My Little Africa

The choice of this trip was rather quick and random: after a very hard and stressful year we needed total relaxation and a stunning sea to stay by. The Indian Ocean seemed ideal to us because of the dry season and the time available, so our final choice was Madagascar, also after reading the always useful opinions of the viaggiscoop travellers. We took as our base the Alpitour Bravo club: a stunning village, excellent location, excellent food in quality and quantity, spacious rooms, entertainment present, fun and not intrusive, really nothing to complain about. Unfortunately some holidaymakers' ailments kept us from moving from the village for the first few days, so we set aside the last two days for two trips to the nearby islands.

Like many, we decided to do the excursions with the beach boys, who at low tide are on the beach or on the rocks beside the village: often, though, and this is rather annoying and sad to see, the lads are moved on by the Bravo security, simply because the excursions they offer are highly competitive with those of the holiday village: we spent half compared to the prices offered by the property hosting us and we didn't even haggle much, otherwise the price would have been even lower.. but honestly we didn't feel like haggling for 20 or 30 euros less that make little difference to us but to them are a small fortune. A note on this is a must: absolutely trust these lads, because they have no interest at all in making you ill or getting you into trouble, and on top of that you're helping them.

We entrusted ourselves to Michele, but we also met Cosimo and Giorgio; they're all good people and, since after all we're the guests in their home, it seemed right to us to help them at least in this. What's more the kind of excursions offered are entirely similar to those offered by the tour operator and in fact if you want they'll build the outings tailor-made, just as you like. The first excursion was to Nosy Iranja: outside the holiday village Michele took us by taxi to the port of Ambataloaka, where we boarded a little motorboat driven by a local gentleman and after a good hour at sea we reached our destination. Nosy Iranja is a beautiful island: white beach and Maldives-like sea, crystal clear. There are actually two islands, linked to each other by a strip of sand, which makes it all even more striking.

After swimming, sunbathing and taking lots of photos, our guide prepares lunch for us near the huts of the fishing village: we eat fish, potatoes, rice, lobster and fruit in abundance, really excellent. After lunch I also make friends with the local children: from home I'd decided to bring them coloured pencils and felt-tip pens and spending almost an hour colouring with them was wonderful: it's incredible, these children have really little or nothing, and it was so lovely to see how their smiles lit up as soon as they saw the colours and the drawings I made for them, a truly touching experience, which almost moved me and made me want to take all those children home!! The trip ends shortly after lunch, so around 3 pm we return to the port where our taxi is waiting to take us back to the village. The second excursion was to Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely.

We reach the first island again from the usual port, but this time the crossing lasts only a scant half hour: on arrival on the beaches of Nosy Komba the welcome is totally different from that of the day before: the children here are much more insistent, too used to tourists, and immediately ask us for bon-bon (a clarification: if you want to bring something for the children, don't bring them sweets, because they have no way of treating tooth decay, so for them it would only be one more problem to solve). Nosy Komba has a park with animals: after paying the entrance ticket, our guide leads us into the tangle of little paths among the trees and the huts and shortly afterwards we make the acquaintance of our first lemurs: if you offer them bananas, they literally hurl themselves onto your shoulders and they're not at all dangerous, in fact very gentle and soft to the touch.

We then see a boa (a bit sleepy, in fact almost completely inert I'd say..), a few turtles and some tiny chameleons: these animals are a bit too "tamed", placed there just for the tourists and that saddens me a little... besides, our guide seems to be in a bit of a hurry and the visit comes to an end in a short time: before re-embarking, though, I ask if I can give some felt-tip pens to the children of Nosy Komba too and, as soon as I get our companion's consent, a crowd of children surrounds me and almost snatches from my hands the colours and the sheets of paper I'd prepared for them: it all happened very quickly, I barely had time to spend with these children, but I hope I made them happy anyway with my small gesture.

So off we go for Nosy Tanikely, where we arrive after 15 minutes by boat: this island too is a marvellous scene: the sand is white, full of shells, and the fish are so many that they come almost to the shore. We do a bit of snorkelling, then we have lunch under the trees on a table laid out to perfection as always by our guides: today too we eat fish, rice and fruit. Two lemurs come close to us, always eager for bananas, which we don't hesitate to give them in exchange for a few snaps; in short, a true paradise. The trip to Nosy Tanikely, too, ends here in the early afternoon and around 3 pm we re-embark for Nosy Be. Finally I'd like to end with a few closing thoughts: as you'll see with your own eyes if you go there, Nosy Be is an island as beautiful as it is poor and the contrast between the holiday village and the villagers' villages is very jarring.

We tourists are pampered with every comfort, while the Malagasy don't have much; some tourists like us, met during the excursions, told us that the rest of Madagascar is far poorer and that Nosy Be by comparison is a little oasis of happiness and that in the end tourism has brought various benefits to all of them, but the fact remains that our standard of living is totally different from theirs. Going there, planting our white men's parasols on their beaches, denying them even access, I don't think is right: that's why each of us, in our own small way, should do something for this people who, by everyone's account, are truly peaceful, calm and never deny a smile to anyone.

So, if you want, bring T-shirts for the beach boys and the children, but also coloured pencils, notebooks that they'll be very happy to accept, or if you want, make a donation to the nearest hospital or parish: this won't solve Africa's problems, but at least you'll know you've contributed to something, even if your gesture will be just a drop in the ocean. Finally, a Malagasy motto. MORA MORA, which means little by little, advice I've promised myself to follow, if only in memory of this wonderful people who have stayed in my heart.