Thoughts From Paradise

I have found it. I am in paradise. The sand is white as snow and the sea is an azure blue that stretches out toward the distant beaches of the rugged hills that encircle the lagoon. It’s shallow here, up to your calves for miles, and the shades of turquoise running into one another under the sun are indicators of the depth of the ocean, highlighting sandy pathways between the little islands nestled in the centre of the lagoon. The lazy lapping of the water and the sleepy heat of the day are complemented by the grace and ease of the multi-coloured kites joyously dancing in the wind, pulling along the boys at play.  Every now and again the wind rises and the best among the showmen direct their kites toward the shore, allowing the air to lift them and their boards high out of the water before they float back down to the surface and skim away.

The boys kiting on the lagoon

 My eyes here are only occasionally tempted toward the skies, to briefly take in the balletic movement of colour in air. This is because the riches that are to be found here lie in the sand. Green crabs scuttle from one hole to another, scattering before my footsteps and the sand unearths treasures from the deep. Giant shells, once inhabited by Indian Ocean residents peak out from beneath the golden dust, temping those who pass by to gently excavate around them to uncover the remarkable whole. I have walked this beach daily this weekend, never ceasing to be amazed by the number of shades of blue in the ocean, of green in the trees and of gold on the beach. But the most awe-inspiring thing about this landscape is that I am often alone. A solitary figure wandering for miles, occasionally stooping to recapture some forgotten treasure from the sea. However even this stunning, tranquil passage of mine cannot keep me from venturing back across the sand, turning my back on the beauty of the lagoon and heading up the steps toward the lodge itself, nestled into the hill, barely visible from the sea.

Green sand crab

Shells from the beach

Baboamby Lodge

This is Babaomby, an eco lodge in the Emerald Sea to the North East of Diego Suarez. We came here by boat for the weekend because this Eden specialises in water sports, and more specifically kite surfing, which Antoine has been looking forward to for the last couple of weeks. We arrived on Friday and are staying in a large tent on a wooden platform looking out onto the lagoon. I was well aware that this place was a haven for aquatic adventure types and so brought along my books and my laptop, fully intending to lie around on the beach and laze about the lodge for three days. Well, although the sportive pastimes might feature heavily on the lodge’s website there are several things which do it great credit which are not!

My tent

:D And me

The kind and welcoming owner Nicola, who came to pick us up from the nearest bay in the lodge's own colourful wooden boat is the first thing. He is a gracious host and an inclusive character who has invited me to all the activities and outings since I arrived and has never considered my not kite surfing as an obstacle to my joining in. He has happily provided me with further reading material, snorkelling equipment, shoes for rock-pool exploration and transportation to the best kite-surfing and beach exploring spots on the lagoon in the boat when the boys all kite/ windsurfed/ jet-skied there. The second is the wildlife. Never mind the chickens, cat (spudnick), dog and zebu wandering around the grounds, no-one told me about the several different types of chameleon, gecko and LEMUR which just happen to appear dotted around the sandy paths between the huts. Yes, in case you didn’t get that guys… I HAVE SEEN MY FIRST LEMURS! YEEAAAHHH! They were amazing, wild and not really that skittish AND one of the females in the group had a palm-sized baby on her back, hanging on for dear life.

LEEEEMUUURRRSSSSS. 'Nough said.

Gekko

Chameleon!

Which actually brings me to the last thing about this trip that deserves a mention- the staff. The staff here, from the chef to the couple who man the restaurant/bar, to the guards and even the water sport boys have all totally accepted my disinterest in the activities on offer, my appalling French and my childlike reaction to anything animal related and have proceeded to rally round for the benefit of entertaining the weird English girl. The cook has been producing an ever stranger collection of shells and driftwood (for which I will give him the giant shell I found on the beach as a thank-you), the couple keep their eyes peeled for various wildlife as they go about their work and then guide me to hidden geckos, chameleons, weird bugs and so on and the boys on the beach sing along with my humming, invite me to play ‘petanque’ and chat to me as best they can as I watch Antoine ‘kiting’ across the lagoon. Everyone has been friendly and kind and has gone out of their way to include me and take pleasure in finding things which will make me smile and for that I am so grateful.

Snake stick

Petanque

These few days have been just perfect and I am ready to head back into Diego for the second week of chasing down contacts, paperwork and information. I have been so happy here that even when this morning my flip flop (which I bought in Cambodia for $1 six years ago) broke, I looked at it a little nostalgically and then got distracted by a cool gecko and kicked them off and continued on with my day barefoot, nary a tear shed. There is so much more to say about everything I have seen and done here but to be honest sitting here writing this blog feels like a waste of time when I could be wandering the shoreline looking for shells or scouring the canopy hoping to glimpse a lemur. So, that being said, you can all fill in the rest for yourselves with the help of the Babaomby website (http://www.babaomby.com/) and some pictures from me. 

Goodbye