May 19 - Hellville

Pos: S13deg24.459min/E048deg17.039min. We spent the entire morning (0715 to 1215) checking into Madagascar with Officialdom. We had made arrangements to meet our boat boys at 0730, and they were at the wharf promptly to take our dinghy and petrol jerry jug to allow us to meet our taxi. The boat boys here ensure the safety of the dinghy because there is no proper place to tie up to. I took my outboard engine key and fuel lines with me when I got out of the dinghy....Unfortunately, the taxi guy never showed up, and after waiting 45 min we used another taxi driver and had a pleasant chap, Sergio, along as interpreter. (Details: we used Jimmy as boat boy 0328479237, and Sergio 0347238698) It got a bit complicated as we had to first check in with the Policia, then go to the bank for local money (all fees have to be paid in Ariary), then Immigration, then Customs, then Treasury, then the Port Captain, and finally back to the Policia for the final stamps and signatures into our passports. Everyone was very pleasant and total monies were approx $125USD for two people for 3 month clearance. We then took a lunch break at the Papillon Restaurant (rated highly), went to the Orange shops for SIM cards for phone and data, and did a bit of shopping at the Champion and the "big market" (Ahkam Market). We had hired the taxi until 5pm and returned to the wharf at 5 pm sharp where our boat boys helped load the dinghy and we returned to Infini tired but a bit ahead of the game. Tomorrow we'll get diesel, pick up our laundry, and do more provisioning. Also of note is that the anchorage here in the present SW wind is quite rolly and uncomfortable, so the sooner we provision and get going the more sleep we'll get....