EC-Rider Travels

Another 6am start for me as I had chosen to join the rather scary ‘birders’ on their walk. So quick breakfast and in the zodiac by seven and over to the Masoala National Park. Created in 1997, this is Madagascar’s largest protected area covering 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and 100 square kilometres of marine parks. It has a huge variety of habitats and protects rainforest, coastal forest, flooded forest, marsh and mangrove. In 2007 the park was designated a World Heritage Site but this did not stop thousands of illegal loggers raiding the forest in search of rosewood. The Masoala Peninsula is also the only home of the very rare forest coconut.

There are a number of species of lemur and other creatures and birds which are also endemic to the area and cannot be seen anywhere else inMadagascar or indeed the world. This includes a sub-species of the black-and-white ruffed lemur and the red ruffed lemur. Also birds including the helmet vanga, the red owl and the recently discovered Madagascar serpent eagle which the birders were very excited about but … sadly we did not see.

The birders take it all very seriously, and as we headed off into jungle, seven of them flew into a grump and, deciding the whole thing was a waste of time, left before our poor guide had a chance to find us anything. In their defence, it was not easy to see much as the forest is so dense, but we did see a few birds and also a very lovely red ruffed lemur, which was a great treat for me though of little interest to them! I also managed to get a snap of a very big fat snail, but that was about it.

We returned to the beach where all the children were dancing and singing for us. The repertoire was ‘on a loop’ with just three songs one in French, and one in English about getting up in the morning, washing your face, cleaning your teeth and going to schooooool with ever more elaborate actions! Very sweet.

We were back on Island Sky by 11 and started cruising out of the Antongil Bay to continue our journey north, 290 nautical miles, to Diego Suarez at the very top of Madagascar.

A delicious lunch and a glass or two of rose meant a peaceful afternoon on Deck 6. Sadly I did not quite make the Shiplates of even have time to go to Pierre’s talk on oceanography and only just made it to the recap and briefing before dinner!

Dinner was interrupted with the 59th wedding anniversary celebration of two of the guests led by wonderful, camp Johnny, tying their wrists together and the waiters singing Let Me Call You Sweetheart, followed by the napkin being held up for them to have a kiss, which he of course dropped! ….. Hilarious. It had been Lucinda and Rob’s anniversary the day before and she was quite pleased he was not there … but told the most hilarious tale of her and Rob running Aberturret as a hotel during the Ryder cup. Rob had decided that Lucinda should be front of house and deal with the guests and he would be on breakfast. All seemed good until, Lucinda was showing the guests to their room and, asking what time they would like breakfast, they responded 5am …. every day for a week! Tears were running down her face and ours.