One of the boats that bring tourists to Nosy Sakatia for the day

We were desperate to get ashore for a good walk (one that didn’t involve going to the supermarket) and there was supposed to be a trail going from south to north of the island so, the next day, we dug out our walking shoes and took the dinghy to the beach.  There was a bit of a swell running but we thought it would be OK however, while Sarah was asking a woman from the resort if we could leave or dinghy there, the swell started building and, with a warning from the woman about the waves, we decided to retreat rather than risk swamping or overturning the dinghy.  There was an alternative anchorage further up the island and hoping this would be better sheltered from the swell, we moved north.  We found a spot to anchor off a couple of small beaches where the water was much calmer.  It was too late by then to walk so it was deferred to the next day.  As the afternoon progressed, we saw a succession of little dugouts being paddled the mile or so across the passage from Nosy Be, picking up people who appeared on ‘our’ beach and paddling back to Nosy Be.  It seemed like a regular bus service. The next morning it was repeated in reverse, and we worked out that they were bringing over people who worked at the resorts on Nosy Sakatia, or came over with sarongs and other goods to sell to the tourists.

'Our' beach, and the dugout canoes that act as taxis shuttling across from Nosy Be which can be seen in the background behind Meikyo

The beach here was well protected and we got ashore easily to follow a couple of men up the footpath.  One decided we needed a guide and started pointing things out to us as we walked. We think he was speaking a local dialect as we couldn’t understand a word.  This short path took us across the northeast corner of the island to another beach, home to several resorts, and the start of the north/south path. This starts with a steep, rocky climb to the high ground in the middle of the island where we found the red earth that results in Madagascar being called the red island, then we went down into forest tracks and were grateful to be able to trace our route on the AllTrails app as there were many different paths and all seemed to be marked with dots and arrows in pink paint! The path was well used by locals getting around the island and we had a cheerful ‘bonjour’ from everyone we passed.  After about an hour's walk we began to hear music and voices and came out in the village that sits next to the southern beach resorts.  Being close to the tourists the villagers all had stalls selling souvenirs, and there were cafes on the beach, so we had morning coffee here.  Phil had a mediocre coffee, but when Sarah asked for tea, she got a strange herbal infusion the main taste of which seemed to be citronella! The return trip seemed much faster, despite a diversion when we wandered off our outward trail and found ourselves going up towards one of the high points of the island.  It was about 3 hours return and we were glad to stop for lunch on the northern beach before going back to Meikyo.

Having climbed away from the northern beach we had great views across to Nosy Be, but it was baking hot in the open

Down amongst the trees it was cooler in the shade

As well as the villagers we met this chap on the path: we think it's a Madagascan Hognosed snake

And on the way back Phil spotted this tiny frog, about an inch long.  There were several hopping around in the leaf litter

Beach side coffee stop

The houses in the villages were simple but mostly well maintained and were made of the sort of materials we had seen being brought ashore on Nosy Be

We now needed to think about our trip to Grand Terre; the big island of Madagascar, so on Friday we lifted our anchor early to take in Tanikely on our way back to Crater Bay. Tanikely is a National Park where the waters are said to be the clearest in Madagascar and the snorkelling to be good.  It was 11 miles from Nosy Sakatia and we motored all the way.  The pattern here is for no wind in the morning but gradually building in the afternoon when it can get quite strong.

We went ashore to pay our park fee and climb to the light house for another view

Then we escaped from the crowds on the beach and had the reef almost to ourselves when we snorkelled - drifting round the island on the current

By the time we were ready to leave the afternoon wind had set in and we had a fun, but short, sail to join the other cruisers back at Nosy Be. A group of cruisers, all heading into the Indian Ocean this year, got together in Thailand around Christmas time and a WhatsApp community resulted.  A lot of us have sailed together for much of this year, all going at our own pace but bumping into each other on a regular basis.  The group is quite well spread out now but there are a dozen cruising boats in Crater Bay at the moment to enjoy Friday night Pizzas and the Sunday barbecue together at the Crater Bay yacht club.

Tomorrow we put Meikyo on a mooring where she will have someone on board overnight for security and be watched over by staff from the yacht club, and on Tuesday we fly to Antananarivo for the start of our tour