Who knew? Madagascar

July 4, 2017
Business, Sports

The locals speak Malagasy and French. Apparently on the mainland of Madagascar they only speak Malagasy; but Nosy Be (meaning Big Island in Malagasy) has a lot of French influence as an ancient Malagasy queen asked the French for help when she was driven off the mainland by the Merino tribe.

The locals depend on the sea for a daily meal, but they also farm with Zebu (local beef) and ducks. All over this volcanic island you can see Ylang Ylang plantations. They also distill the flowers and export it to Europe for the making of perfume. The faint smell of Ylang Ylang is in the air the whole time… lovely. They also farm with Vanilla and Pepper (off course we all love Madagascan Vanilla and Madagascan green peppercorns!) One of my favourite things about the Nosy Be archipelago is the water temperature! 30 degrees Celsius!! Wonderfully warm!

Manga Soa lodge is great!! It is small, intimate and relaxed. We loved it. The gardens are fantastic, pool is very nice, dining and lounge area is spacious. Although there were other guests, it never felt crowded. The rooms are comfortable and spacious as well. We had a sitting area, bedroom and bathroom with our own terrace with a sea view. Just one thing that needs improvement is the shower… The rooms are tidy and clean, although minimalistic. We received fresh towels every day and fresh flowers on our bed after they made up the room. Swimming towels and a basket for trips is also provided.

The road from the airport to Manga Soa is just very bad…. 30 min on 6km with a 4×4 minibus.

The food is great at Manga Soa! Anch is the chef. We had lobster three times! And the best cooked fish I ever had! All the seafood is caught fresh every day. Other menu options include prawn, duck, Zebu (local beef) etc. Everything very tasty! Dinner consists of 4 courses – amuse bouche, starter, main course and desert. The wine lsit can improve though….Breakfast reminded me of a french breakfast with lots of croissants and fresh bread (baked on the premises). The owners are french 🙂 Included in breakfast in fresh tropical fruit, home made yogurt and eggs of your choice.

The cocktails are also not expensive; R40 (6-9 euro)  per cocktail (and they are large!). I went for a massage and the price was very reasonable; R280 (20 euro) for a full body massage.

We combined a trip to Nosy Komba (to see Lemurs and visit a traditional fishing village) with a trip to Nosy Tanikely (a marine reserve) to snorkel. The snorkelling is great at Nosy Tanikely! Good visibility, warm water and unspoilt marine life. We saw two different types of sea turtles and many beautiful tropical fish that we have not seen before. The coral is beautiful and the clams are huge. We also had a beach picnic with other tourists where we had crab stew, fresh fish, coconut rice, salad, zebu, prawn, tropical fruit etc. Tasty!

Our scuba diving trip was near the island of Sakatia though Sakalav dive centre which is excellent!!! We did two dives and Natalie was our dive master. I can definitely recommend this dive centre! I am still a novice diver and she was so patient with me. She helped me a lot and gave great tips! Really very professional. We saw the Madagascan anemone fish (only found in Madagascar), a stingray, sea turtles, tropical fish, clams and much more. A highlight was the huge school of Golden King fish that came to circle us twice while diving. Very enjoyable and beautiful!

Our last trip was to the picturesque island of Nosy Iranja which is a must visit!! It consist of a little island and big island with a strip of sand in the middle; so the each is on both sides! It is a great place for swimming! We walked to the top of the bigger island to see the magnificent views! We also had lunch here (included in the price of the trip) which was more or less the same as the lunch on Nosy Tanikely. Although the boat trip to Nosy Iranja is long it is definitely worth it!

 

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