Team Salazar World Cruise 2019

Madagascar is the world’s fifth largest island; at 144 million acres, it’s almost the size of Texas.   The port we visited was Nosy Be’ (pronounced “nossy bay”) which sits in the Mozambique Channel about four miles off the northwest coast of Madagascar and has a population of approximately 73,000 people.   Nosy Be’ means “big island” in the official language of Malagasy although it measures just 123 sq. miles.   According to our port guide, days are “warm and pleasant” throughout the year.   Located in the Southern Hemisphere, Nosy Be’s warm season, which lasts from October to February, averages 80 degrees F; in the cooler months, June through August, it dips below 71 degrees F.   The Malagasy Ariary (MGA) is the local currency, but U.S. dollars and Euro are also accepted.    Madagascar is known for its lemurs and when I saw an excursion that involved visiting the Marodoka Lemurs and a Ylang-Ylang plantation and distillery, we signed ...

Heading southwest from the Maldives through the Indian Ocean, we arrived at Port Victoria on March 19 th .   We didn’t receive a port guide for the Seychelles, so I don’t have too much information.   The Seychelles are composed of over 115 islands, which are divided into two groups:   the inner and outer isles.   The outer isles are low-lying coral islets covered with palm trees.   The inner islands, Curieuse, Fregate, Cousin, La Digue, Praslin and Mahe, are granite bastions covered with lush tropical vegetation.   Today 80,000 people reside in the Seychelles.   The capital is Victoria on Mahe Island.   With a population of 23,000 people, Victoria is one of the smallest capital cities in the world.     The only other bit of trivia I have about the Seychelles is that William and Kate honeymooned on one of the islands and Will said it was the best holiday he’d ever enjoyed – not sure if it was because of the location or because of ...