Blogs from Nosy Be, Madagascar, Africa - page 2

As we bumped along the pockmarked bitumen to Lakobe a truck filled with Ylang Ylang flowers heading for the distillery past us. I closed my eyes and inhaled, the smell of the fonnes of flowers overpowering even the diesel fumes. The hot heavy february madagascan weather expectant with rain seemed to momentarily liven the heavy scent and I realised I had smelled that before. I was in a 2000 year old ylang ylang plantation where the finest first press oils go directly to paris bouncing along in an ancient citroen with a cracked windscreen heading to trek through a national park to see Lemurs and Chameleons. I searched my memory for the smell and suddenly realised I had stood in a Ylang Ylang plantation before..In Tahiti. Almost 16000km away yet the people here like the people ... read more

I woke up to the sun blistering through my open shutters, sat up and stared out at the ocean rubbing my eyes smiling at finally being in Madagascar. We did get breakfast this morning, the domestic was a storm still on the horizon and Phillipe was quite cordial as we had booked a tour to Lakobe National Park with him. Lakobe is critically important to the survival of the Lemurs, with all species being on the UN Red list from Threatened to Critically Endangered. Deforestation. slash and burn agriculture and to some level superstition has impacted hugely on these amazing creatures. Neither Monkey nor Ape they are Strepsirrhini Primates, sharing this tiny order of the family tree with Lorises, Galagos, Bushbabies and Pottos. Madagascar as a country makes you work hard. Its amazing, exotic, otherworldly and ... read more

This was our first visit to Madagascar. Our port of call was the island of Nosy Be. Because the perfume essence of the ylang-ylang tree is produced here for export primarily to France this is known as the Perfumed Isle. If you wear Chanel No. 5 you know ylang-ylang. The main reason for docking here is to see the black lemurs on the nearby island of Nosy Komba. We took a speed boat out to the island on a beautiful, sunny day. We made a wet landing at the village of Ampangorina. As we approached the island I saw clothes lines all along the beach filled with what I thought was drying laundry. As we went ashore I realized the laundry was actually handmade table cloths. On this small island there is no electricity, no running ... read more

Nosy Be... What to say about that special place. Roman, Fanny and I decided to go there, for our last trip all together! No words could actually describe its amaizing ocean, its permanent blue sky, and its nature. It's very different from all the place I've been to. I won't say it's like Bali but the mood is a bit the same. It's less crowded and the beach is too clean! It's quite expensive there tho, and it is said that only rich people can afford the trip! But it's not true cause it is possible to find cheap places. We stayed at Ambatoloka at " Villa Razambe ", less than 5min from the the beach! We stayed 1 and a half week there, and we brough 100 euro! It was enough, but we didn't have ... read more

December 2001 Picture in your mind clear turquoise seas gently lapping over secluded white beaches, palm trees swaying in the light breeze, a yacht moored in the bay. Hot days and balmy nights, swimming, diving, fishing, snorkelling, or just strolling on the beach. Sounds like bliss, doesn't it? Of course it is, but this time I am not going to bore you with an account of how wonderful it is - ok, you’ve got me, of course I am, but at the same time I am going to tell you of about a few things that could have made this trip a disaster if we weren’t able to get things sorted and under control. We decided to do another trip to Madagascar, this time in December 2001. It made such an impact on us the first ... read more