June 27th to July 6th 2024
This was my second to last week in Madagascar and I decided to go on vacation with some of the Peace Corps people to see more of Madagascar. We decided to visit Nosy Be, which is an island off the north of Madagascar. Although we considered flying, the flights were too expensive and didn’t align with our travel dates, so we opted for the national taxi-brousse- a 24-hour drive followed by an hour-long boat ride to the island. In terms of 24-hour bus ride, it went really well. I was able to sleep for most of it, no one got sick, and we didn’t have any accidents. During food stops, the driver and his helper would pour random fluids into the engine, remove the tire, and whack the axel a bit. While this could be seen as a negative, I thought of it more as fine tuning the bus, just like the pit crew does for a Formula One car.
Once we arrived in Nosy Be, we had an amazing time. I met my friend Paul, who lives in Nosy Be. He is a local tour guide and goes spear fishing to make extra money. He was able to show us around Nosy Be, and the first day he took us to the beach. It was really nice to be there and just relax and recharge after a really long bus ride. The next day we visited Lokobe National Park. Getting there was an adventure in itself: an hour-long bajaj ride on dirt roads followed by an hour paddling a lakana, a heavy wooden canoe. While they are pretty and durable they are also super heavy, and it made me appreciate using aluminum canoes a little bit more. At the park, we were able to see a bunch of species that are endemic to Madagascar, including lemurs, snakes, geckos, and even the world’s smallest chameleon. We got lucky and the guides let us stay to after dark, which meant we got to see the forest come to life with all the nocturnal animals and bugs. We also had an amazing canoe ride back. We were out under the stars and as we paddled the water changed color due to the bioluminescence.
The rest of the week we had some time to just hangout, read our books, go to the beach, and play games. We also got to do one more fun adventure on the 2nd to last day. We took a motorboat to two islands where we saw more animals and went snorkeling. The first island was very touristy and the place we saw the animals was more like a zoo compared to wild animals. While we were there, we played a fun game called “Go pick it up.” We picked up as many of the animals as we could, including lemurs, snakes, and turtles. Paul even picked up a massive, very endangered tortoise. The second island, Nosy Tanikely, might have been my favorite part of the entire trip. We snorkeled around a coral reef and saw so many amazing things. We got to see beautiful coral, schools of fish, and sea turtles feeding and coming up for air. In the late afternoon we returned to the mainland after an incredible day.
Once we landed on the beach, there was a whole bunch of people trying to sell us things and Peace Corps Charlie decided that all five us should get group massages on the beach. That was my first massage ever and it wasn’t exactly relaxing, but more funny since we all did it together.
Our last day in Nosy Be consisted of relaxing at the beach and enjoying a nice dinner. It was a little sad because I had to say goodbye to Paul, and the end of vacation also meant the nearing end of my time in Madagascar. I felt recharged heading back to Majunga.
…Well, so much for feeling recharged because my travel getting back to Majunga was absolutely terrible. I chose to fly back with AirMadagascar, having two extra plane tickets from a previously canceled flight. My itinerary was supposed to be a flight from Nosy Be to Tana at 7am, followed by a flight from Tana to Majunga at 3pm. However, at 11pm the night before, I received a text that my flight had been rescheduled to noon. That made me a little anxious, but I remained hopeful. I arrived at the airport at 9am and waited, and waited some more, but no plane arrived at noon. Air Madagascar somehow lost their plane, and I couldn’t fly to Tana until 6pm, missing my connecting flight to Majunga. The next available flight was on Tuesday, which was not helpful as it was only Friday. With no bus available either, I arranged for a driver friend to take me to Majunga the next day. After 16 hours in the car, I made it Majunga on Saturday evening… so much for flying back to make my life easier.
Overall, despite the travel challenges, it was a really great vacation, and I’m so glad I got to see more of Madagascar. Returning to Majunga brought mixed emotions, as the end of my time here is near. But the sadness does fade away, and I’m hit with feelings of pure excitement because I get to see Sophie so so soon. Through all the ups and downs, I do really appreciate all my time here in Madagascar.