I live on this "tropical" island yet prior to last week I hadn't even caught a glimpse the ocean. All that changed when I took my first vacation to the lovely island off the east coast of Madagascar known as St.Marie. I'm not even a good photographer and this picture came out postcard perfect.
After the training that marked our 3 month mark at site earlier this month, a group of the Environment-SED '08-'10 group decided to take a little vacay. Since Peace Corps gives us a $24 USD "vacation allowance" monthly, flying, though must faster, wasn't an option. Instead we taxi-broussed (think minibus) about 12 hours from Antananarivo to Soanierana-Ivongo, where we took a boat across to Ile St. Marie. The taxi-brousse wasn't so bad, since there were enough of us to rent the whole thing out and Madagascar doesn't have an option container law, but the boat was a different story. Imagine a wooden boat with about 50 people stuffed in it, being powered by a motor that probably belongs on a moped. It was a sad sight. But we made it safely and now look back at the wonderful boat ride and laugh. (I think.)
Ile St. Marie is a tropical paradise. Even though it is whale season right now (humpback whales swim through the channel between Madagascar and St. Marie from June to September, an amazing sight) the beaches were deserted and made us feel like we had the whole island to ourselves. We biked north to see waterfalls, hiked south to the most perfect beaches, and spent the time in between drinking punch coco (a delicious rum and coconut concoction) and enjoying fresh seafood. We even got to see the only pirate cemetary in the world! It was an amazing time with amazing people.
So now it is back to the plateau, re-energized and ready to go!
