PiGgY in Madagascar

  02/11/19 Day 3 Prior to boarding the catamaran, we thought that there would be power in the socket outlets 24/7 to recharge our electronic contraptions. That myth was quickly dispelled on the fist day, when we were informed by the captain that socket power would only be available when the engine was running, which would be for an absolute maximum of 5 hours a day! The on board battery banks were only designed to take care of the lighting and essential loads when the cat was not in motion. Not so much of an issue for my companions, who only had a couple of devices each to recharge. Yours truly had 24 batteries for his video lights, 2 gopro batteries and a laptop to handle EVERY SINGLE BLOODY DAY. The Gopro batteries and laptop could be managed, since they were relatively quick charge devices. However, the 24 batteries for my video lights take about 3-4 hours EACH to get to full charge, and with only 2 charging units that can handle a total of 8 batteries at a time, I had a genuine...

  03/11/19 Day 4 Philosophical Quick Poll of the day: What's the best method for a man do to Number 1 on board a moving catamaran, with choppy waters, using the tiny baby sized toilet bowls provided on board??? 1: Skip the toilet altogether and do number 1 over board... 2: Seated... 3: Standing, leaning forward until the head above one's shoulders rests against the backboard, providing 3 points of contact for extra stability... Women have it so easy...!!! Ahem... Today, we are doing Greg's wall, which is supposed to be the highlight of this dive trip! Right from the onset, Arnaud announced that the tide was less than ideal and seemed to try to tamper our expectations. Shotline (Sort of guide line with weights at one end and a buoy at the other, used minimise the odds of missing a dive site) dropped hesitantly, and in the water we go. We all follow the line to the bottom, on a plateau of little interest. Fairly strong current, and worried looks from Arnaud with the unimpres...

  04/11/19: Day 5 We are at the point where we are getting stuffed so much by Akraam's yummy food that we can't keep up anymore, at least not on a timely basis. The delicious Banana Claffoutis of the eve that was left virtually untouched, did not survive our voraciousness of the next morning... Thou shall not waste yummy food on board this Catamaran...!!! Two very nice dives with plenty of marine life at Piton Gabriel (Roche Gabby) and Sud Canyon. Caught a glimpse of another Manta ray during the first dive and saw a white tip shark from fairly close range. Nothing that can compare with the dives of the eve though. Stopover at Antsoa, a tiny island that has been converted into a sanctuary for 3 different types of lemurs, which we all managed to see 1: Black and White Vari: Old white bearded grandpa 2: Lemur Fauve: black head with brown body 3: Sifaka Couronne: black head, fur progressively morphing into lighter shades of brown/white We are approached by the local guide, who prom...

  05/11/19: Day 6 with Anabelle Nairac How to spot a whale shark: In a nutshell, the collection of diverse tiny creatures commonly lumped together as plankton, whose ecosystem depends on sunlight, gather at the surface of the sea. This in turn attracts small fish which feed on the plankton. The whale shark feeds on both the plankton and the small fishies by filtering the creature rich sea at the surface. So how does this help us to spot a whale shark? Well, other predatory fish like tuna, bonito, trevallis, thazard happen to hunt the tiny aforementioned fishies. In so doing, they regularly break the surface in what could best be described as a body of boiling water. This surface activity, commonly referred to by the locals as 'la chasse', is what we look for. Despite some promising 'chasses', no whale shark in sight. Back to the diving part of our trip. The first dive at Atnaam was another technological disaster. My Gopro malfunctioned and refused to record any footage,...

  01/11/19: Day 2 Sunrise at Baie des Russes was just WOW! Arrived at nightfall on the eve,so hadn't really seen the spot where we had settled for the night. We were nested dead in the middle of a sort of cove, with tiny tree covered hills hovering on the horizon for 270+ degrees. Such a peaceful place! Breakfast on some bananas and biscuits, and short boat ride to the dive spot for the day, Pain de Sucre. The site itself is located around a huge rock protrusion out of nowhere. Despite the awful visibility and the current, the dive was really enjoyable by virtue of the abundance of marine life foreign to these Mauritian Eyes; beautiful sponges, corals and fish that we'd never seen in Mauritius. Toasted bread with butter, jam and honey after the dive, as we moved to the second dive spot for the day, Tombant Gege. The Captain had drawn a sun shade across the Catamaran Tarp and the place lent itself to a nap. As the catamaran was cradled up and down by the waves, air was forced up...

  31/10/19: Day 1 with Anabelle Nairac It's finally time to piss off to bluer and subsequently, greener pastures, at least for the duration of a well deserved break, to the Land of the whale sharks, manta rays and lemurs... With the work load of late, I was really lucky to have had companions who have literally planned it all, down to the tiniest of details, Anna with the Dive cruise, and Pierre with all the inland activities. All I'm doing is turning up, and enjoying the ride... and ahem, forking out the Dosh...!! Very Little sleep on the eve of a very early departure, busy sorting, packing, unpacking and repacking gear to meet the weight and size restrictions imposed by the airline. As usual, struggle to travel light, and end up with 50Kgs of gear, split into 3 pieces of luggage! All the snacks that were bought for the duration of the trip had to be left behind . The flight got delayed by about 90 mins, and the standby printed on the boarding pass, in place of the seat numbe...