selling tablecloths with colorful, artistic embroidery, beautiful raffia bags, vanilla, artful masks and the brightly colored sunset paintings that are so popular here. It’s fun to look at all this and I would certainly have wanted to buy many more tablecloths. But what was that about marginal utility…. Our itinerary through the islands of Madagascar also has a few more highlights.
In the meantime, we have become experienced divers, have obtained an advanced open water diving license and are not afraid of any challenge. This awaits us here in the form of Greg’s Wall. First, we descend into a gorge to over 30 meters, between white fan corals, schools of fish and rock walls full of life, then we have to swim through a long, narrow rock tunnel full of fish to find ourselves on the other side, at a depth of almost 40 meters, in a breathtakingly beautiful fairytale forest.
of giant white fan corals. We float weightlessly through the magical world of the deep sea that reveals itself to us, marveling and admiring, before we start our journey back to the surface.
We have to say goodbye rather abruptly because the Indian Ocean won´t calm down. The water temperature is over thirty degrees so that one cyclone after another forms. We have been watching the weather very closely for days. Today, a window has opened up that allows us to make our way to La Réunion. And we have to take advantage of this, because Madagascar has no safe harbor. The adventure continues across the world’s oceans.
