Being more exposed to the ocean swells, yachts going around Madagascar rarely bothered in the past with the East coast. Our many french friends from the days of Chagos though think differently and after expressing my skepticism I still decided to take advantage of the wealth of information, besides the thought of doing a much shorter passage of course.
As we neared the coast of Ile St. Marie the weather just gets worse, until the northerly wind and swell forces us to motor up the channel. All the time we are an the lookout for whales as St. Marie is a breeding ground for them, and we are quite sure to have seen some jumping on the other side of the bay. After a six day passage in which the compass acted drunk the whole time we finally drop anchor in the tiny exposed harbor.
Right away a coast guard official is rowed by two mechanics, he inspects the boat and issues a receipt for harbor fees, a receipt other officials will laugh at as a scam on my way out...
The customs guy does my papers first and asks a contribution of forty euros to the customs "coffers", when I decline we settle that I'll bring some whiskey later. On to immigration, where they disappear with all our documents for three hours, but in the end returning with everything done right.
We are quite elated at the idea of being finally across the Indian Ocean, and this elation is compounded by the new smells, faces, colors, and African liveliness. Ambodifotatra is simple and quite decadent but with cobblestone streets climbing up the neighborhoods lined with ragtag shops with an amazing assortment of goods. Everything seems on the verge of falling apart and yet the town is bustling and functional. We soon discover the market and we are shocked at the abundance and variety. Zebu meat here pretty much replaces beef, pork is sometimes available and all the veggies here are free of pesticides and grown completely natural.
The wind howls and the rain just keeps on coming...the whales jump in the distance...
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