The Light-Hearted Moments

This past year has not all been about work.  Though mostly it has.  But Joe and I have had some light-hearted moments both on and off ship.  About twice a month, we try to get off-ship for fun, whether it is for dinner at a local restaurant and or a swim at a local beach.  Both are cultural delights.  I was able to capture a few of those moments on film.

Due to water currents and riptides, it is not safe to go swimming here in Tamatave.  So, about 40km north is a place called Mahambo which has gorgeous and quiet beaches.   Here I have found a piece of Malagasy coral reef - already broken off!

We caught sight of a lemur while we were eating.  He was not the last we saw that day.


















In fact, his friend seemed to enjoy dessert as much as we did.

This is Rico, an unofficial pet of the restaurant in Mahambo.

This little guy is only two months old and lives at the restaurant.

When we do not want to travel that far, we head to a small hotel here in Tamatave.  They have a nice pool where we can relax for the day.

We have only slept off ship once, when we visited Ile Ste. Marie, an island off the eastern coast of Madagascar.  It took about seven hours to get to the hotel.  First, we traveled by bus to Soanierana Ivong.  We saw a beautiful sight while we were waiting at the bus terminal:

Then, we took a boat to the island.  Here is the dock from which we left:

Last, a twenty-minute tuk tuk ride…

…And we finally arrived!

This trip gave us a chance to explore a little more of Madagascar's culture.  We visited the world's only pirate cemetery!  If only someone had warned me that it was a bit of a hike…my skirt and sandals were not an ideal wardrobe choice.

 Here is the amazing view from the cemetery…no doubt, this is why the pirates wished to rest here for eternity.

We also took a pirogue across the water to the small island seen here.  It was a pirate's haven where they built caves and even a tunnel to the military base.  The tunnel caved in long ago.

This is us just riding around town in a tuk tuk.

Here is Joe helping a friend test the ship's rescue boat.

Then these next few are of us at home in the cabin.   In the second picture, I am eating Doritos.  Joe's mom sent us a care package with all our favorites from home.