Cruise 06: Madagascar - Nosy Be and Antsiranana

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Port: Nosy Be, Madagascar

Country 136: Madagascar

I was relieved to finally arrive in Madagascar after spending so many days onboard the ship! Our first stop in the country was at Nosy Be, a popular cruise destination on an island off the north coast of Madagascar. We had docked in the bay outside of the city of Hell-Ville (named after a French admiral – though the town is now known as Andoany). This was the new stop on the cruise and I was excited to get out to explore the town on my own.

I took the tender boat across to the port, which was packed with people, locals and passengers alike. As I made my way out of the port, I had to walk by dozens upon dozens of people trying to sell tours, clothing, souvenirs, tuk tuk rides, etc. They were quite relentless at first, but I firmly told them no and continued on my way – and I was glad that they left me alone. There were quite a few other passengers from the ship walking around on their own – they were inescapable everywhere I went in Hell-Ville.

From the port, I walked up a small hill where a small public square was located. A park extended through the city from the square and I decided to walk through it to see more of the city. Locals were everywhere, selling various goods on the street (primarily aimed at tourists). Women sold some beautifully pattered fabrics and clothes, as well as carvings of animals, and various knick-knacks. None of them approached me to sell anything, for which I heaved a sigh of relief. I am such an introvert – I dislike having strangers approach me no matter where I am, whether in a foreign country or at home.

Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in Africa (and indeed the world), and it was sadly evident as I walked through parts of the city. Nosy Be is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country, so the area benefitted from the influx of tourist money. Due to this, there are several restaurants and cafes dotted across Hell-Ville that cater to foreigners (I saw several pizza places), but in between them were more run-down buildings. Some colonial-era buildings remained as well, though understandably not very well maintained.

I made a circuit through the city center and then decided to find a café where I could hang out. Casa Mofo was a nice looking café with a covered outdoor patio and a large indoor seating area that looked inviting. I ordered a Fanta and some mint ice cream to help cool down on the hot day, and then settled in on the patio to do some reading. The staff were kind and friendly. At first I was the only customer at the café, but others from the cruise soon arrived to enjoy some ice cream as well. The mint ice cream I had was amazing – creamy with strong flavoring!

After about an hour at Casa Mofo, I decided it was time to return to the ship. There was not much to do in Hell-Ville, but I was happy with the time that I had spent there on my own. This was a much better experience than any of the shore excursions that I had taken earlier in the cruise!

When I reached the port, I noticed so many passengers from the ship haggling with street vendors over souvenirs. So many of them had bought similar wood carvings or shirts, which, I admit, were unique and a nice way to remember the place. As I queued up for the tender boat back to the ship, there was a group of local women singing and dancing nearby to entertain the passengers (they were hoping to earn some money as well, which many passengers put in their bag).

I arrived back on the cruise ship too late for the afternoon snacks unfortunately – the scones had become my guilty pleasure, and they were only served in the afternoons. I went back to my cabin to cool down in the air-con before dinner. I decided to try one of the included restaurants for dinner tonight, rather than going to the buffet. The bar in the atrium overlooking the café served dinner and the menu looked decent, so that’s where I ended up eating. I ordered pasta carbonara which ended up being food brought down from the buffet rather than being made by the restaurant. It was so-so, but it lacked any real flavor. This was my biggest complaint about the food on the cruise: while there was a large variety to choose from, virtually nothing had any flavor.

Sunset tonight was very pretty as we anchored off Nosy Be for the night.

 

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Port: Antsiranana, Madagascar

This morning the ship was docked in our second port in Madagascar: Antsiranana. Once again, I had a shore excursion booked for this stop. When I made the booking for the cruise, I had initially picked a different day tour, but once the cruise began, I started to rethink the tour. Luckily the cruise line allowed passengers to change their tours anytime until 24-hours prior to the date, so I changed the tour several days ago. I was initially supposed to take a tour of the rain forest area, but when I discovered that this wouldn’t allow me to see any baobab trees, I switched my booking to the tour that did make the stop. The process was quite easy: I simply stopped by the tour desk and the staff there facilitated the changes, which ended up refunding me a small amount to on my on-board account (the amount refunded nearly covered the cost of the few drinks I had purchased up through that point).

I took the tender boat across to the mainland where I found my tour bus for the day. We set off for a long drive around the area, quickly leaving the town behind. Throughout the drive, I could admire the natural beauty of the region, which was lush and full of vegetation. In the bay sat a small island called Nosy Logo which resembled a small volcano. The bus made a short stop at a lookout point so we could take some photos.

The highlight of today’s tour was when we stopped at a small park to see some baobab trees. Madagascar is famed for their baobab trees and I was a bit gutted to not be able to visit the so-called “Baobab Avenue”, which is a road lined with gigantic trees, but that is located far to the south of the country. Instead, I had to be content with seeing a few smaller trees. When we arrived at the park, street vendors were everywhere hawking their goods. There were already several other tour groups there and many passengers from the ship were buying souvenirs.

The park area was small with a small field where we could walk, but, in the distance, we could clearly see a couple of baobab trees. Our guide suggested that we get closer, but warned that it would be a somewhat difficult hike. To reach the trees, we had to cross what resembled a dry creek bed that required us to go down and up some steep slopes, all while navigating through thick bushes. It definitely wasn’t easy, and several people in the group required assistance, but everyone eventually made it to the trees.

The baobab trees stood next to one another, towering over the surrounding vegetation. Their unique trunks and branches made them stand out from the other trees as well. The trees we were seeing was just one type of baobab – there are eight different species. There were several tourists already at the trees when we arrived, but we all took turns taking pictures. The entire area was very pretty and serene. The group didn’t spend a long time there and soon we had to retrace our steps back to the bus. My legs got a little scratched from the thorny bushes as I jumped and climbed back across the dry creek bed, but not bad enough to draw blood.

The bus continued to drive around the bay towards the second, and final, stop of the day: the beach. Sigh. We arrived at a small hotel where we would be spending the next 90 minutes so people could enjoy the beach. The hotel had a very small seating area for guests with just four tables, which were quickly occupied. I was lucky enough to snag a seat before they were all taken. Everyone was given a voucher for a free drink and snacks at the hotel as well. I got a cold Fanta to drink, but I skipped the snacks. The small buffet of snacks was grim and there was nothing that looked appetizing to me (many people who did get some food ended up not finishing everything). I spent the time watching movies on my phone, counting down the minutes until it was time to leave.

I walked over to the beach, which wasn’t a particularly nice location: it was dirty and full of seaweed, and locals were constantly walking around trying to see things to tourists. The hotel had set aside one guest room where people could change into swimwear. At one point an argument broke out between two women (in different tour groups from my own). Apparently one of the women had decided to take a lengthy shower in the room’s bathroom, preventing the second woman from being able to change her clothes. The hotel had put up several signs stating that using the shower was not permitted, so the first woman was clearly in the wrong. Their argument was the highlight of the visit at the beach.

I returned to the cruise ship in the early afternoon and I was able to nibble on the afternoon snacks at the buffet – more scones! The rest of the day was much the same as others onboard: reading, relaxing, eating. The cruise was nearing it’s end, with only two ports of call remaining.