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The following image was taken from the sliding door of our stateroom.
There were very nice views during our arrival this morning, and we had local company on the port side (image 3).
After a five-minute tender ride, we are greeted by local dancers and musicians. The last two images are videos.
There was a long walk from the berthing area, down the dock, past local dancers, to our waiting small vans for the morning tour. There were numerous aggressive vendors on both sides of the path. Many of them wanted us to exchange $1 bills for larger denominations. I assumed it was a scam, but we learned later that the local banks will not take smaller bills, and the request was totally legitimate.
Andoany, Nosy Be Island, is our only stop in Madagascar. The island’s economy is based on tourism, agriculture, and fishing. It is nicknamed the Perfume Island, because of the many plantations that grow ylang ylang trees whose flowers are used for making perfume. We were told that Madagascar is a very poor country and that Nosy Be is less poor than other areas of the country due to tourism.
Snapshots of Nosy Be Tour: We did the Viking tour first thing in the morning. It was a two-hour trip through downtown, into the countryside, where we saw beautiful, lush vegetation. The first stop was a visit to a local shrine, which had a sacred banyon tree (a centuries-old Ficus tree). These large, old trees are regarded as spiritual and powerful sites for prayer, rituals, and offerings. At this shrine, there were local people with lemurs and chameleons offering them to tourists to hold for photos. Then we drove on to Lemuria Land Park and Nature Reserve. The tour guide took some creative liberties with the tour, so we missed a few places listed in the itinerary. But that turned out to be fortuitous because we spent an hour at Lemuria Land, home to the many endemic animals and plants in Madagascar. We had booked a private tour of Lemuria Land for the afternoon, not knowing the morning excursion would stop there. We decided to keep the afternoon event. The post combines both our morning and afternoon visits to the park.
These photos were taken at our first stop. Sorry, no photo of the small shrine on the property.
Scenes from downtown Andoany
After our morning tour and the first visit to Lemuria Land (documented below), we drove back through town and were dropped off at the dock. We tendered to the ship for a quick lunch (we were advised not to eat on shore), tendered back to the dock, and met our afternoon guide. The images below are us first finding and then posing with our Tuk Tuk ride at the lemur park (Nosy-Be has a lot less traffic, so the ride was a breeze compared to Sri Lanka). But we weren’t in a BMW/Audi tuk-tuk this time round!
Lemuria Land: As noted above, we visited the park twice. The park is home to lemurs, chameleons, tortoises, turtles, crocodiles, and a variety of reptiles. The lemurs and tortoises roam free in the park and are somewhat social with the human animals. The Aldabra tortoises were huge and old, larger than the ones we saw in Seychelles. The oldest was about 175 years old, and this poor fellow had a hole in his shell from being shot years ago. There were several Lemur species in the park, and these playful critters hung out in the trees, scampered on the ground, and playfully wrestled and chased each other. One of the lemurs was super friendly and jumped on the backs of several folks in our tour. Bob made a special lemur friend. There are more than 100 different species of lemurs in Madagascar, and while there is a resemblance to primates, they evolved independently from monkeys and apes and are a separate genus. Most lemurs are small, weighing under 20 pounds, with a pointed, wet snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They usually live in trees and are active at night. We noticed that they were active in the morning, had lunch, took a siesta, and then began to move around again. Some of the tour reviews we researched noted animal abuse at the park. We saw nothing of that nature, and the animals seem to be very well treated and well fed.
The lemurs are the stars of the show (It is called Lemuria Land after all…). In the morning, they were very active and moving all over the place. Notice the different species – the lemurs live in troops and don’t appear to intermix with each other. Obviously, we really enjoyed watching them!
The next three images are videos.
The next four images are videos.
The next three images are videos.
Some of the lemurs are very friendly. Greg, Kara, and I all made a new friend (likely thought we had food).
Turtles and tortoises – There were a variety of these animals at the park. The larger Aldabra tortoises roamed freely. We met Napoleon and Josephine (fifth photo below), and they were a sweet pair that hung out together. The second photo below shows the older tortoise, who was taken to the park after he was shot. The smaller turtles were in enclosed open-air pens or ponds and seemed to be eating all day long.
The next four images are videos. Unlike Cheryl, Kara was willing to touch the tortoise.
A cool lizard video.
Madagascar has many chameleon species, and is home to approximately half of the world’s 150+ species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth. The following is a sample of what we saw at the park. The last (or rightmost) image is a video.
There were a lot of crocodiles. The guide told us that animals of different ages must be separated, or they will kill and eat each other. It was a hot and humid day for all of us, and one of the crocs coped by sleeping with his mouth open (see fifth photo)!
A lot of interesting flora in the park and the countryside. There were trees with mini bananas everywhere. Breadfruit was plentiful, as were cocoa trees. Ylang ylang trees on perfume plantations. There were two interesting plants – the Baobab tree, considered a sacred tree, and Aphobia, which looks like a succulent. The traveler plant looks like a palm tree and is used for the water in its leaves and for constructing homes, even today.
I had not seen chickens in quite some time. I thought they had left me (I might have bird abandonment issues). Thank goodness Madagascar delivered.
After our second visit to Lumur Land, the tuk-tuk dropped us off at the Viking shuttle bus stop in the heart of downtown. This area was vibrant, with lots of shops, restaurants, a market, and crazy traffic. We didn’t buy anything because shops did not take credit cards, and there didn’t appear to be any ATMs in the area. With what little American cash we had, we were able to take a refreshment break, and Cheryl had a local beer. We walked through the colorful local market, which was full of produce, fish, and meat, as well as souvenirs, woven baskets, and goods. We noticed several carts pulled by a type of cattle called a zebu on the streets. The zebu is well-suited to the heat and is characterized by a large hump above its shoulders, a large dewlap (flap of skin under the neck), and droopy ears. Culturally, they are a symbol of wealth, used in religious ceremonies, and a working beast on the plantations. We thought they were fascinating to watch and found it surprising that they were in use on busy city streets.
Notice the truck’s rear bed passengers in the last two images. No seatbelts needed. Then it was back to the ship for an evening enrichment lecture and dinner.
Enrichment: “France in the Indian Ocean.” Discover the French’s renewed interest in the Indian Ocean as the US retreats from the region – Ed Lynch
France remains a major power in the Indian Ocean. Their presence and influence are actually welcomed compared to China, the United States, Russia, and India, as the governments know France lacks the resources to send ships, planes, or troops if the powers’ interests are piqued. In addition, the locals often want to emulate French culture, and over 20 African nations use French as an official or major administrative language, primarily in West, Central, and North Africa, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo having the largest Francophone population.
The French initially colonized to set up resupply centers, like other European countries. They also felt the need to keep up with the British and Portuguese. Also, France was more interested in establishing trade rather than full political control, like the UK. The French continue to have a presence in the Indian Ocean to maintain their global footprint and to protect French businesses and citizens abroad, though their influence has waned since World War 2. The presence allows France to defend its Exclusive Economic Zone, a 200-nautical-mile maritime area where a coastal nation has sovereign rights over natural resources, meaning they can defend both the shipping lanes and natural resources in these zones. They have also fostered a relationship with India: “France–India relations, or the Franco-Indian relations, are the bilateral relations between the French Republic and the Republic of India. The two nations are traditionally characterised by a close and special relationship.”
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