{"id":1184,"date":"2007-01-03T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/?p=1184"},"modified":"2017-09-22T23:42:34","modified_gmt":"2017-09-23T03:42:34","slug":"day-19-ile-aux-nattes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/?p=1184","title":{"rendered":"Day 19 &ndash; Ile aux Nattes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We had arranged an excursion for the day, so we awoke early for breakfast, and around 9 AM we set out for Ile aux Nattes on a tour arranged by the hotel.<\/p>\n<p>Shown below is the breakfast building, separate from the main dining area.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6650_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6650_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6650_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Ile aux Nattes is a very small island (probably only about 2 or 3 km across) and located just off the bottom of Ile Sainte Marie.\u00a0 This island has no roads or motorized vehicles.\u00a0 I didn&#8217;t even see a zebu cart here, so everything here gets moved by walking.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a Google Earth image of Ile aux Nattes.\u00a0 You can see the airport at the very bottom of Ile Sainte Marie.\u00a0 We would go to the point of land west of the airport and then cross over to Ile aux Nattes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IleAuxNattes\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IleAuxNattes.jpg\" alt=\"IleAuxNattes\" width=\"574\" height=\"595\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The hotel van took us past the airport, and dropped us at a beach at the very south of Ile Sainte Marie.\u00a0 Here we were transferred to Ile aux Nattes by pirogue.\u00a0 It wasn&#8217;t very far, and would only take about 5 minutes.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t think the water was ever more than a few feet deep all the way across.<\/p>\n<p>Here we are crossing over\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6667_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6667_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6667_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking back at Ile Sainte Marie from Ile aux Nattes\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6672_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6672_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6672_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once on Ile aux Nattes, our plan was to hike for a few miles, up to the lighthouse and back down again for lunch.\u00a0 Here are some photos from the trip.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a river that I suppose gets wet when it rains\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6676_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6676_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6676_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We had to cross this bridge\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6685_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6685_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6685_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"764\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6687_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6687_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6687_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking across at the airport\u2026\u00a0 They are expanding the runway to take larger aircraft.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6694_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6694_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6694_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6695_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6695_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6695_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Typical houses on Ile aux Nattes\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6697_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6697_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6697_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Continuing along the path\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6698_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6698_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6698_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Continuing up the hill to the lighthouse, we would see many different types of plants, including ginger, cinnamon and cashew trees.\u00a0 The the picture below, the plants you see with the jagged leaves that look like ferns act like carnivorous plants that close up on contact as if to capture its prey.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6712\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6712.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6712\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve posted a video below which shows these interesting plants in action!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/clKXAx84zws?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Continuing up the hill we came across this cashew tree.\u00a0 The tree produces a red (sometimes yellow) fruit that you can eat, and attached to the fruit is the cashew nut.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6715\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6715.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6715\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We finally made it to the top of the hill to the lighthouse.\u00a0 The light is not currently functioning as there is a problem with the battery.\u00a0 Of course, they&#8217;re still employing a light keeper, so I&#8217;m not really sure what his job currently is, since there is no functioning light to maintain?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6717_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6717_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6717_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Walking the last few steps to the light at the top of the hill\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6721_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6721_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6721_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Another photo of the light\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6759_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6759_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6759_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Whatever they\u2019re paying this light keeper, I think it\u2019s too much.\u00a0 He\u2019s got some work to do\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6727\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6727.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6727\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Views from the base of the light\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6726_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6726_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6726_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6747_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6747_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6747_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>An old light keeper\u2019s house\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6757_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6757_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6757_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Another view from the light\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6763_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6763_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6763_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nadine climbing a coconut tree by the lighthouse.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6771_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6771_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6771_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After a bit of a rest a the top of the hill, we began the trek back down for lunch.\u00a0 We arrived at the Napoleon Hotel, which is affiliated with our hotel back on Ile Sainte Marie, where we had lunch by the beach.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6782\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6782.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6782\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After lunch, we rested by the beach while the kids did a bit of swimming.\u00a0 Instead of hiking back to where we were dropped of by the pirogue, we asked if the hotel could just shuttle us back to Ile Sainte Marie from here by boat, which they agreed to do.<\/p>\n<p>Here we are piling into the boat\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6816_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6816_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6816_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the boat that took us back\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6827_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6827_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6827_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We were then shuttled back to the hotel in the van that was waiting for us on the beach.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6826_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6826_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6826_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Driving by the airport on the way back, it was easy to see that security and access to the airport grounds are not really a concern here.\u00a0 We could have driven from the main road, directly onto the airport runway!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6832_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6832_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6832_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We then relaxed a little in the air conditioned room before getting ready for dinner.\u00a0 In the evening, we walked down the beach to the main building for a nice dinner by the water.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border: 0px;\" title=\"IMG_6852_edited-1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/wp-content\/pictures\/Madagascar2006\/IMG_6852_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6852_edited-1\" width=\"574\" height=\"432\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We had arranged an excursion for the day, so we awoke early for breakfast, and around 9 AM we set out for Ile aux Nattes on a tour arranged by the hotel. Shown below is the breakfast building, separate from &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/?p=1184\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[36,35],"class_list":["post-1184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-madagascar","tag-ile-aux-nattes","tag-ile-sainte-marie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1184"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3512,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1184\/revisions\/3512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hodson.ca\/Travel\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}