Madagascar 2020, part 21 (Anakao, Nosy Ve)
The next day, I woke up early again and again I went for a walk along the beach.
Still, as opposed to the previous day when my friend Sneža and I mostly just lay down on the beach, on this day we were going on an excursion.
Namely, along the southwest coast of Madagascar there is the fourth largest coral reef in the world. We decided to go there in order to snorkel a little. The excursion consisted of going by a pirogue to an island across Anakao called Nosy Ve. This tiny island is significant because some birds nest there, then it has some endemic low trees and plants, and also this is the holy land of members of the Vezo people who live on the shore and who bury their dead here. Also throughout the history different white people used to inhabit the isle in order to trade there, but from time to time some of them also died, so there is a “Creole cemetery” on the island, too.
To start with, we watched from the shore how “our” pirogue was getting ready for the excursion, while behind it in the distance we could also see the silhouette of the island we were going to.
The pirogue was rather narrow and only one person per row could seat on the boards that served as benches. Although the vessel had an engine, at some point the guys hoisted the sail and it was in this way that we covered most of the distance.
However, I think that perhaps they hoisted the sail in order to make a general impression, as it is more picturesque, because as we were getting closer to Nosy Ve, they lowered the sail again and using the engine we slowly approached the shore and parked the pirogue on the beach.
Nosy Ve is a coral island nowadays uninhabited by humans which is located some 5 km from Anakao. It is around 4.5 km long and around 1.8 km wide. Along its perimeter there are sandy beaches, while in the middle there is a green oasis which consists of relatively low vegetation.
When I say that people do not live here today, I’m thinking of the piece of data which says that at some point (in 1888) the French first disembarked here before transferring to the land and conquering the land. Still, the island did not lose its important function for the newcomers and it served as a port for local trade, as well as the dispatching station for slaves, so there used to be a permanent military camp with its crew. However, there are also certain traces which suggest that some merchants used to stop here already back in the 17th century.
As for the indigenous population, the island was and continues to be to the present times the holy land of the Vezo people where every year in line with their tradition they offer sacrifice in the form of a zebu, since there are tombs of their ancestors on the island. Like in the other parts of Madagascar, the burial of the deceased is a very significant event here as well and it is given major importance with mandatory strict abiding by the tradition. But, as opposed to the rest of the country where we often heard of the burial being conducted in several sequels (burial in a temporary tomb, then a new burial after a certain period of time, i.e., transfer of the body to the final resting place), here I could read on an information board that the Vezo bury their dead “quickly: in a few days only.” In the presence of the family and villagers, the blessing is asked through a prayer to the God and the ancestors, after which the offerings are provided: a black goat, honey, rum...
Similar offerings are also made for Vorombe, the god of the sea – a goat (need not be black), a rooster, red rum, etc. The Vezo believe that Vorombe is the incarnation of the ancestors who perished at the sea, i.e., of the spirits of those who drowned in the ocean and who are seen as powerful guardian spirits. These offerings are made to the god during special ceremonies organised in accordance with the lunar calendar. On that occasion, god Vorombe is invoked and there are specifically designated people who are in charge of the communication with him.
Bearing in mind such importance of the island for the members of the Vezo people, in addition to the usual rules of behaviour for visitors stipulating that nothing should be left behind, that nothing should be taken away from here, and that the animals should not be disturbed and/or fed, there are also very clear and important rules that refer to the “fady,” i.e., to the local taboos. This means that the places used for the worship and where ceremonies are conducted must be absolutely respected, the tombs are not to be approached and very importantly – it is strictly forbidden to do “toilet soiling” (i.e., to do the peeing and pooping on the island, as there are no facilities), and ultimately it is prohibited to bring dogs onto the island and pork meat in any shape and form. This was all nicely written on an information board which is displayed by a contemporary, albeit quite simple structure built on the island, where there is an office to buy tickets for the visit to the protected area.
Much more interesting than the structure of the small “visitors’ centre” was the view from a wooden platform made there.
When we got to the island, in addition to the young man who was selling the tickets, there were also a few of his friends there at the “visitors’ centre” who obviously kept him company. We paid for the tickets and the guy asked us where we were from. We told him and he immediately said: “Dobar dan” meaning “Good morning.” That surprised us quite a lot and brought a smile to our faces and then we asked him where he had learned it. He said it was from some Slovenes after which he said another word he had apparently learned from them, too – pičke, literally meaning “cunts” and in slang – “hot girls.” Then we laughed out loud and being a linguist I could not help myself and told him that he practically knew six languages (exactly by the republics of the former SFRY), since that word means the same in all the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
At this point, Sneža and I parted from the two guys who brought us to Nosy Ve, with an agreement that they would wait for us on the other side of the island and then the two of us went for a sightseeing walk.
When we climbed the stairs at the end of the path that can be seen in the photo above, I first turned nicely around myself (and recorded it) because this was one of the highest points on the island.
And then we approached the traditional tomb, but stayed at an acceptable distance. Although except for the two of us there was nobody else walking around the island and there was certainly nobody following us or watching us, I must admit that both Sneža and I are very prone to abide absolutely by the rules and customs that prevail in the places we visit and we do not have any childish inclination to prove to ourselves that “we can do it.”
After taking photos, we simply continued with our walk around the island.
The path that we took brought us to a grove and there we saw an information board which said that there was a cemetery of people who were not Vezo and who had been brought by their destiny here where they ended up their lives.
After a short break by this cemetery (we did not get off the path here either), we continued walking, but now with a clear goal to deal a little with very important residents of the island and these were – birds. Namely, in a way thanks precisely to the strict taboos of the Vezo people, Nosy Ve island is rather unspoiled and without any major human impact, so it represents a safe place for many birds. Thus we came to yet another unofficial viewpoint from where the path leads to a place which is the nesting ground for some birds I will soon mention in more detail.
To start with, I noticed on the side a couple of pied crows (Corvus albus) which are rather well distributed throughout the African continent.
And then it was the turn of the fantastic red-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon rubricauda). There was only one problem: like almost all the birds, they also have one “troublesome” habit and that is to fly, thus moving constantly, which makes taking photos very difficult for the laymen such as me using an amateur photo-camera. Since at the time we were close to the nesting grounds of these birds it was almost noon, the Sun was very strong and standing out in the open, trying to catch these birds with a camera in mid-flight was almost equal to a torture. Still, a few photos did come out sufficiently nice that the objects of my interest could be well discerned.
These birds that spend most of their life flying over the open seas are monogamous and through joint forces they take care of a single egg which the female lays. The incubation takes 42 days, with the male lying on the egg first for 21 days, followed by the female for the same number of days. Finally we have a good example of an equal share of tasks.
Luckily, in one part we came across these same birds that were incubating the eggs, so taking photos of them was somewhat more successful. By the way, this is the southernmost point at which these birds breed throughout the entire year, since in some parts of the world they follow the change of the seasons and adjust their breeding to the time of the year.
While I was looking for another bird in its nest hoping to have a good view, a couple of metres away from me one other red-tailed tropicbird landed and started to squeeze itself under a bush, obviously heading to its nest.
When we could no longer stand the heat of the sunrays, Sneža and I concluded that we had taken enough of the photos of the birds, and then we continued towards the part of the island where we were to meet the guys with the pirogue. When we saw them, they just waved and showed us that we should go to yet another part of the island. We took their advice and it was worth it. Namely, island Nosy Ve is also visited by other birds, not only those two species I have mentioned – some of them are local from the dry land and some are migratory. Thus we came to one part of the island where we encountered a large number of birds. Although we approached this area at quite a normal, leisurely pace and although we were in fact quite far away, the birds were startled and flew up, made a circle and landed again a little farther away. This did not matter in the least. The place was very beautiful and so was the picture with the birds.
In addition to watching birds at a distance, the place we were at was also fantastic as a viewpoint for this part of island Nosy Ve.
And then we finally returned to the guys who were waiting for us with their pirogue. We sailed a little off the coast. Sneža and I put our snorkelling gear on, entered the water and swam in the direction of a part of the coral reef that extends along the southwest coast of Madagascar, which the guys pointed at for our benefit. This was all followed by a rather big disappointment.
Namely, this coral reef is home to over 400 marine species, including 212 fish species, over 100 types of corals and numerous other marine invertebrates, algae and grasses. In addition, as I’ve mentioned in my previous text, in the period between June and November whales and dolphins swim along this coast. However, when the two of us snorkelled here, it all seemed rather uninteresting. Later we were told that the reason for this was that there had been a strong wind the day before, so the water was choppy and all the fish went into hiding. I’m not quite sure about this, but that’s what it was.
Upon our return to the hotel, we first sat at the terrace of our hotel’s bar for a short while in order to take something refreshing and cool down a little. I found it interesting that the colour of the water had turned blue all of a sudden. I guess that probably depends on the intensity of the blue colour of the sky.
There we could also witness how the pirogue was taken onto the dry land by joint forces.
And then, the calm fell again over the waters of the Indian Ocean in front of me.
After this short break, we went to our bungalow to leave our things there and then immediately to the beach in order to cool down and swim a little in the ocean’s waters. When this was over, I just spread myself over the beach bed and watched the world around me.
As the time was passing, the wind started to pick up and the waves began to break in one section of the beach, quite close to our beach beds. It was practically an invitation for the local kids.
It is important that this was taking place on Madagascar which is a poor country and although the spirit of the game is the most important, it was also clear that some of these children had to improvise and use the boards they could get their hands on.
Some children really tried and even managed to stand up on their surfing boards, while others just let themselves float with the waves. I’m sure they enjoyed it.
I also thoroughly enjoyed watching these children and taking photos of them, and then I also witnessed a boy succeeding in standing fully up on his board. It did not last for too long, but he made it!
After a while, the wind died out and the waves disappeared.
And then I changed the angle of my gaze and the colours were different again although I did not change any settings on my photo-camera.
Still, no matter how nice it felt to be just lying there on the beach bed, Sneža and I got hungry, since it was around the lunch time, so we had to leave this part of the beach for a little while.