Leaving Mauritius we had a perfect weather window for the 6 day sail to Madagascar. The wind blows strong on the north tip of Madagascar and we left expecting to have a relatively calm 20 to 25 knots to round Cape D'Ambre. About 4 minutes off the coast of Mauritius our autopilot decided to give up. We discussed turning around and trying to have it fixed in Mauritius but we would have had to call the same company that failed to fix our SSB radio. That and listen to Eric taunt us for being wimps (he hand steers always.) We decided to suck it up and hand steer the 6 days to Madagascar. How difficult could it be? Lots of people have circumnavigated without autopilot and much of the other gear we take for granted. Well, bully for them, it sucked!!!! The saving grace was Zack. He would steer for 10 to 20 minutes several times a day, sometimes even more. We could call him at any time and he would bring food or water. He was a real champ. He even designed a steering rudder contraption so that we could sit in the corner and still steer. It was a pole attached to the wheel and tied off to the bimini support. It made steering a bit like windsurfing. It worked great in light winds, which we had for the first couple of days. When the wind picked up we had to stand at the wheel. We did 3 hour watches so not to horrible. At night 3 hours is a long tedious watch, but a really short sleep. Fortunately I had made plenty of food to last the trip, so we didn't have to spend a lot of time cooking. The worst part for the boys was we did not fish, it would have been too difficult to hand steer and fillet fish. We did eventually make it to Madagascar and we had basically had a nice passage. We were all pretty excited to see land. We had decided not to stop at Ile St. Marie and just go over the top and get to the popular cruising grounds around Nosy Be. We approached Cape D'Ambre in the morning and the winds were high at about 25 knots. We had read that the best approach is close in to shore. We hugged the coast and things were rough but not unmanageable. A couple of boats we know showed up on the AIS so we gave them a call. They said the anchorage was ok but it was gusting into the 30's so we decided to keep going. We ended up spending the night in Nosy Hao. (Nosy is the Malagasy word for island) It was too rough to get ashore but we were able to get a good nights sleep. The next day we headed down to Nosy Hara., which has a very protected bay It's a National Park but you can usually anchor and not go ashore, thereby avoiding fees. We had not even anchored and there was a boat load of guys out trying toe extract fees. We had read in blogs from a previous year that it was 13,000 Ariary per person. (3,000 Ariary is $1) we would have happily paid that for a good nights sleep, except we have no Airary. No problem they say, any currency is fine. Except now the fees are 55,000 per person even if we do not go ashore and if we are staying the night that is 2 days fees. So the equivalent of $110. We explained it was too much and they agreed if we left first thing in the morning we could pay only one day. We left. Back to Nosy Hao as it was the only free anchorage close enough to be in before dark.

We had a lovely sail the next day and pulled into a well sheltered bay at Andraponaomby, gotta love these Malagasy names. David and Zack caught a 20 pound yellow fin tuna on the way and they were stoked. We had saved the head and frame as most villagers ask for them to make soup. The first canoe that showed up had 2 little boys and we gave it to them as we didn't see any others. Then the canoes came. Most wanted t-shirts and we did trade 2 shirts for a hand of bananas. We decided to ignore the guy just asking for a shirt with nothing to trade,and eventually just went down below. Chantey did a little trading and was offered a live chicken for a shirt, they declined. One of the 2 gentlemen we had given a shirt to claimed to be the chief and Will asked if we could visit the village. He agreed and pointed to one of the four villages ashore, telling us to come at nine the next morning. He then paddled off in the opposite direction. We got up and launched our dinghy, dressed appropriately and packed a gift for the village, some clothes and a few food items. We did this at the villages in Vanuatu and it was always well received. We got to the village a bit after nine and the "chief" was no where to be seen. I don't even think it was his village. It was the strangest encounter ever, the people just stared at us, they didn't invite us in or make much effort to even talk to us. We did take a little walk around, but it was very awkward. We left after 5 minutes and that was it. We didn't even bother with the other villages.

Our next stop was Nosy Mitsio. There is a lovely bay with miles of white sand beach. We spent almost a week here and it was perfect. There are several places to anchor depending on the wind direction. In one of the anchorages I traded 4 shirts for 5 limes! I have made lots of trades since and as I am basically trying to clean the boat out and the poverty here is immense, I've made some pretty good deals, although none in my favor! Chantey traded for some lobsters and we got together for a feast. There is a small island on the other side of the bay and we sailed over to it for the day. We snorkeled and explored the island. Zack found some land crab holes and the boys caught 2 for lunch. Zack is big into fishing and hunting. He asked if I would make Singapore Pepper Crab with them and I agreed. Will volunteered to clean and kill them and then bring them to Flour Girl. I will cook them but killing them is not my thing. He showed up with a bucket of crab pieces and I threw them in a hot pan. The pieces started to move, it was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen. No more land crab for us. A couple of our friend boats showed up and the next day we had a big swim and play on the beach day, complete with a boat building contest. We lost, but had lots of fun anyway.

We had been in Madagascar for well over a week and our next stop was Hellville to check in. On the sail down we had a whale swim very close to our boat!! We have read lots of blogs decrying the corruption of officials in Madagascar. It's true, you have to pay some extra fees. It wasn't as bad as we expected and you can negotiate a little. We had also read some negative reviews of Hellville. We loved it. You need to pay the boat boys on the dock but it is 10,000 Ariary a day, so not bad at all and they take your trash and are very pleasant, so fair enough. Hellville has a surprisingly good supermarket, with an amazingly good bakery right next door. We went twice, in one day! The market has a good selection of produce. You need to power through the meat and seafood section as it is disgusting. The smell will gag you and everything is covered in flies, it is truly nauseating. We bought lots of good veggies and fresh herbs and did not feel as if anyone overcharged us for being foreigners. In the stores along the way we bought some nice carvings and souvenirs very inexpensively. Zack got a carved double bladed knife for $3. We also found a fossilized fish and paid about $10 for that. Madagascar is very inexpensive after check in!

Almost 2 weeks in Madagascar and we have yet to see a single lemur. We headed over to Nosy Komba to take the tour. It was 4,000 each, kids free. We hiked with a guide who spoke French and English and was super informative. We saw lemurs but it was late in the day and after being fed all day they weren't very interested in us, We also saw tortoises, large bright green geckos, and snakes, which you can hold, Zack and David yes, me no. The guide invited us to come back in the morning to get better pictures with the lemurs. We went the next day and it was brilliant. The lemurs sit on your shoulder and eat bananas out of your hand. It was magical. They are super cute and very gentle. Zack also held the snake again, yuck!!

From Nosy Komba we headed to Russian Bay. Lots of cruisers were there for a big party. There are a few charter boats in Nosy Be and they have a party in Russian Bay for them. There were games but we didn't participate,. We went in for the party and there was cold beer and some music with a bonfire. All very nice. Andre is an expat from Austria that owns a bar here. He sells beer which is occasionally cold. When it's not cold, you bring your own, drink it and buy warm ones to restock your fridge. It is a lovely spot and he has 2 pet lemurs and a very cute baby to play with. Andre also has a small store behind his bar that sells basics. We went for a hike with a few other boats and ended up at the bar for a glass of sangria. When we went in to pay for the sangria, which turned out to be complimentary, we discovered the store. He had unroasted coffee beans. Our friend Tucker roasts his own coffee on board so we all decided to give it a go. I bought 500 grams and took it home to roast. It was $1 so how bad could it be? It smelled like dirt and no amount of roasting could change that. I spent hours roasting it and nothing. I ground it all up and we cold brewed it over night. Honestly, it didn't taste horrible, but we both felt a little queasy all day. We dumped it. I traded 2 shirts and 2 dresses for 2 mud crabs, because Zack loves crab. The little phsyco killed them himself. And then he cooked them. He is getting into cooking which is exciting. The local sailboats are all handmade and sail really well. They are lateen rigged and you can see them sailing all over. There is a guy named Paul in Russian Bay that will take you out for a small fee. We booked a tour with Chantey and another boat joined us. We hadn't asked many questions and did not realize that the tour included a big hike across the land to visit a village. We were all under prepared and did not bring enough water. It was a lovely, albeit hot hike. The sun here is brutal. We were about half way through the hike when Paul mentioned that children were free. It seems under 20 is free in Madagascar! The sailing home was the highlight of the trip and it even included lunch made and served by Paul's wife when we returned. It was a simple grilled fish with coconut rice and a mango salad. Simple but delicious. The tour was 25,000 Ariary per person and a great value. We are really enjoying Madagascar!