Na sever vse do Smaragdnega morja, Madagaskar

Pred dnevi sem se lotil pregleda in urejanja fotografij iz arhiva in po dolgem času sem se tako spet srečal s fantastičnim rdečim otokom – Madagaskarjem. In ker na blogu nimam spisanega praktično ničesar o najinem drugem potepanju po otoku, bom v naslednjih postih poleg fotografij objavil tudi krajše zapise najinega skoraj dvomesečnega poročnega potovanja po Madagaskarju. Če sva med prvim potovanjem po Madagaskarju raziskovala predvsem južni del otoka, je bilo na drugem čas za njegov severni del. In vse se je začelo v simpatičnem mestu Antsiranana oz. Diego Suarez, kjer se je precej “dogajalo” že med drugo svetovno vojno. Vojaško pokopališče na robu mesta je žalosten opomnik, da so lahko še tako oddaljeni kraji hitro v središču vojn. Madagaskar je zaradi svoje lege namreč predstavljal pomembno lokacijo za obe strani in zaradi tega je nekaj bojev potekalo tudi na tem otoku. A midva se v kraje na severu otoka nisva podala zaradi njegove zgodovine. Zamislila sva si, da je Smaragdno morje (Mer de Emeraude), čudovita smaragdna zaplata, popoln kraj za začetek najine avanture. In tako sva šla. Najprej s simpatično katrco do majhne ribiške vasice Ramena, potem je sledilo iskanje ribičev, ki bi naju zapeljali do nenaseljenih otokov arhipelaga nekaj ur jadranja stran. In ko sva ga končno našla, se je avantura začela. 🙂 Jadranje do arhipelaga je bilo simpatično in s konkretno mero adrenalina. 🙂 Otoki so bili vrhunski, še bolj vrhunsko pa je vse skupaj postalo, ko so se ribiči poslovili in obljubili, da se vrnejo čez kakšen dan ali dva (če bo vreme sodelovalo). In če je bil dan res idiličen in prav rajski, je bila noč malo manj. Najprej je bilo potrebno zaradi valov in plimovanja prestaviti najino šotorsko haciendo, kakšno uro kasneje pa sem ob uporabi WC-ja v naravi ugotovil še, da se okrog šotora pojajo prav posebna bitja – podganam podobna bitja v velikosti manjših psov so dobesedno zavzela prekrasen tropski otok. 🙂 Po izkušnji kampiranja na samotnem otoku sva raziskala še področje okrog vasice Ramena. Stara vojaška baza, ki je obsegala praktično celotno območje vzhodno od vasice je bila pravi raj za raziskovanje. Po pudkupnini vojaškega poveljnika je bil namreč čas za občudovanje neštetih fantastičnih zalivov.

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A few days ago, I started reviewing and editing photos from the archive, and after a long time, I met the fantastic red island Madagascar again. And since I didnt write anything on the blog about our second trip to the island, I will publish short records of our almost two-month long honeymoon trip around Madagascar. During our first trip to Madagascar we explored mainly the southern part of the island, and on the second it was time for its northern part. And it all started in the charming city of Antsiranana or Diego Suarez, where it was a lot happening already in WW2. The military cemetery on the edge of town is a sad reminder that even remote places can quickly be at the center of a war. Due to its location, Madagascar was an important location for both sides, which is why some battles took place also on this island. But we didn’t go to places in the north of the island because of its history. We imagined that the Emerald Sea (Mer de Emeraude), a beautiful emerald patch of sea, is the perfect place to start our adventure. And so we went. First by small Renault car to the small fishing village of Ramena, then by traditional boat to this amazing archipelago. Sailing to the archipelago was nice and with a concrete amount of adrenaline. 🙂 The islands were top notch, and it all became even more top notch when the fishermen said goodbye and promised to return in a day or two. And if the day was unforgettable, the night was even more so. At first, due to the waves and tides, it was necessary to move our tent a little bit further from the sea, but about an hour later, using a toilet in nature, I found that there are special creatures around the tent – rat-like creatures the size of smaller dogs literally took over a beautiful tropical island . 🙂 In addition to the archipelago, the half-abandoned military base near the village of Ramena was also interesting. The military base offered fantastic views and even more beautiful beaches. 😉