Nosy Be, Madagascar

In preparation for our next port, the ship showed the movie Madagascar. We went because we knew there would be popcorn, which for some reason we never get on the ship. Anyway, we had never seen the movie and we thoroughly enjoyed both! Overnight we sailed from the Seychelles to Nosy Be, Madagascar. We had procrastinated reading through the excursions list, but I knew after 4 sea days last week we should at least get off the ship and do something interesting. There were only 5 options to choose from. Ruling out a wet landing, a forest climb, a Ylang distillery or lemurs (which we saw the last time), that left one excursion – Open Air Market and Sacred Tree. I booked it though neither of us had ever heard of it.

It was an afternoon outing and we first had to tender to shore after which we all piled into 2 smallish (thankfully air conditioned) buses. This was our greeting committee.

 

can you dance with a vase of flowers on your head?

kids trying to sell magnets before we exit bus

buy this?

Our first stop was at a market in town. We remembered it well from last time. We only had 15 minutes there which was long enough to buy some vanilla beans and a souvenir. The people were super friendly and almost without exception, every person waved at us as we drove along. 

dried fish, dried shrimp

helping Mama

market seller

dried locally grown spices

 

After leaving the market, we were driven to a ylang-ylang plantation. A ylang-ylang is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. Its flower (sometimes called the “flower of flowers”) is used to make perfume (Chanel No. 5) and aromatherapy. The flowers turn from pale green to bright yellow. In order to preserve their aroma, flowers are often harvested by hand in the early morning. The trees are oddly shaped due to heavy pruning so that the flowers can be easily reached.

 

 

After that brief stop, we were driven to what locals refer to as a Sacred Tree, a 200-year old banyan tree near the Mahatsinjo village. Once again we were greeted by folk dancers whose only instruments were their hands and wooden sticks. Their “songs” were a lot of repetition, saying the same sounds over and over as they step back and forth. I’ve since learned that they have various traditional dances, one that involves digging up ancestors bones and dancing around them. ☹

 

a traditional dance

The Sacred Tree is considered a spiritual site for the Sakalava people. It was planted around 1836 by Queen Tsiomeko, and is revered as a home to spirits, with local royals visiting annually. It is called “a place for meditation, prayer, and offering gifts to seek protection.“ There is a small altar of sorts at the exit where people leave money, honey and red or white fabric.

 

welcome to the Sacred Tree

"inside" the tree

I decided to walk through it just to see what a 200-year old banyan tree looked like from the inside. Basically, it just looked like an unkempt, tangled, royal mess. Thankfully as long as I stayed on the path, I couldn’t get lost and would exit where I entered.

From there we were driven to a local venue where we were treated to refreshments and a folk show, which turned out to be the same dancers that were at the tree. They performed their similar dance plus one that was a bit shocking that I won’t try to describe here. The little girl (probably a daughter of one of the dancers) performed the movements just as well as the women, even the more suggestive ones. 

We were served our choice of colas (none we’re familiar with in the States), some kind of fried triangular fish/meat pie, sugar coated peanuts, a number of dishes I didn’t recognize and a nice variety of tropical fruits.

 

our guide joins in

Afterwards, we were driven back to the port but not without one final souvenir stop. It was an actual store, well organized with what I would consider higher end merchandise. I failed to mention however, that we had lots of opportunities to buy souvenirs from hawkers both upon our arrival and our departure. 

 

colorful accessories

 I'll end with a few bus window photos....