May 21 - Nosy Komba

Pos: S13deg26.605min/ E048deg21.231min. We topped off with diesel (gazole) at 2860Ar/liter and gas/petrol (essence) at 3560Ar/liter. At this time, the exchange rate is $1.00USD is 2360 Malagasy Ariary; 10000MGA's is $4.24USD. Going to the bank is interesting; you walk away with over a million Ariary in your pocket; no bill is over 10000Ar, but it all goes fast! Free internet and pretty good, very thin pizza can be found at the Nandipo Cafe. Jimmy and his helper had deposited our jerry jugs on the side deck of Infini, met us at the wharf, and we loaded up the dinghy with more provisions, this time fresh veggies and fruit from the market in the center of town. This is a large market, taking up a city block, and has lots of great fresh stuff. We couldn't wait to get back to the boat and prepare the huge prawns we had bought there, along with the fresh baguettes and salad makings. There was a nice rain shower during the evening and the decks finally look a bit better. By late morning we were motoring to Nosy Komba, about 5 miles away. We've anchored in 35', run the watermaker, are still catching up to emails, and decided to put off exploring until tomorrow. Since it's Happy Hour, we're tasting a local rum we just bought. Called Cuvee Noire ("Black Vintage"), it's a dark rum which apparently won a Silver Medal at the 2012 Renaissance Rum Festival in Miami Beach. Cost: $3.09USD/bottle. Hmmm.