Antananarivo, Madagascar

I will quote Lonely Planet, “Madagascar is a Noah’s ark adrift in the Indian Ocean, an island peopled by seafarers and colonized by the French. ‘Unique’ is almost too simple a word for its creatures, its cultures and its landscapes. Cast adrift from Africa about 165 million years ago, its cargo of strange animals (lemurs and chameleons) and plants (spiny octopus trees and bottle-shaped baobabs) has been evolving in isolation ever since.” We met a world traveler by the name of Harry in Mozambique. When discussing our travels we mentioned that Madagascar was up next, and Harry said, “NOW WE’RE TALKING”. Having been here for only 24 hours I can easily agree with him. Wow. This is true travel.

We flew into Antananarivo (Tana) which is the capital city. It resembles a Mediterranean hill town with an elevation of around 1400m. The total population is about 4 million. Our taxi drive through the dark streets was a “white knuckler.” Our cabbie had no problem driving on the wrong side of the street, occasionally playing “chicken.” The streets were crowded with people, and cooking fires could be seen in the strangest places (the middle of a traffic circle…)

In the morning we took a walk to the Ave de l’Independance to get breakfast at a French café. The languages spoken here are French and Malagasy….very little English. I racked my brain to remember the little high school French I had learned. We walked over to a street market which sold t-shirts, shoes, sunglasses, cell phones, etc.

The locals gambled in the market. You pay money to draw a number out of the barrel…they then shake a number in a can…and if they match, you get to pick from the prizes on the table. Most of the prizes appeared to be cell phones. Wonder how good the odds really are…..

Everything gets carried on the head (admirable)….and we couldn't pass up on this one….a barrel with chicken legs sticking out the top.

Most of the taxis are old Citroens and Renaults. This is one of the nicer ones….WAY nicer. If only we had taken a picture of the taxi we drove in on the way back to the airport. Yikes. I was waiting for tires to fall off as we drove.

The poverty here is unreal. Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, and it shows. We had multiple beggars approach us, usually women with tiny babies and a string of children following them. It was heartbreaking. Their teeth were black with what I guessed to be tobacco and they wore rags for clothing. We had our first pickpocket experience. Two young boys flanked us with ball caps drawn at our hips begging for money. Underneath the ball cap a small hand was opening the pocket to my hiking pants. Lucky for me I grabbed my passport before he did (you have to carry it with you at all times).

The air is clouded with pollution. In this picture you can see how high the hills are (and staircases…ugh) 

forming a valley.

The one point of beauty in the city is the purple Jacaranda trees.

Many of the buildings were beautiful at one point, but are now literally falling apart. In 1896 Madagascar became a French colony, in 1960 Madagascar gained full independence from France, and in 1975 all ties were severed…the French expats left the country taking with them their skills, money and technology. Now on to the “wild west” of Madagascar….

Tofo, Mozambique

We flew into Tofo, Mozambique…ran into “travel snafu #3000”….we got onto one plane, and our luggage was put on another. Yes, on purpose. They had two flights going to the same town, one 30 minutes after the other. So our arranged taxi driver got impatient waiting for the luggage to arrive and left. Lucky for us, he did come back, but in the meantime we were panicking about how to get to this small beach town.

The picture above shows the “market” which is the main street of the village. You can purchase fruit, vegetables, snacks and liquor.

That evening we wandered through Tofo….on one side is the ocean and on the other is this wetland. Very beautiful at sunset! We were excited to find a few bars and restaurants, as well as internet café’s (although the internet NEVER worked the entire time we were there…argh).

The view from the deck at our lodge, Casa Berry. Unfortunately our small casita had a view of the dusty parking lot.

Dive boats getting put into the water. Tofo is very well known for diving….manta rays and whale sharks are there specialties! My life goal was to swim with a whale shark…and the best way to do that is to snorkel. So we set off with a boat full of tourists and a guest marine biologist. She would be swimming with the shark to get some data.

Disclaimer: this is NOT our photo...I got it off the internet...we did not have an underwater camera. We ended up swimming with FIVE sharks throughout the two hour time period. The first was a HUGE male (23 feet long), then a young male and a large (and rare…80% seen are males) female. They are the largest and deepest diving fish in the world. I can’t explain what it’s like to swim RIGHT next to an immense yet gentle creature. They are as curious as we are….they approached the boat and gave it a look, and half the time I couldn't get away from them! They would swim right at me…as I desperately back paddled away! Ahhh…happiness.

I titled this photo “Eve biting into the apple”. We decided to take a month off of drinking alcohol. The only issue is that Africa has limited soda and juices. Part of my reason for cutting out alcohol was to be healthy….but drinking high sugar soda and juices isn’t helping me reach that goal. We arrived at this restaurant only to find that they were out of Coke Light…so I rebelled with a margarita. So much for willpower.

This is a chapa….the major mode of transportation in Africa. The credit card machines in town weren’t working (big surprise...the power also goes out every few hours) so we needed an ATM. Turns out the only ATM is 5km out of town. Chapa it is. The ride there was uneventful….but we had noted the chapas coming the other direction were packed to the gills. Sure enough, after waiting on the side of the road for 30 minutes, here comes a chapa with about 15 locals in it. They opened the sliding door and FOUR of us had to stand in the space between the door and the seats. Next time you get into a minivan…check out how much space that is. Now, granted…the sliding door was open….so Dean was able to stick his butt outside…hanging on to the side of the van with his fingernails. (Don’t worry Mom's…we didn’t go THAT fast).

How could I resist? Two of these guys come walking down the main street in their speedo’s, and they did not appear to be heading to the beach. As Lonely Planet says, “Try not to look like a tourist”. Hmmmm…..they have some work to do. Now on to Madagascar! It can only get more interesting.

Vilankulo, Mozambique

We flew on a small prop plane to the town of Vilankulo, the main gateway to the Bazaruto Archipelago. From the plane you could see dusty plots of land with little vegetation and small huts. The drive to our resort was along sandy roads requiring 4WD. The locals were much friendlier than in Maputo! We actually got smiles and waves…..

We stayed at the Archipelago Resort. It is their low season…so we got an ocean view casa that slept six for the price of one room! The place was beautiful…but very much like camping. The rafters were open…so we encountered mosquitoes and other critters. Made for some interesting nights….

The view from the pool/bar/restaurant….We had a similar view from our patio where we spent most of our time. A herd of stray dogs adopted us…so we had friends.

We took a walk on the beach and encountered this woman….shucking shellfish. Obviously this wasn't her first visit to the beach. The pile of shells was enormous.

We rode in the back of a pickup to get into “town” the next day. I felt like the mayor…everyone was waving and calling out to us. Kids gave chase! My only guess is that they don’t get a lot of tourists.

The main town wasn't much…but it did have a paved road! Our casa has a kitchen, so we decided to save money and do some cooking. The grocery store was small, but had a fair variety of supplies from South Africa….that should have been our first clue. The two bags of basic groceries cost around $100!

We took another beach walk while the tide was out. During the day the tide goes out so far that it results in HUGE sands bars. The contrast of turquoise water and white sand is stunning. The boat in the picture is called a dhow…the locals use them for fishing and transport. You can take a dhow “safari” to the archipelago…but under sail it can take two to six hours!

The next day we took a beach horseback ride. The horses were beautiful and very well trained. After talking with our guide, Kate, we discovered that her parents had rescued around 100 horses from Zimbabwe where they were from. The government took over the farms, and the farmers were only able to remove their “personal effects”. Horses were considered an item of the farm. Thanks to Kate’s parents, these horses are now happy and healthy and living in Mozambique!

We went diving with Nicole from Bazaruto Dive at our resort. The trip out to the Archipelago took 45 minutes…and on the way we saw Bottlenose dolphins! They played around the boat while we took pictures.

The Bazaruto….which is a national marine park. On our dives we saw a giant sting ray, 5 turtles, a moray eel, a huge grouper and got to listen to the whales sing!

After diving we had lunch on the Bazaruto…and hiked up a giant sand dune. It felt like being in the Sahara, with blowing sand as far as the eye could see. Now on to Tofo Beach…known for their manta rays and whale sharks.

Maputo, Mozambique

We arrived in Maputo, Mozambique the “real Africa” as our hotel manager said (South Africa does not count!). Our drive in from the airport showed a city that has seen better times. Garbage everywhere, the smell of cooking fires and lots of people desperately trying to make a living. Interesting, as Lonely Planet quoted “Maputo is easily one of Africa’s most attractive capitals.” (Hmmmm…..)

On the way to our hotel the taxi pulled into a queue of cars waiting for a ferry. We looked at the address we had and realized we were not staying in Maputo. We had been duped by Trip Advisor’s review where someone had stated “Great location!” Depends on if you like taking a 30 minute ferry and walking for another 30 minutes! We told the taxi to move on, and got in the long line of locals waiting to hop on the small dilapidated boat that would take us across the bay to Catembe.

The town consisted of a gas station, a few small stores and stretches of dirt road. We had no idea where the hotel was and it did not appear that anyone spoke English (all Portuguese). Finally a young boy approached us, hoping to get money. In our desperation we mentioned the name of the hotel, and he ran to get the bartender who was on the ferry with us! Akim called the hotel and the 4WD with the hotel manager came and saved the day!

Off the ferry dock women were selling fresh seafood….fish and shrimp….with the occasional fly.

Our hotel was really very nice. The owner had bought what used to be a famous restaurant known for their prawns, and completely renovated it. It was a strange oasis in the middle of a rundown village.

The hotel brochure encouraged “taking a romantic barefoot walk on the beach”….so we did….only not barefoot. Garbage between your toes is not romantic.

The locals fishing boats with the city skyline across the bay in the background.

On our walk home we chose the dirt road. This picture shows one of the many homes that have gone to ruin. Later that evening we talked to the manager, who recently moved to Mozambique from France. He gave us some history. In 1975 the People’s Republic of Mozambique was proclaimed, and the Portuguese pulled out…leaving Mozambique in a state of chaos. Peace was not seen in this country until around 1992.

Catembe is a very basic village, most of the locals come into town to get water and provisions. There are small farm plots, and livestock roaming the streets. The latest news is that the Chinese are going to build a bridge and get rid of the ferry. All of the land is being bought up for future “resorts” and fancy homes. We were lucky to see Catembe as a village.

The next day we headed into the city. There is some beautiful architecture…this is the train station. It was voted by Newsweek as one of the 10 most beautiful in the world. It dates from 1910. It is one of the few buildings that has been kept up.

After surviving a torrential rainstorm we ended up in the Municipal Market. Stalls overflowing with fruits, vegetables and spices. Not necessarily the driest place…note the holes in the ceiling.

We walked most of the city. We almost adapted to the overpowering smell of urine and the garbage piled everywhere. This is a picture of a typical sidewalk. Can’t tell you how many times I tripped. It was a long, tiresome day….and we were more than happy to head back to the quiet village of Catembe….maybe it was a great location after all! Now on to Vilankulo…and the Bazaruto Archipelago for some beach time and diving!

Franschhoek and Hermanus, South Africa

We celebrated our 1st anniversary (I know, a few weeks late, but the real day was spent jet lagged in Munich) in the gastronomic capital and wine tasting region of Franschhoek, South Africa. Got upgraded to a beautiful attic room in a B&B with a private porch overlooking the mountains.

This (and the previous picture) is the first of four wineries that we hit. All were amazing...we spent hours on this property just looking around. The first was known for it's grandeur, the second it's wines, the third the view and the fourth the underground cave.

The view of the valley. Franschhoek means "French Corner," and has a centuries long history of colonial settlement.

We then drove down to Hermanus...acknowledged as one of the twelve best whale viewing sites in the world, as well as the BEST land based whale watching in the world. This is the world's only whale crier, Pasika Noboba. He patrols the streets blowing his kelp horn and alerting everyone to the whereabouts of the whales.

Whales can been seen from as close as a few metres from the rocky cliffs. We watched this Mom and her baby swim by. The southern right whales population is doubling every ten years. The whale count for Hermanus has risen steadily to around 150 at the height of the season.

We watched them play....they breached (as above), spyhopped (lifting their heads out), lobtailed (slapping their tails), sailed ( lifting their tails clear out of the water) and blowed. There is a 12km-long cliff path that we walked with our camera and binoculars. We could watch them for hours...and even brought a picnic and bottle of wine!

Another popular thing to do in South Africa? Shark cage diving...and who wouldn't?! We spent the first two hours on the boat freezing in the blowing wind....while the crew chummed the waters (note the barrel full of blood and guts above). We were not having any luck...so we moved to the famous "Shark Alley".

SHARK! He loved the "seal" decoy that was set for him. Got his mouth right around it....
Dean got suited up. You put on a wetsuit, mask and weights. No snorkel or regulator...which surprised us. They just have you hold your breath. (Can you hold your breath when screaming? ;)
The shark cage from above with the first victims loaded in. The yellow bobber has two fish heads attached (that were replaced fairly often) and the red line has the "seal" decoy. Getting in and out of the cage is actually fairly frightening, especially when a Great White is flashing through the water inches away. I made sure to get a good foot hold! Once in, you find that the cage is fairly "open"....ie. feet and hands can slip out. Yes, you could pet the shark....but none of us were that stupid (besides...we were told we would get in trouble).

That's me, second from the right...with the white line pointed at my head...and the BIG shark putting his nose into the cage. He could use a good flossing....those were some gnarly teeth.
Dean was in the cage during this one. The guy in charge of the fish head lure had lot's of fun dragging it across the front of the cage with the shark attached. Up close and personal. The sharks did occasionally get in a tug of war...and usually won. We lost the yellow bobber at one point.

This might be the reason for shark alley. It is an island COVERED with seals. I have never smelled anything so bad. A seagull had pooped on me...and I was sure that I was the reason for the stench before I turned my head. Seals piled upon seals...amazing. Off to Mozambique next for some diving with whale sharks (cross your fingers) and amazing seafood!