Île Sainte-Marie

Ok, where was I? Oh yes, Île Sainte-Marie. Yesterday I didn't do much. I rented a bike from the hotel, which had a broken chain and two flat tires in less than two hours, so I decided the best course would be chilling at the hotel, listening to the ocean, and going for a swim.

I hoped to go whale-watching today, but the boat motor is getting repairs. Maybe tomorrow. Instead, I got a new bike, went to town, did a bit of souvenir shopping, and visited the Pirate Cemetery. That's right, pirate cemetery. I had to ride a canoe there, which was unnerving in that I felt like I was going to overcorrect for the normal rocking motions and tip us over. The cemetery wasn't big, but it had graves from 1800, maybe earlier as a lot of the inscriptions were unreadable. One gravestone had a clear skull and crossbones engraved in it, and another was supposedly the grave of Captain Kidd, but all that was still visible was the date.

I also dropped by Endemika, a small zoo showcasing Madagascar's endemic species. The first thing they do is let you in the lemur cage. He was friendly, but he climbed on me to try to get into my backpack and kept making a noise right into my ear that was weirding me out. Unfortunately, the guide only spoke French, and missed my pleas to remove the lemur from my head. I think he was grooming me a little. There were also chameloens that I got to feed. So cool! Because they move soooo slllooowwwlllyyy... except the tongue! Also geckos that look like moss, frogs that look like rocks, and snakes and lizards that look like leaves and vines. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.