ATW Days 64 & 65 - 2 New Places to Visit

Yesterday, we finally made it to Madagascar and got to see Lemurs!  We were supposed to visit there in 2015 but weather prevented the ship from getting there.  This time the weather was fine but hot, of course.  We booked the Nosy Komba Isle of Lemurs excursion.  The morning got off to a rough start.  The ship was supposed to be anchored off of Nosy Be and ready for operations at 10:00 am, which it was.  However, the authorities were apparently working on island time and didn't arrive to clear the ship until 11:00 am!  So, we started an hour late.  The good thing was that the boat that took us to Nosy Kumba came right to the ship to pick us up.

The boat pulled up to a sandy beach where we had a wet landing.

After drying our feet, we were led through the village, past the school and many souvenir stalls.

And then we got to the lemurs.  The lemurs on Nosy Kumba are Black Lemurs.  The males are black and the females are brown.  They roam freely and quickly jump on peoples shoulders.

In the "sanctuary" they also had tortoises and snakes.

When we returned back to the beach, we had drinks, fruit, and entertainment.

The local boat then took us to the tender port where we could have taken a shuttle to explore Nosy Be a bit but we were ready to go back to the ship.  Did I mention that it was not?

Today, we were anchored off of Mayotte, French Comoros, which is a French territory.  

It was interesting watching the maneuvering to get the ship into position as they had to navigate around small islands and apparently narrow channels.

We originally booked the Pointe Mahabou Walking Tour, which would have involved over 2 hours of walking.  After seeing the forecast for more hot and humid weather, we decided to cancel it and just explore on our own.  We simply can't tolerate the hot and humid weather.  I'm not sure if it's due to the advanced age or the fact that we're used to the moderate Southern California weather.  We took the tender in and just walked around for less than an hour. 

I had thought about taking a ferry over to a small island, but we were ready to go back to the whip to cool off.  Did I mention that it was hot?

So, these 2 days brought us to 1 new country and 1 new territory to add to our places that we have visited.  Now we have 2 sea days until we reach Maputo, Mozambique.

May all living beings be healthy and happy,

Linda and Larry

ATW Day 63 - At Sea Once Again

Yep, it's another sea day.  That leaves us with only 26 more to go on the ATW!  The previous sea day, 2 days ago, was a typical relaxing one highlighted by rainbows, sunset, and a great view of the Southern Cross.

Yesterday we were docked in Port Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles.  

We booked a late morning excursion so we went for a walk into town after breakfast.

It was another hot one and we wondered if we should have booked the earlier departure of the excursion. As it turned out, we made the right decision.  The excursion was The Northern Highlights.  The first stop was at the botanical gardens.  It started out typically sunny, hot, and humid.  Our excellent guide told us all about the coco de mer, a palm tree which is native to the Seychelles.  The fruits are massive!

And then the weather fairy was on our side as the sky clouded over and some rain came.  We walked up to the tortoise enclosure in the rain.

The rain eventually stopped but the clouds remained as we walked around the garden.

After the garden visit, we were driven to the center of Victoria for a walking tour which included a visit to the market, a view of the Buddhist Temple, and a stop at the cathedral.

Unfortunately, we were not given the opportunity to stop at the RFC, the Rosebelle Fried Chicken!

Then we were driven around the northern shore of Mahe.  Mahe is a granitic Island which gave us interesting views of the granite rocks.

The last stop was at the Beau Vallon Beach where we went for a swim.

Thankfully, the sun mostly remained behind the clouds and the rain stayed away although there was a storm threatening over the ocean.

It was a really good excursion and, as I said, our guide was excellent.  She was knowledgeable and entertaining.  That can make a huge difference in the experience.

Tomorrow we will finally visit Madagascar and the lemurs!

May all living beings be healthy and happy,

Linda and Larry

P.S. As we were sitting on our veranda today before lunch, we watched a couple of sea birds apparently looking for their lunch.  There are many, many flying fish out there.  The big bird with the blue beak is a Northern Gannet.

Bon  appetit!