VOYAGE of the MARCY: Nosy Komba, Madagascar

After our time at the town of Hellville, we wanted to explore further. Our water supply was dwindling, city water was tainted, and good water was rumored to be available at Nosy Komba, a short daysail away. We anchored, brought our jugs ashore, and were met by some young boys who were willing and eager to show us the source of water – for a price, of course.

The water tasted good, and the girls doing laundry sang a song for us. If we thought at the time that conditions here were a bit rustic, we learned a week later and further down the coast that this tap was much superior to a well on the beach - both for ease of use and taste.

Ginger suggested we use our watermaker more. We had been using shore water as much as possible to conserve fuel.

We heard lemurs were common on this island. We took a walk, never saw a lemur, and then asked a woman standing in the trail “where are the lemurs?” She gave us a strange look and slowly pointed over our heads. A lemur looked down at us. She suggested that we take the guided tour to see more lemurs, so we headed back to the village to sign up. With a group of cheerful friendly French people,

we got up close and personal with the lemurs.

We also saw wonderful lizards.

It was interesting to walk through the village and see how people lived. Cooking is done on neat little stoves. The duck has been rooting around the ashes looking for tasty tidbits.

Octopus were drying for a future dinner.

As far as we can tell, there is no plywood in Madagascar. Many doors and shutters are paneled, in a pattern reminiscent of France in the 1800’s. Nails are rare - most woodwork is pegged together.

The village had many appealing cottages, lanes and courtyards.

The waterfront was busy. We saw these kids looking for fish.

These kids were out on the water, too. There are a lot of very young people in rural Madagascar, at a certain age they are sent away to boarding school.

The little ones were curious and often asked for candy. Giving candy to kids in a country without dentists is cruel, so we prefer to give pens and crayons – also always well received.