Halloween party at our compound CDD

How agreeable is to have a party just one minute walk away from my doorstep! We didn’t have any Halloween costumes like our American neighbors. So we had to be creative and make it work with our own clothes.

I dove into the closet and pieced together my interpretation!

One had to have some imagination to see that Maarten represented a pumpkin, anyhow, he was very orange, even though someone thought he was dressed up like a fairy. But that didn't really matter as we all had fun.

And there even was a ghostly piñata with a lot of candies!

Contra Costa

It wasn’t a great effort to cross the Mussulo. The author of my guide book probably described the trip to the contra costa at some much wider part of the peninsula. Encouraged by our friends who walked to the Atlantic side with their children I asked Maarten to join me hoping to see the whales from the beach just like they did. Well, I knew this wasn’t the best time for whale watching.

We headed inland and followed the sandy path. It felt like we were walking the desert. So hot! The heat of the sun made the smell of the garbage and feces almost suffocating.

But it was quite a short walk to reach the fishing village. We were not followed by begging children just like the author of my book described; actually stuff like this hasn’t happened to me here in Angola yet.

The locals were a little suspious looking at us with a bit of curiosity but as soon as we waved at them and wished them a good day they became friendly.

As expected we didn’t see any whales this time but I was glad to see something of the “other” less fancy Mussulo. And of course we have to come back again later to see the whales!

Biking through farmlands / Halloween party at MB

I’ve already mentioned that we live in a small brand new compound. From two sites we are surrounded by ongoing constructions that get on my nerves at times. More interesting is the area below the compound, the farmlands. Since we moved here I’ve been very curious what are the people growing there. From our windows we can see the huge baobabs and banana trees, but I want to know their gardening secrets. So far my first veggie garden isn’t a big success. The vegetables are not growing well only beans and yams.

Unfortunately we do not have a direct access to the farmlands area. We had to bike at least one kilometer to enter the greeneries.

But biking between the seedbeds was rather about balancing and it was quite a challenge to stay up. The farmers seemed to be surprised by our presence showing us how to find the way out.

We passed a group of local youth who were just cooking their lunch. They were very friendly asking me even to take a picture of them.

Maarten didn’t exactly enjoy the biking here but again he was impressed by the little children helping in the fields.

In the evening we had a Halloween party at the neighboring compound and after trick or treating Maarten returned with a bag full of sweets.

I was quite impressed when he told me that he is going to share the candies with the local kids at the farmlands. We’ll see!

18 - 23 Oct: Ankarana - Nosy Komba - Johannesburg - Luanda

In the morning we had the opportunity for further exploring of the Ankarana National Park. We went for a walk right from our camp. The lake, facing the Tsingy massif, on which edge was our camp located, was a natural site of a stunning beauty.

We were advised not to touch the water because of the danger of bilharzia, a parasitic infection, but according to Clement it shouldn’t be of any danger for the local villagers. I wonder! A little boy was washing dishes right in the lake.

At last we spotted the delightful Madagascar Kingfisher.

Rob found this snake in the dry mud.

It was getting very hot again therefore we were excited to enter this cool dark cave on the other side of the lake. It wasn’t any touristic attraction. This was actually a sacred cave. The local people actually buried their ancestors here. I wasn’t feeling very comfortable knowing that but Clement assured us it’s O.K. to enter here. Next to many bones and gifts for the dead, there was a big pile of sandbags. Clement explained that even though it’s illegal people still look there for gold.

It was time to get in the car again as we had to reach the coast this afternoon.

Along the way we stopped at Clement’s home town to visit a market. I wanted to look at the African fabrics but I was not very successful.

It was very busy and very hot and I was not in the mood for shopping, well, I rarely am. I never enjoy the crowds.

We drove along coffee, cocoa and sugar cane plantations and bought some spices from the farmers. (Maarten with Clement and Sebastien with jackfruit.)

In Ankify there was already a boat waiting for us and we had to say goodbye to Clement and Sebastien. I did not enjoy the boat ride to the little island of Nosy Komba. I was quite scared because the speed boat went far too quick and extremely bumpy but Maarten had a blast. At the same time he was quite exhausted and reacted a bit too hysterical to the heavy bounces.

I was glad when we finally saw this little paradise. At the end of our trip to the mainland after having spent previous days tramping through rainforest and dusty bush coming to place like this was a real treat.

Our very private villa was just the icing on the cake. We almost felt like we were the only ones there. So relaxing!

The location was stunning; the villas were built on a steep hillside in a tropical garden between forest and beach providing excellent views over the ocean.

This volcanic island is much quieter than the touristier Nosy Be and is therefore very suitable for everyone who is looking for a pristine destination. For me!!

There was a small snorkeling reef one bay along from the hotel which was easily accessible by foot or canoe.

Maarten enjoyed watching the colorful fishes till he realized how deep he was and that sharks may come. He panicked and started to cry when he saw the big sea urchins.

But later he was glad to return to the sea and he considered this snorkeling experience to be the highlight of this trip.

Of course also on the islands there is a variety of wildlife. We shared the place with many colorful geckos. This one loved to drink from our foot bath.

This tiny gecko joined us for breakfast to see if he can snaffle some cake crumbs.

The food cooked by the French chef was exceptional, especially the sea food, and Maarten was (and still is) lyrical about their breakfast.

We walked on the beach to the closest village which is just 5 minutes away.

The locals were very friendly and relaxed. pp

I would like to forget about the rest of our trip, namely the last 2 days and 3 flights (one 6 hours delayed) we suffered and keep only remembering the stay at this island, so back to nature, so beautiful, romantic and fun.

I miss it already.

17 Oct: Red Tsingy - Ankarana

We said good bye to Richard as Clement took over for the next two days. We left the lush rainforest behind and traveled south to the Ankarana Nature Reserve. Clement said they would stop whenever I’d like to take pictures but then we would probably never reach the Reserve. There was too much to see!

Naturally, I didn’t mind when we got stuck in the crowds of people gathered in the village market.

Then we left the main road.I would never expect that Maarten will like it here that much. He constantly spoke about his plans to move to Madagascar and build a house right here in this dry desert-like landscape. Clement liked his thoughts and they quickly become friends. Clement seemed to enjoy singing so he sung a Malagasy song for Maarten and then Maarten sung one for him. You could see that Clement, father of 5, liked to have such a young visitor. He told us that there are not many children visiting Madagascar.

It was a good 30 minutes on bumpy dusty roads until we reached the first viewpoint. The colors of the red tsingy were spectacular, but unfortunately, I didn’t succeed to catch it well with the camera. The light was too sharp.

The Red Tsingy are fascinating geological features and are a result of the deforestation. The red clay soil began to erode by effects of wind and rain and revealed those odd pink sandstone structures.

Clement suggested driving a little further in a more accessible canyon.

We had to descend a little hill but already from here the view was fairytale-like, so colorful! Green palm trees, grey grass contrasting with the brick red tsingy and little stream at the bottom of the canyon!

Clement wore rubber beach slippers all the time and here in the wet canyon he immediately took them off to go barefoot in the shallow water. Also Maarten immediately took his shoes off and squeaked with joy when his feet sunk in the wet sand. We stopped for lunch in a village restaurant and surprise surprise they served zebu meat. But thanks to Clement they brought me a huge crab! Yum!

This little girl was playing behind the restroom building that I actually didn’t dare to enter.

After the lunch we visited the grey tsingy in Ankarana. It was very hot. We had to cross dry river bed and continued through the brush. It wasn’t a long hike but because of the heat it was quite tiring to get to the viewpoint overlooking the sea of sharp, grey rock karsts. I was surprised how sharp those thin blades of limestone were. Maarten was eager to climb on the pinnacles but that was absolutely not allowed.

An Italian couple found this leaf-tailed gecko that was very different from that we saw at Montagne d'Ambre.

A couple of lemurs were having their afternoon siesta. I was a little jealous. I was so tired that I could sleep standing up.

At last I was glad we managed also the short walk to the Perte de rivières. There was a massive hole in the ground where during the wet season 3 rivers meet to continue underground.

We were glad to be in the car again. Sebastian, the driver took a shortcut to be at our next lodge before the sunset.

It was interesting to see the difference between villages by the area. In the morning we drove through places where sapphire searchers live.

In most villages there were many zebus but here in the region Antakarana we saw mostly pigs running freely on the streets. But just like in the other villages the bicycle chickens were everywhere!

We had to cross this river. I was glad we didn't have to do that ourselves that Sebastian was driving!

It was just on time before the sunset when we arrived at our next lodge. What a place! It was literally in the middle of nowhere but was worth the journey! We were welcomed by a friendly lady offering us a delicious tamarind juice with whole black peppercorns. Divine! I didn’t mind that Maarten disliked that! We sat at the comfortable deck enjoying this beautiful natural setting.

Such a quiet place! The design of the bungalows was based on the Malagasy homes built with local materials in harmony with its surroundings. There were no doors, no windows or hot water it was absolutely unique. The only downer was the abundance of mosquitoes. It will be a miracle if we won’t get malaria after that night spent at the bush camp.