From Sainte Marie to Mananara

By Frieda

Completely relaxed and full of new energy we left Ile aux Nattes and Ile Sainte Marie after 10 days.

The next destination that we choose was Mananara, a small town further north on the east cost. There are two options to get there from Ile Sainta Marie. Either you take the boat to Soaniera Ivongo (50 000Ar) and take a 4x4. Either you take a taxi brousse to Mananara (around 100 000Ar) or rent a private car (way more expensive ;) I think something like 50 Euro per day plus fuel. The road is incredibly bad and it takes something between 8 hours and two days to reach Mananara.

The other option which we dicided to take is to get to Mananra by boat. You can either get a ticket with a private boat company which costs about 100 000 Ariary and leaves 3 times a week from Sainte Marie or by cargo boat (50 000Ar). But it is very difficult to catch one because there are no schedules and you have to go down to the pier every day and and ask if there is a cargo boat going your direction.

So on the first day in back on Ile Sainta Marie we tried our luck at the pier but were unsuccesful. The next day Jacquot, a nice guy we met before, gave us the tip of going in the post office and ask for Mathias. So we did that and it turned out that he is the one in charge of the cargo boats arriving and leaving Sainte Marie. He was very nice and helpful and told us that there would be a cargo ship to Mananara the next day or the day after that and he promised to drop by our hotel as soon as he knew. So we waited for that boat that actually arrived two days later (during those two days Mathias updated us around two times a day J) but unfortunately it was fully loaded and therefore unable to take passengers.

But Mathias informed us that there would be a private boat going to Mananra at 8 o’clock in the evening of the next day for 100 000 Ariary. After 4 days of waiting for a boat we decided to take that option even though it was more expensive than a cargo boat. Next day at 8pm we  waited at the pier but there was no one. No other passengers, no captain or any staff. But as we knew that in Madagascar people take it “mora mora”(slowly slowly) we waited a little longer and after a while the Captain, two other passengers and two employees of the Captain appeared.

What followed was one of the most beautiful boat rides I’ve ever had! The boat was open on the back and because there where almost no other passangers we could take the benches directly at that opening. So we had the most amazing clear night sky full of stars over the open sea as our view for the night. The rocking of the boat made us sleep like babies and we woke up to the golden sun rising over the waves our boat made in the rather calm sea. Relaxed, happy and devoted to the beauty of planet earth we arrived around 8 in the morning in Mananra.