First days

It was quite a journey getting to Nosy Komba from Nairobi, probably in line with what I expected from my Madagascar experience though - mora mora, which is essentially the idea that everything happens in it’s own time. I arrived in Nosy Be (the middle sized island) late Sunday and met a few other newbies to the program. Even just the drive from the airport was breathtaking - the lushness of the flora was incredible and we saw a few zebu (the Malagasy version of cow with a camel-like hump between their neck and back). It was too late to catch the boat to Nosy Komba so we stayed in Hellville for the night (it’s named after an explorer, not named based on the experience of being there). We found out that there was a big music festival that night and decided to check it out after dinner. It was like a music festival anywhere else, except as my new friend pointed out, we could see across the entire crowd because we were essentially the tallest people there by a large margin. I was also surprised at how young many of the children were who attended, in some ways it seemed more like a junior high dance with groups of young girls and groups of young boys all excited and the girls were very dressed up and it was honestly quite adorable. What I didn’t realize what that it was an all-night concert - it started at 9pm and ended sometime around 5am although the music continued until at least 7am. I was in bed around 1:30 but well aware of how late it continued thanks to the unsolicited advances from my new acquaintance Jetlag.

The next day we headed off to Nosy Komba on what would be the first of many boat rides. It was a bit awkward getting to our pirogue - we tried to stay out of the way of locals who were moving all kinds of cargo onto various boats and hopped easily from one to the other. We shed our boots and stumbled clumsily from one boat until the next, crawling over people and cargo until we reached our boat. The ride to our new home was stunning, perfect lush green islands surrounded by the warm turquoise waters of the Mozambique Channel. Upon arrival we met a number of other newbies who had arrived earlier in the weekend and not unsurprisingly, the majority were on a gap year either just out of high school or college. After learning which huts we’d be living in during our stay we dropped off our bags and had some lunch.

Now the info packet explained that most meals are based around rice and beans but it was implied that there were some vegetables. The unseasoned rice and beans I had that lunch were definitely a difference from the series of “last meals” that I had been having for a while including pizza, sushi, Russ’ weekend breakfasts, all kinds of amazing produce from the Portland farmer’s market like smoked salmon, chèvre, white satin carrots, lobster mushrooms, yak burgers, sausages, etc, etc. I knew what to expect, I was probably most surprised by the lack of vegetables and seasoning, but it’s only three weeks, how bad could it be?

We had the first part of our orientation for the forest conservation program and then had the opportunity to head into town. Did I mention that there are no vehicles or roads on Nosy Komba? I was slightly unprepared for the walk into town - I was told it is a 30 minute walk, I didn’t realize that included a number of rock scrambles in between the coves so having a water bottle in one hand and a camera in the other wasn’t the best idea I ever had. I did get some great photos though. And I made it, dripping with sweat, happy I wore my Keens and with great admiration for the other 35+ year old who led the group into town, barefoot, hopping like an antelope over the volcanic rocks and making it all look easy in a cute outfit. Maybe by the time I leave...