Duo 8-day dhow trip and stay at Naturalia Lodge

A 3-hour crossing during which we encounter everything that moves on the sea (fishermen's pirogues, heavily-laden dhows, whales, whale sharks, turtles, schooners with generous sails). Snorkeling on small, easily accessible, shallow reefs. We disembark on Anjiabé beach, where the white sand stretches for miles. The lagoon is superb and wild, the bush behind it immense, and we're the only ones to enjoy it. You can either laze around or wander around to discover what's hidden there. Either way, the unexpected is our ally. An aperitif, a meal and a chat accompany this early evening in the bush.

Up at 6.00 am, we set off early for a three-hour crossing along a splendid coastline with a varied, wooded landscape. Along the way, we dive at a completely different site on the coast than the day before. We don't want to systematically visit shimmering, colorful dive spots, preferring to show the diversity of the underwater biotope that so characterizes the region we're visiting. Then, under sail or motor, we continue our journey to Ambatofotsy. The village of Ambatofotsy stretches quietly along a long golden beach. It's an important site for the Sakalava traditions, still alive today, of the local royal lineage. The locals, as usual, are adorable. The village is charming, and the surrounding area offers splendid views. We stroll through a world where pinks and greens poetically underline the grace of the immensity we see. Diurnal lemurs often pass through this village in the late afternoon until late at night, and another, smaller nocturnal species often amuses itself by stealing the palm wine that flows from the flowers of the coconut palms just above our heads. In the evening, aperitif, meal and excellent evening under the light of the storm lamps.

Depending on the tide, we leave early in the morning for the northernmost island of the Radama archipelago (1h30 crossing). We dive around our first Radama island. The corals are not the same, as we're close to the offshore shoals that taunt us a few kilometers to the west. We're now on Nosy Ambariopôtaka, which rises to 166 meters above sea level and offers a whole new landscape. The sand is whitening, the coconut palms are plentiful, and we're bivouacked facing the vast ocean of the Mozambique Channel. Coconut palms, dhow and pirogue building according to age-old rituals. It's the twenty-first century, but nothing seems to have changed for the few inhabitants of this little paradise. Everyone has taken their place in our journey, and each is savoring the passing hours in his or her own way. First night in the Radama, our dreams nestled in our hearts, we trustingly drift off to sleep.

We set sail at around 8:00 a.m. to head a little further south, under sail or motor. Our goal is another island, Antanifaly (meaning "the easy, happy place"), which we see in the distance and reach 1h30 later. Dive for pleasure and lunch at the edge of the reef of this lagoon, still different from anything we've seen. Then, depending on the tide, we head deeper or shallower into this luminous lagoon. This time, the camp is under a large tropical almond tree on the edge of an immense white sand beach. The fragrance is oceanic, the beach is wild...white and light dominate...curious little birds run low in the tide...we're on the island furthest towards Africa. Nature seems more arid, and yet we bathe in a spring of limpid water, under the watchful eye of a kingfisher or a paradise flycatcher. At this stage of the trip, everyone does as they please, between the sea and walks to the summit (146 meters...) or around the island. We return to our evening rituals for a night whose content, as so often, will depend on the story of our day. Good night and see you tomorrow!

We're still based on our island, so everyone can organize their day as they wish. Happy to settle down for a while, we make the most of Antanyfaly, swimming, snorkeling and hiking the accessible peaks of this endearing island. We climb the grassy slopes, where the scattered aloes and clumps of mango trees put our imagination somewhere between Africa and Mexico... the panorama is grandiose and unsettling. For those who wish, the small tender boat can take us diving on the pretty coral "potatoes" of the reef that borders the beach. As the last glimmers of the setting sun fade, we realize that we are not quite the same people we were four days ago; the soul of this country seems closer, more clearly defined. We can't wait for tomorrow!

After an early start, we head for Nosy Berafia (45min), the largest island in the Radama archipelago (2,500 ha). The southern half is covered with more or less abandoned plantations (coffee, pepper, ylang-ylang, chili pepper), themselves dominated by tall shade trees. Enormous fruit bats by the dozen, green pigeons, intoxicating perfumes, the colonial house of the "commander" of this ex-concession and a large village. Everything to immerse us in the exotic colonial charm of the 1920s. We dive on a different, richly varied site on the edge of the Nosy Bérafia lagoon. Depending on the swell and wind, we can also make a discovery dive on the "drowned coral" bank that has been taunting us since yesterday.... It's up to us to decide, depending on the circumstances. On land, we stroll along the red hills, on whose surface thousands of diamonds sparkle... We contemplate a splendid landscape over the entire Radamas basin... exceptional beauty that very few have had the honor to contemplate. We're in a landscape of wooded valleys, red earth, coconut palms, forests, luxuriant vegetation and zebus ...... encounters with the bush, the people and discovering this amazing island on foot. We also take advantage of the opportunity to restock our staples, as there is a "boutique" on this island... At night, we meet up for an aperitif under the coconut palms. The fishermen's pirogues form strange shadows on the sand, and a few children watch us shyly from a distance; they're ready to burst out laughing at the first opportunity, the first look! Chatting under the stars, laughing, tapas, caipirinia, eating our catch, before going to bed with the sound of the surf in our heads. See you all tomorrow!

We leave Berafia for a two- to three-hour crossing to Ambariomena, and take a dip along the way, either at the edge of an island as we pass it, or at the edge of Grande Terre, which we are on our way to reach to the north. We arrive in Ambariomena in the late morning. We're in the hollow of a sort of Malagasy fjord, as tranquil as a lake, bordered by small beaches of orange sand, dominated by a steep forest and criss-crossed by tongues of pinkish sandstone. This arm then plunges deep into a maze of mangroves, ending up as a river at the foot of primary forest-covered mountains. We set up camp next to a quiet little village and, depending on the tides, in the afternoon we head up the arm of the sea just behind ....the water becomes thinner and thinner in the midst of this surreal tangle of mangroves....the life, though intense, is discreet... almost everything here is a nursery.....everything is strange, fragile! We return to our camp in the low light of dusk, illuminated by endless pinks and greens. In the evening, we share our impressions of this splendid place, which has been silently watching dhows, pirates and adventurers of all kinds pass by for centuries. Dinner under the stars, surrounded by the sounds of the forest, and a good night's sleep, lulled by the sounds of the village.

Early start as usual for a morning full of surprises, even if it's the last one. We take a dip along the way to refresh ourselves, feast our eyes, and perhaps grab a bite to eat. But at this stage of the trip, it's the eyes that count. Lazing about, swimming and diving before a final aperitif on board, we then drop anchor in front of the magnificent Naturalia Lodge at around 11.30 a.m., landing under the care of Loic and Valérie, your new hosts.