Pirogues Part Deux

All pirogue captains here are not equal.  The Morombe to Morondava guys are at one with the sea. They took us far out where the winds and waves were stronger and propelled us faster.  Certainly the boat rocked more, but we were still able to read. (And no sea sickness, thankfully).  It was another 12 hour day, but we made a lot of ground and camped again on the beach.  It can be stressful and intimidating to go through bags and set up a tent in the dark. So we have learned how to perfectly organize the bags for quick access of what we could possibly need and have a rhythm with who does what to unpack, set up, take down and pack up to leave at 5 in the morning. The moon was a bright sliver (like the Cheshire cat's smile), and we sat at the tide's edge eating our dinner of bananas,  peanuts, homemade Malagasy treats similiar to coconut prailenes and peanut brittle.   We were going on day 5 without a proper meal.

The next day the wind was really strong, and we were riding the waves. Both going in our direction. It was a little scary when two successive white-caps rushed towards the boat.  The drivers started yelling at each other which only heightened panic.  Soon out past the break sailing got much smoother. We were happy when we started approaching wide sandy beaches and a picturesque little village with palm trees before lunchtime.  We are staying the night in a simple beachy bungalow in Belo-sur-Mer.  The owner friendly.   He immediately made us lunch (we must have looked like we'd been lost at sea- half wet pants and windblown hair).  Andrew had a beautiful red-orange crab with rice and a cold beer.  Kristin had a huge omelet, soup (turned out to be ramen), and sprite. It felt like our bodies were coming alive again!