Captain’s Log – 20 Oct 2017, 1255

“Honey River”

Ahoy Landlubbers!

It’s been a few days since my last post. We’ve been sailing the northwest coast of Madagascar and the area be sparsely populated with intermittent cell and internet service. One of our anchorages was in Baramahamay Bay, better well known to cruisers as “Honey River”. This bay is located on the northwest coast of Madagascar, South of Nosy Be.

Honey River has several small villages in the area. Most of the dwellings are crudely made from scavenged wood with thatched roofs. Many of these homes, especially on the coast, are built on stilts, not much above high water levels.

Entrepreneurs from the area sell the honey they collect on the island. Most times it is bottled or jarred in old plastic water bottles or empty wine bottles. Here are two such entrepreneurs, a couple of young men, approaching our boat to sell us honey. By the end of the bargaining, in broken French, the price had tripled the original asking -- 15,000 Ariary (about $5 US) for one liter of fresh honey!

Folks here have appreciated our empty glass jars so they can use then to package special local produce...spices, peppers and the like...for sale to French (mostly) tourists.

The canoes used by the locals are dugout rigger canoes. They’re amazingly efficient, allowing locals to traverse both the calmer waters of the coast and bays and the deeper waters for fishing and commerce.

Check back again soon for more Madagascar fun! The adventure continues!

Capt Ben Blood