By Bob Van Leer

  (NOSY BE, MADAGASCAR, Feb. 15, 1995) - We anchored between Nosy Be and Nosy Kamba this morning on our visit to Madagascar. Nosy means, simply, "island". These are two islands just offshore on the northwest coast of the main island, Madagascar, which is the fourth largest island in the world.

  We started the morning with a 45 minute trip to Nosy Kamba, a small island which is a lemur sanctuary. Madagascar is reported to have 75% of the world's lemurs, a distant ancestor to man. We went into the sanctuary with bananas. The lemurs are not large, perhaps 18 inches to two feet tall with big, round eyes and long tails.

  The lemurs jumped on our shoulders to eat the bananas we brought. If they have any claws, they were not using them. Still, it is a little disconcerting to have something jump on your shoulder from behind.

  I tried a tropical wet suit I purchased from Gib Cooper snorkeling on a coral reef just offshore. All my gear worked fine. There was an interesting variety of coral with a few tropical fish swimming around. A hazard was an abundance of sea urchins with longer and sharper spines than those at home. I just brushed against the spines of one with my leg and it raised welts. We were told stepping on them and getting spines in your foot is very painful.

  When we arrived, a good part of the beach was covered with white tablecloths made by the natives for sale to the few tourists who manage to get to the island. Another craft product was models of local boats. These were excellently done and some were complete with sails up to 4 - 5 feet long and at reasonable prices. The only problem is how you would get a five-foot long boat home. So we settled for smaller models.

"WET LANDING"

  Getting to Nosy Kamba was a "wet landing". The ship's tender could not get across the reef, so we had to transfer into Zodiac's for the final distance to the beach. One of our two Zodiacs broke down, so the return trip was time-consuming. We returned to the ship with just time to clean up, have lunch and go on a tour of Nosy Be, the main island.

  The people of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, are a blend of African and Asian, and perhaps more Asian. The island was invaded and colonized by the French in 1895 and French influence continues to this day.

  However, the French granted independence in 1960, on terms favorable to the French. A coup in 1972 led to closing of French military bases and an exodus of the French. This caused another change of government led by an admiral. The government today is listed as a republic.

  Nosy Kamba is a large island and our tour indicated that most of the island is a sugar cane plantation. Nosy Be also grows cattle, rice, bananas, coconuts and ylang ylang (macassar oil) for perfume base. The cattle are a Brahma strain.

  The island is volcanic and we drove up a peak to see a small crater lake. Giant bats, that appeared to be about the size of seagulls, flitted over the lake which our guide said was not fit for swimming because it contained crocodiles.

  In the Nosy Be harbor there were a number of large, modern shrimp trawlers. On land we noticed little new construction. We stopped in Hell-Ville, the principal town, and visited the open air market. The temperature was in the 90s and meat was being sold in the market without benefit of any covering or refrigeration.

  Nosy Be appears to be on the same prosperity level of the Comoros. Our guide, an English teacher on a second job, said a man's wage on the island was $20.00 per month. A U. S. State Department publication said the per capita Gross Domestic Product (1993 est.) was $135.00. The estimated population of Madagascar in 1993 was 12 million, with a life expectancy of 51 years. Infant mortality is more than one out of 10 (120 per thousand).

  We were a little late returning to the ship, but weren't concerned about being left because the captain was with us. Within a few minutes of returning to the ship, we got underway.

  Tomorrow will be a day at sea. Our next stop is Desroches, one of the Seychelle Islands, 595 miles northeast of Nosy Be. After three days of island hopping on three islands, we can use a day to rest and repair.