Nosing Around Nosy Be, Madagascar

  

At about 5:30AM, we were out on the road awaiting our taxi brousse.  This one had to leave Diego

Michelle Visiting a school on Nosy Be

at a ridiculous 4AM to get to us - why so early???  We shoe-horned ourselves into the seats and set off at the usual high speed, swerving around the car sized potholes on our way to Ankify, and the ferry to the island of Nosy Be.  We were greeted by madness again, with boat sellers swarming us before we even had a chance to get our bags - I really hate that.  After a quick bite, and attempt by the shop owner to rip us off, we haggled our way onto a speed boat destined for Nosy Be. 

The ride was wonderful, and nice to be our on the sea again, this time in the North West of Madagascar.  Our port town in Nosy Be was the wonderfully named Hell Ville.  Actually named for Admiral Hell, not any other reason, this quaint little town had a nice feel to it, but no beaches, so we hopped in a combi van to Ambatalokoa and found some nice, authentic accommodation at Chez Aly - the cheapest in the beach town. 

It was time for some relax time on the beach, but not until we had walked the town and figured out the lay of the land.  Looked like it was a little touristy, but this was nice because we had some funky bars, and nice looking restaurants.  These were followed by the local shops, and street stalls, where we get the nice, cheap food.  After an afternoon, on the beach, we enjoyed some fantastic calamari at a restaurant on the beach, and just enjoyed the vibe of the little beach town.

Andilana Beach

The next morning, we rented a motorbike (Thai style), and set out on our own for once, to explore the island.   Nosy Be is only about 60km to circle the island, so we had time to explore along the way.  Our first stop was at a little pre-school we passed along the way.  Of course the kids were super cute, but these were shyer than usual.  It was another great experience, as their faces opened up more and more during our visit.  On to Andilana, and what they say is the best beach on the island.  It was beautiful, but was also dominated at one end by the very high end, all inclusive resort that is full or Italian tourists - I bet most of these never leave the complex!!  Very unfortunate as there is so much out there!!

We took in the nice scenery around the island, stopping at some deserted beaches along the way.  We also passed the local airport, where we were due the next day for our flight to Johannesburg. It was nice seeing more local life near Hell-Ville, watching the fishing, kids playing, cooking, and even getting asked for a bribe from the police - which we chose to ignore (money for a drink he said).

Hell-Ville port

More calamari that night, a couple of Three Horse Beer Fresh Panaches, and in the morning we were off to the airport.  We were being met by a friend of a friend at Joburg, so were happy to see the plane head out to the runway on time.  We both made silly comments like "not like a taxi brousse - waiting until the plane is full until it leaves", or "stopping to pick people up on the way".  We managed to JINX ourselves, and the plane headed back to the terminal, and we disembarked while they checked out some mechanical issues.  We left about two hours late, and from the plane, we saw a funny sight - about 8 men sweeping the runway with little brooms.  They had a Hell of a job ahead, if they are only using little brooms!!
*Stub

 

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