Hey, Tsarabanjina...

Wow!!  Constance Tsarabanjina isn't particularly easy to get to, but boy is it worth it!  We took a 1.5 hour flight from Tana to Nosy Be (pronounced 'noosey bay'), then got in a car for a 40 minute drive to the beach by the Manga Soa Lodge where we got on a boat for the hour ride to Nosy Tsarabanjina.  The name means "good-looking island," and man is it accurate!  We finally arrived to a beach full of waving staff members around 6:00 p.m.  (Though they claim to be an hour ahead of Tana here, the internet and my iPhone disagree.)  The sun was setting and it could not have been more perfect.

Nosy Tsarabanjina is a private island occupied only by our hotel - Constance Tsarabanjina.  There are 25 bungalows spread out over two beaches - one on the south and one on the north.  There is also a third beach in front of the restaurant and bar.  Henri, the manager, walked us to our bungalow, stopping to show us the helipad, the ping-pong table, and the beach volleyball court.  Our bungalow (#9) is on the south beach.  Like all of our neighbors, we have our own shaded porch, hammock, and private section of the beach.  The sand is as white as I've ever seen, and the ocean is an amazing teal-blue.  It is hard to imagine a place more beautiful or relaxing than Tsarabanjina.

To make things even better, there is a direct flight from Milan to Nosy Be, so everyone here speaks

Italian and many of the guests are Italian.  It's nice being able to understand most people again!  Nevertheless, Kati and I always make a point to speak in Malagasy as much as possible to the staff.  It's funny because you can tell that nobody does that around here.  All of the Europeans come down, not knowing a word of Malagasy, and just expect the staff to speak to them in their own languages.  I love seeing the look of shock on their faces, followed by genuine appreciation, when we make the effort and speak to them in their native tongue.

Not only is Tsarabanjina mind-blowingly beautiful, the service is impeccable and the food is outstanding.  For our first dinner we had zucchini flan and crusted fish appetizers, followed by some amazing grilled prawns (each bigger than my hand), and a chocolate mousse cake for dessert.  It's hard to beat that coupled with a good wine list and an attentive staff willing to make you a wide variety of island frufru drinks.  It's going to be a great week!