Being

June 30 – July 4, 2016

After riding nearly 300 arduous kilometers the past 3 days, it was time to focus on “being” rather than “doing”…something I’m historically challenged by. I’m much better with a daily schedule and being on the go.

The ride from Toamasina to Mahambo was a pleasant intro to the next 5 days. It was one of the easiest rides I’ve ever done. 55 miles of flat, trafficless road, paralleling the Indian Ocean. It was so close I could hear, see, and smell the waves crashing on the sandy shore. Upon reaching Mahambo, I found the first deserted beach, stripped down, and went for it. There is something so peaceful about swimming naked in the Indian Ocean…until I got dragged across the rocks.  Sorry for the visual.

My friend Jenna, also in need of some R&R, met me again for more adventure. The next day, we caught the boat from Mahambo to Ile Saint Marie. Ile Saint Marie, located off the east coast of Madagascar, is 60km long by less than 10km wide. It became a popular base for pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries due to its close proximity to the maritime routes of the East Indies.  It later became popular for tourists due to its white sandy beaches, and crystal clear water in it’s numerous bays and inlets protected from storms. Legendary pirates like William Kidd, Robert Cullliford, Olivier Levasseur and Henry Every lived in the île aux Forbans, an island located in the bay of Sainte Marie’s main town, Ambodifotatra. Numerous vestiges of this history remain on Ile Sainte Marie, but the remains have still not been identified. Goonies, anyone?

We were told to be at the boat dock by 830 a.m. 5 hours later we were on the boat. Malagasy time. There is no rush here. In fact, there is not even a word for it. Instead, just be. During those 5 hours, I met a man who inquired about my bike. He was from Tana and spoke quite good English. I explained that I’m cycling around the country. (Cue the regularly scheduled jaw dropping and eye rolling.) He noticed Jenna’s guitar and asked her to play. She played one of her favorites, a song by Joan Baez called “Diamonds and Rust.” which quickly got everyones attention.  He flipped through her guitar lesson book until he came across “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. He played. She sang. Somewhere Steve Perry is proud. It’s pretty amazing that a song about Detroit made it around the globe. A tear of pride rolled down my cheek. Before we knew it, we had picked up another guitar player and an ensemble of other singers and we were all belting out American classics. There was something just so beautiful with 2 Americans and 5 Malagasy singing along together, to American classics, on a beach in Madagascar, waiting to go to a(nother) tropical island.

Well…that blissful feeling ended…quickly. Ten minutes into the 2 hour boat passage to Ile Saint Marie, and I pinballed my way through the cabin, out the back door and projected (known in the medical and parental industry as “PV”) my lunch over the edge. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t the only one, just the first. I spent the remaining time on the boat, sprawled out on the deck, in the rain (with my rain coat), trying to keep it together, feeling a bonding with the others on the deck who were in my club.

Ile Sainte Marie is definitely intended for tourism…mostly by French men of a certain age, but also some younger couples. It is the only tourist place that I have been in Madagascar, and truly a postcard. The next few days were spent doing things one would think of in a picturesque resort community: sleeping in a rustic bungalow on the beach which sometimes had hot water and/or electricity and no toilet seat, being woken up at 6 a.m. each day by the local puppy coming into the hut, taking a pirogue trip to another nearby, less populated island with no roads for an afternoon swim and finally, a private whale watching outing. (July is peak whale mating season off the coast of Ile Sainte Marie.) Ile Sainte Marie has been a must do, much needed exercise in being. However, I’m ready to get back to the mainland and start the wheels rolling again.