Hotel Soanambo Ile Sainte-Marie (Nosy Boraha)

... and its owners have long promoted the protection of hump back whales in Madagascar and the Comoros Islands, so it is the place to be if you want to watch whales.



There is an Ecovolunteer group (www.cetamada.org) based there with volunteers who accompany the visitors on whale watching boat trips every day.They know the best places to see them and they encourage ...

The island is green and fertile and according to our guide you can plant most things and they just grow. I loved seeing all the spices and fruits I like to eat but cant grow in England - sugar cane, rice, cashew nuts, tamarind, papaya, lemon grass, vanilla, sweet potato, mango, coconut.

We walked (between downpours) with a guide ...

... to the island was exciting in a 15-seater and it seems the locals still hang out at the airport for the novelty of watching the planes come and go.

Transport from the airport is either by zebu cart (like bullocks) or by taxi. Either way the journey is slow as the roads are deeply potholed almost all the way. For me that meant over an hour's ...

From Bush House we headed across Lake Ampitave then north up the pangalanes towards Tamatave. Half the staff from Bush House came too as I had been the only visitor at the Lodge. When I left they went home to the city until more visitors were due.

It was about 3 hours on the canal then I was due to fly up the coast to Ile ...

"Born Slippy" - Underworld Drive boy dog boy Dirty numb angel boy In the doorway boy She was a-lipstick boy She was a-beautiful boy And tears boy And all in your inner space boy You had hands girls boy And steel boy You had chemicals boy I've grown so close to you boy And you just groan boy She said come over come over She smiled at you boy [repeat] Let your feelings slip boy But ...

... sont leur nids, quand ils rentrent de voyage Ou qu'ils restent chez eux Ils savent où sont leurs oeufs Etre né quelque part Etre né quelque part C'est partir quand on veut, [ Find more Lyrics at www.mp3lyrics.org/AmGW ] Revenir quand on part Est-ce que les gens naissent Egaux en droits A l'endroit Où ils naissent Nom'inqwando yes qxag iqwahasa Est-ce que les gens naissent ...

... par notre hôte qui nous conduit aux Bungalows de Vohilava où nous passerons 5 jours. C'est absolument magnifique. Pendant ce séjour, nous visiterons le sud et l'est de l'île et ferons la connaissance des baleines en fin de période migratoire. Quatre heures magiques.

... The restaurant was completely empty except for us, maybe because it's more of an evening place. After lunch we chatted to teh owner for a bit - Impala had only been open for three months, although he also owned CubaLibre uptown. He'd lived in Cuba, US, France... Then as we were walking down past the Sakamanga, he drove past in a Z3! I think he possibly had the biggest muscles you coul actually put on an arm, as well. Afternoon - we ...

... at a hotely where the bathroom was next to a pig sty (!), and two vomits later (thank goodness for Air Madagascar puke bags) and we had made it to Tamatave. Matt and I got a pousse-pousse to carry our packs to our hotel while I tentatively walked, wondering when car sickness is supposed to go away. Once we checked into Hotel des Flamboyants I lay down while Matt went to get food (which I had no interest in until several days later) and figure out how we ...

... I was there. I had to! It was too beautiful a spot to just work! I went snorkeling in the crystal clear turquoise water (organized by Il Balenottero Dive Center in the Harbor...Wonderful!!), took a pirogue tour with a wonderful guide named Paki, had my hair done in braids (but couldn't show it off, because I had to wear a hat to avoid burning my scalp!), did a little shopping (though it was much more expensive than Tana) and overall ...