BICYCLE Madagascar 29aug13

bicycled out of town,past the church,then out on rural untarred roads.lots of little villages,with small road side shops and small houses.
most locals walk.some bicycles,a few scooters,occasional vehicle
lots of washing out drying.regular wells for locals to get their water
lots of happy children out playing
no obesity
lots of women in groups,wearing colourful clothes,often with one woman braiding another womans hair
and they all seem happy and content
so a low GDP does not mean unhappiness,as a high GDP does not mean happiness
back into town.other transport options are a trucks,old minivans,older Renault 4 cars,little tuk tuks and bicycle cabs.shops are mainly old timber,some brightly painted,hardware and tourist shops,tin or thatched rooves,colourful cafes,a new 2 story building where we got internet for dongle,and phone sim card.
in the back streets the shops are smaller and rougher,selling 2nd hand clothes,food stalls,bicycle repair shops .
the local market is good for tomatos,carrots,potatos and bananas.we bought a kilo of Zebu fillet steak

LEMURS

We hired little motor scooters to go the 15 km to bottom of this island.on the way we passed lots of beach side resorts and villages.then we hired a pirogue to cross over to ile aux nattes to find some lemurs.the island is only 2 km across.we found 2 groups of BLACK AND WHITE RUFF LEMURS.They were very pretty animals

AMBODIFOTATRA 27aug13

We  pulled anchor and had a very brisk sail,7-8 knots,with only genoa out,to capitol of ile sainte marie island,ambodifotatra.
this is a small port and town
checked in with customs,coastguard and immigration.
at the small boat harbour,we chained our dinghy to a tree,employed a boat boy,and walked the town
at the atm we got Ariah,yhe local currency,baguettes at the patisserie,and cheese and local beer at the supermarket

MADAGASCAR

Why are we in Madagascar? well its the best route to South Africa.
and its a new country.we want to see a new culture,lemurs and baobab trees.
the lonely planet tells me:
population 20 million
a very "poor" country,(my italics-see cycling blog to follow)
high birth rate
populated 2000nyears ago from asia,then arab and African contributions.they look more African to us.
 A long island,about 1000 km north to south,about 400 km across.
they eat rice 3 times a day.with lunch ,dinner may also have meat.local cattle are called Zebu
in the 1600,s the Malagasy kings exported 150,000 slaves!
French from 1896 to independence1958
turbulent political history
main languages French and Malagasy.Signs in french

SAIL to MADAGASCAR august 2013

Another easy Indian Ocean crossing.
400nm,770km,4 days,3 nights.
the weather forcast said a good window of mild weather and was correct.on the 2nd and third day the wind was behind,so we poled out genoa one side,with mainsail out the other.the wind came around and was stronger day 4,so nice hydrovane sailingat an easy 6 knots.
our prepared pork stew,with daily additions and variations sustained us across,plus Kerry baked bread
Kerry reading a book set in france called Provence.Bruce read Baldacci and Manlell thrillers on Kindle.
we kept in contact with Green Ghost who were crossing with us,on twice daily HF sked.As we closed shore Tegan 1 called in on VHF-yhey got here a week before.
we saw a few ships on AIS.We only saw one ship visually,no fishing boats,no planes,no rubbish in water.so different from sailing in asia.
Late pm day 4 we sighted land,= Madagascar! As we came around below the little island of Ile aux Nattes,skirting the extensive fringing reef, we entered a large pod of WHALES!
Breeding season,so not unexpected.lots of spouts,breechings and near sightings.
We dropped anchor off ILE SAINTE MARIE,just before sunset.GGcame in ,in the dark,afew hours later,and dropped anchor next to us.
So another good passage ,and safe arrival,at another new country

Test

TRIP PLANNING-CROSSING MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL to SOUTH AFRICA

We hope to cross mid september,but need a good weather window,between the southerly gales thar blow up from below south africa regularly
We will enjoy sailing around NOSY BE,then island hopping south,to BALY BAY, near Majunga,then start crossing Mozambique channel.
Via bassas da india,aimfor south Mozambique,but only go inshore if bad weather.
Then down to RICHARDS BAY
Will be very relieved to get there.plan to leave boat and go and see lions and tigers