Madagascar

Our first anchorage in Madagascar was Nosy Mitsio. Nosy means island in Malagasy so we anchored at "Mitzi Island" our first night. It was beautiful and peaceful. Our sail to Nosy Be and the town of Hellville was uneventful and we spent most of Tuesday October 14 clearing in to the country. Fortunately we had been warned about a "boat boy" situation (aggressive young men) and as we approached the hectic quai we were not surprised to have several people vying to watch our dinghy. We've rested,
explored the town, enjoyed a weekend anchorage out of town, seen lemurs and even had an adventure aboard a traditional Malagasy sailing vessel. The internet is too slow here to post photos, in fact the phone lines yesterday were so slow we couldn't get any cash out of the cash machine. We tried to call the bank in the US but the phone lines kept cutting off the call. We switched to another phone which shocked Ginger (as in AC current) several times as she tried to make another call. Finally when
it seemed the calls were getting through a little bit we ran back to the cash machine and were successful. The lines were up long enough for the cash machine to get the info it needed. We're now refueled, we have veggies on board and we'll be heading out of the port as soon as we're allowed. There was a tropical storm "Asma" that we'd been watching for a few days. At the peak 4 days ago it looked like it was going to go over Mauritius with 55 knot winds. Then it turned and headed straight for
the north end of Madagascar, where we are. As it continued west it decreased in intensity until it only had 25 knot winds and some rain squalls. What's left of that storm passed last night with little drama and just enough rain for us to put 15 gallons of water in our tanks that we collected off our awning. This morning the head of the port authority office told us because of the storm his port was closed and our boat couldn't leave. So, tomorrow morning, Saturday, we'll go ashore and see if
he thinks it's safe to go. Otherwise, we'll stay on the boat and wait for the all clear from ashore.