Tamatave to Maroantsetra

June 28, 2011

Our flight was changed to a later time today, so we slept a little later. In the early morning, we walked around the streets near the hotel before returning along the road that parallels the beach and features some French colonial buildings. Unfortunately, it was a rainy and gray morning. We saw young children eating noodles for breakfast, children gathering in a school yard, lots of people walking and a soccer match. The people here are a mix of Indonesian and African ancestry and the Malagasy language is the only one in the African region that belongs to the Polynesian language family. However, most people also speak French, which is left from the time of French colonization. In the late morning, we went to a market in Tamatave where they sell everything from furniture to produce to flowers to electronics in outside stalls.
After a flight to Maroantsetra, which includes a stop to pick up more people, we drove to the lovely Relais du Masoala Lodge. This area is in the north east of Madagascar and the lodge is right near the beach. You can hear the waves of the Indian Ocean as you lay in bed at night. We were able to take a short beach walk while it was still light and saw the dug out canoes that the fishermen use in this area.