The Living Journey

For several weeks, we have been exploring the islands of the Indian Ocean, starting with two that were new to us. First was La Reunion, a department of (and favorite vacation place from) France. Even in rainy season, we could see the extraordinary beauty of the steep volcanic mountains (one is still active!),

The morning we arrived at Assumption Island late Saturday, we headed straight out to snorkel. We had nice conditions and spotted a sea turtle, which was a treat.
 Welcome to Assumption Island.
 
Getting a closeup.
 
When we got back I joined a short nature walk on the island.

We spent yesterday at sea making our way north. We filled our day with lectures, music, and even managed to get to the gym. Our first stop was Nosy Tanikely, an uninhabited marine reserve island with a lovely beach and a small lighthouse.

Today we visited the Barren Islands which are a small group of 9 coral islands about 15 miles off the coast of mainland Madagascar. We specifically visited Nosy (Island) Andrano (water).
 
 
 
Today the sea was a bit calmer,

We dropped anchor early on Saturday morning and headed out with the first group of zodiacs. We had been warned that it would be a “wet” landing, and they weren’t kidding. A rogue wave surged in and completely washed over the zodiac,

This morning we arrived at Toliara located on the Southwest portion of Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region founded in 1895. They have a reef barrier offshore, which provides one of the few natural bays in the southern part of Madagascar. 

Jamestown, the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, is also the historic main settlement of Saint Helena Island in a V-shaped valley on its north-western coast; it is the island’s only port and the center of the island’s road and communications network
 

Since we left Senegal, we have spent twice as much time at sea as on land as we trek south toward Cape Town, visiting two remote islands positioned about halfway between Brazil and Africa. Ascension and St. Helena Islands are both British Overseas Territories and definitely are among the most unusual communities we have visited.

We spent several days at sea sailing from Dakar to Ascension Island. I did a lot of reading, spent some time talking to people I hadn’t seen in a while, caught up on the blog, and even participated in an escape room event the Ship put together.

Right after breakfast, I took a trip out to Lake Retba. We drove through the countryside and through busy outlying suburban areas with lots of traffic and bustle. There were horse carts and trucks fighting over road space, roadside stalls selling fruit and housewares,