DISCOVERING NORTH MADAGASCAR
A new team, some new landscapes, as well as some brand new atmospheres. There is never a single dull moment during a Donnavventura expedition, while everything keeps on changing and renewing itself. After our through discovery of south Madagascar, we started our new tour from the wonderful bay of Diégo Suarez and its pearl-white beaches, heading to the northern regions of the country. It’s now only the five of us travelling, but our enthusiasm has most definitely not been lessened.
The turquoise-green waters of this wondrous bay inevitably reminded me of Brazil, as well as those high peaks all around it, looking like their Rio’s Sugarloaf Mountain counterpart.
Caribbean-like tunes could be heard everywhere, while many locals has painted their faces with bright, carnival-like colors, adding to the overall exstatic atmosphere of pure peace and joy.
The next day the caravan left to Nosy Be, right after visiting a most famous cocoa and ylang ylang plantation. When we got to that place we felt like travelling back to another age, the colonial one, where the first Portoguese settlers had soon become cocoa farmers and traders.
Most appropriately, at the end of our visit we were offered a delicious chocolate cake - which inevitably reminded me of my mom’s irresistible recipes – and some ylang ylang fragrance to treasure in our pockets for a long time.
Soon we got to Nosy Be island and the other little stretches of emerged land all around it. Nosy Iranja, in particular, fascinated all of us like no other place we had ever visited before. Crystal clear waters and the finest, white beaches were just the wondrous welcome to a even more breath-taking and mesmerizing natural show. Nosy Iranja is sometimes referred to as the “Turtle Island” as the Hawksbill turtles bury their eggs in its immaculate white beaches. And right there on those immaculate beaches we actually observed dozens of hatching eggs and followed many baby turtles all the way to the nearby shallow waters, on their way to true freedom.
Then again, it was time for the dolphins to enchant us all with a most thrilling welcome on the following day, when we went sailing around this little island. These most beautiful mammals were literally everywhere and we truly enjoyed a great and most unique show. I wish I could get back here someday in the future, when some of those baby turtles will be laying their very own eggs on this incredibly enthralling and unforgettable island.
