Nosy Be, Madagascar

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Sunrise in Madagascar

Nosy Be (means “Big Island”) is an island off the northwest coast of the republic of Madagascar (which is the fourth largest island in the world); its green, hilly landscape greeted us as we approached.  Nosy Be is Madagascar’s largest and busiest tourist resort; and is a volcanic island in contrast to the main island of Madagascar whose formation resulted from the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana.

The original residents of Madagascar are thought to have arrived from Borneo between 350 BC and 500 AD in outrigger canoes. Bantu natives arrived from East Africa around 1000 AD. Today the population is divided into 18 subgroups with the largest being Merina, who comprise 26%. 

Madagascar has a population of approximately 22 million of which 90% live on less than $2 per day.  Approximately 37,000 people live in Nosy Be.  The two official languages of Madagascar are Malagasy and French (they were under French colonial rule from 1883 until 1958).  Christianity and traditional beliefs (“Animism” and Malagasy mythology) comprise the major religions, with some Muslims (7%).

Locals approaching ship

Local sail boat

As soon as we anchored and before the crew had a chance to launch the tenders that would take us to shore, a group of natives appeared in their dugout canoes full of bananas and local wares they hoped to sell.  The tour we had chosen was to Nosy Komba (Island of Lemurs).  We were warned that the island would be fairly primitive and that most guides would speak only broken English and we shouldn’t expect air-conditioned buses.  I think they were trying to stave off future complaints from the well heeled, less tolerant passengers that are traveling with us.  We were told to be “explorers”, not tourists.

Local children on beach

Local children

After being dropped off at the town dock, we transferred to a large Boston whaler type boat (not covered but far from primitive) for our 30-45 minute ride to Nosy Komba.  Upon arriving at Nosy Komba, we had a “wet landing” (only ankle deep water) and were greeted by groups of village children singing and dancing for us (to the rhythm of drumming on anything that was hollow or plastic), with wicker baskets on the ground decorated with flowers and strategically placed to collect “donations.”  It was Sunday, so the children weren’t in school and I think the majority were gathered on the beach and along the village paths.  Most of the children had their faces painted with white paint in the shape of flowers.

Village school

The village consisted of primitive (stick and thatched roof) huts, but the pathways of the village were lined with hand-embroidered tablecloths and various other sized fabrics as well as other wears that were for sale, from tee shirts to a lot of wooden carvings.  Buying any wooden carvings is a bit problematic as upon returning to the ship you exchange them for a receipt and they are bagged in plastic and fumigated to insure they don’t contain any spiders or insects.

Chris with lemur

We passed the local school (see picture) and proceeded through the village to the area where the black lemurs could be seen.  Although we could get quite close to them, and they would even sit on your shoulder to eat a banana when prompted by a villager (see pix of Chris), I would have preferred to see them in a more natural setting, rather than surrounded by tourists and being attracted out of the mango trees by banana chunks in outstretched hands.  Madagascar has many different lemur species scattered all about; but for this particular species of lemur (Black lemurs) found only here, the males are black and the females are brown.  They seemed to love bananas fed to them by the tourists, but when left on their own, eat the plentiful mangos in the local trees.  Fruits comprise 78% of their diet. Black lemurs live in groups of 2-15 members with the average being 10.  There are equal numbers of males and females within groups and the females, while smaller in size, are dominant.

Lemur "resting"

Lemurs are a type of primate endemic to Madagascar.  There are approximately 100 species of lemurs remaining with 90% of them estimated to face extinction in the next 20-25 years.   Although they appear similar to many monkeys, the evolved separately in their isolation on Madagascar.

The other “wildlife” to entertain us in our Nosy Komba village were a 4 year old boa constrictor (see Chris holding it), some friendly chameleons, and some tortoises (both from the Seychelles and also a variety found only in Madagascar). 

Chris with boa

Chameleon reaching for banana

After our encounters with the animals, we were given the opportunity to shop for local crafts and tee shirts and then had soft drinks (including locally made rum, flavored by either lychee nuts or vanilla beans) back on the beach with more native entertainment.

Upon returning to Nosy Be, we took the shuttle bus into the center of Hellville (the main town in Nosy Be) and walked along the streets for a little while.  A trip through the local market was interesting but the odor (primarily from the fly-topped raw meat sitting around in the 90+ degree heat) was appalling so we quickly left (see the chickens for sale in the wicker baskets).

Chickens for sale in the market

It was very hot and humid here…we were literally soaking wet after walking around the town and it was a relief to return to the air conditioning on the ship. 

Hellville street scene

Although very primitive (we saw no electricity, plumbing or cell phones on Nosy Komba) and with lots of poverty, Madagascar was not “dirty and littered” like India (with piles of rubbish and trash everywhere). Some of the local islands in this region reportedly have gorgeous white sand beaches and unspoiled reefs.  We would definitely like to return here at some point and have more leisure to explore.

For more on lemurs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur

For more on Madagascar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar