Impressions of Madagascar

On November 13th we left the lush, green mountains of Madagascar slowly sinking to our stern in the sunset. I can not separate one day from another in the week that we spent here, they’ve melted into fantastic memories….

Snorkeling with green turtles and thousands of coral dwelling fish on Nosy Tanikely, watching children play while we were eating Banana Flambe at cafe Lemuriens, and feeding the lemurs on Nosy Komba, the colourful baskets and beautiful smiles of the ladies selling there lace and embroidered table cloths and bed spreads in Hell-Ville. Admiring the 1960’s Renauats driving under the massive, ancient mango trees as we ate improbably good pastries at the Oasis Cafe, Astrix comics plastered on the table at the Nandipo Bar, the chaotic waterfront in Hell-Ville when the ferry comes to off-load everybody and their chicken, And wizzing around in the afternoon of our last day on a rented skooter with Willis and Bori, with the smell of ylang-ylang, mango and Zebu all around, shouting Bella Char to the amused Malagasy walking along the side of the road.

A year ago

I’ve been slightly seasick again since we left Madagascar and I am still feeling a little disoriented under the almost equatorial sun so I can’t write much today but I wanted to stop for a moment and remember that just a year ago, November 15, 2005, was the day when Frank took me to Covey Island Boatworks in Petite Riviere, Nova Scotia, for the first time and I was introduced to the Maggie B on a Tuesday afternoon. She was then nothing but a sculptural masterpiece looking somewhat like a future sailboat and the people working on it were strangers to me. Now, the Maggie B is happily sailing on the Indian ocean after several thousands of miles on different seas, cold and warm, and some the people who were strangers to me then, became good friends. Much has happened since, more than I can express right now but I’ve been waiting for this day… to say that today, it has been a year… and it has been a good year, full of adventures I never ever imagined. I am left breathless, remembering…