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Published: December 13th 2012
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Nosy Komba
Tropical greenery 1998
Nosy Komba
Having spent ten days on board Bossi, with most of our decisions being made for us it was a bit of a jolt to now do our own thing where very little English is spoken. It was like having our safety net pulled out from under us. Komba didn't quite have the pristine beaches we frequented the last ten days. No problem, because we would be experiencing a different side of Madagascar.
We first needed to find a place to stay overnight so that we could put down our heavy bags and found a little place consisting of reed huts. Pretty although very basic inside, but came with mosquito nets which were essential. It was going to be strange for us to be sleeping on land again, as we all still felt as if we were on a boat and our balance was still out of sync. It took a while for us to find our land legs again and the worst was when you bent over.
Ablution facilities at our accommodation were nil - the toilets flushed by means of a tin and bucket system, but we managed. We now were
Nosy Komba
Our little restaurant in the heart of a village on the island. They were geared up to a certain extent for tourists, but not so many tourists travelled to Madagascar at that stage, so they were by no means commercialised.
We walked around looking at curios, embroidered tablecloths and did some shopping for family back home and for ourselves. Then we went to a small restaurant for some lunch. Food was simple and tasty but took ages to prepare. We could have walked around the whole of Nosy Komba and still have been back in time for lunch, and it wasn't such a tiny island!
Here was where we were going to see limas in the wild and we were told if you bought some bananas you were guaranteed to have them come eat out of your hand. Not ideal for eco tourism, I know, but the islanders constantly feed them. Such strange little creatures! Soft little paws when they hold on to your fingers to grab a piece of banana while looking at you with their beady eyes. We went for a swim, as we were getting withdrawal symptoms but the clarity of the water was not like it was
Nosy Komba
Our room where we spent the night at the other islands – it was close to a mangrove swamp.
After having a fitful night of sleep we could only get some black coffee for breakfast. We had to provide our own food, as the restaurant did not have breakfast for us. All that we could find was some French bread and a tin of sweet condensed milk. Not the healthiest of meals, but the boys thought this was fun and an unusual breakfast for them. Besides, we could use the condensed milk for our coffee as well.
After breakfast it was time to head back to Nosy Bé and the cheapest and best way for us to cross the water was by motorised pirogue. Six of us on those narrow little boats, complete with all our bags. The ‘seating’ was definitely not the most comfortable and to this day it is still imprinted in our sons minds! But it was the experience that counted. We headed for the harbour in Hellville but it was low tide by the time we got there and there was no place to climb off the pirogue and still have dry feet, so we had to
Nosy Komba
Upside down roots squish our way through mud, before we could get to the drier part of Hellville. We couldn't find a tap or water anywhere to wash our feet. We hailed a taxi to take us to a hotel where we could sleep that night. The taxi driver looked at us warily, gesticulated that we couldn't get in the taxi, then provided us with a hand broom. There was no way he was letting us into his taxi with such dirty feet! We tried our best to brush off the mud which was semi dry by then, but we still left a trail of mud behind.
Next on the agenda: explore Nosy Bé.
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