Friday, October 21, 2011

Madagascar Pix & Holger's Blog

Pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/krautholg/Madagascar#

Holger's Blog in English

http://DharmaBumIIIvoyage.blogspot.com

Holger, Liping & Aurora Ulani

Catamaran DHARMA BUM III

+261334078800 Airtel/Zain

+261348172664 Telma/Internet

Crater Bay, Nosy Be, Madagascar

13°24.04'S 048°13.11'E

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Manompana, Madagascar

Dear all,

我有一點驚訝的是, 馬達加斯加竟讓我有些脫離現實的感覺...

或許是文化差異, 讓我弄不清人們的想法和意圖, 所以不知如何做適當反應; 或許因為來自各友船的電郵, 讓我有了先入為主的想法; 也有可能是我很詫異於當地的貧苦與落後.

離開 Ile Sainte-Marie, 我們前往主島探訪停泊在當地的法籍帆船 Oberon--我們在查哥斯結識, 模里西斯熟稔的好朋友. 爸爸 Elie 來自新喀里多尼亞(New Caledonia), 媽媽 Marie-Laure 來自科西嘉島, 還有一個超級搗蛋的 8 歲男孩 Jules.

寧靜的 Manumpana 村沒有村落發電機, 沒有柏油路, 就連菜市場也沒有. 還好我在 Ile Sainte-Marie 預借現金拿了一大筆錢, 否則還真沒錢付帳. Oberon 已經在村裡待了一個月, 跟當地的法國義工混得很熟, 我們因此得知不少故事.

年逾50歲以上的馬達加斯加人, 有時跟義工們講講過去法國人還在的情景--村裡有電, 水龍頭裡有水, 路也不那麼顛簸. 我們觸目所見的是--許多水龍頭已傾頹, 少數住戶以家用發電機蓄電, 若要前往首都, 要擠在充滿貨物的吉普車晃搖兩天.

當地有家建材工廠, 工人們忙著把木材木樁編號, 一組組運到 Ile Sainte-Marie 組裝成房屋. 他們只有兩個金屬工具--一把鋸子和一只鑽子. 沒有鋼釘, 全是木釘, 一段段分割下來的木材連平整都稱不上. 看著看著, 竟讓我想起博物館裡鐵器時代的工具展示.

大約有 50% 的孩子能上小學, 有些村落沒有學校, 去上學來回要走四小時. 家長不但要付費給學校, 還得分攤老師的薪水. Manumpana 老師的日薪約3美元(5,000 Ariary), 但目前沒老師願意來.

每到天黑, 村裡便只剩幾盞昏黃小燈, 遠看幾乎毫無人跡. 回憶起剛到時, 我們覺得很驚訝已經那麼接近陸地, 還看不見燈光. 航行多年, 抵達前一晚海平面總有燈光, 若是大城市, 金黃色的一片就像剛掀開了聚寶盆. 但馬達加斯加卻連漁船燈火也不見.

他們的市場經濟也費解. 幾乎都是自給自足, 自家庭院種不同作物, 再養些雞鴨鵝或犛牛. 每到旱季就有人挨餓, 有人會去商店賒米, 賒欠久了, 便失去了家有的土地. 我直覺不可思議--雨季時每兩天就下大雨, 我水箱都接滿了, 當地人為何不儲水? 我們船下每天一群白鯧來吃我的廚餘, 海又不受旱季影響, 為什麼會挨餓?

Marie 很哲學似地說, 挨餓也是大自然的規律啊!

然後, 貨物價格以交通便利度而定. 原以為 Ile Sainte-Marie 是觀光客價錢, 後來發現 Manumpana 更貴, 我猜是貨源困難的緣故.

於是, 我們就每天上街看有什麼食物就買下來, 星期二四是犛牛日, 大雨滂沱也不可錯過. Oberon 一個月來, 想買隻雞或鴨都不得法, 後來終於買到了雞--傍晚時由獨木舟送來, 次日 Elie 在船後斬殺放血拔毛, Marie 煮了咖哩雞, 烤了草莓派來請客, 那草莓還是 Oberon 在美國時她自製的罐頭呢!

佩服他們為請客那麼大費周章, 我全週只煮犛牛, 請客時變變花樣, 絞碎了肉做餡餅, 腱子肉來滷軟...

週五下午我為前日買的犛牛奮戰時, 悅彤突然大叫: "媽媽, 外面有人找妳, 手上拿了好大的蝦子!" 我不禁失笑, 告訴她那叫"龍蝦". 剛要放下工作出去, 悅彤說他們已划去 Oberon 了... 後來我們是一起享用的, 兩隻約 30 公分長的龍蝦, 他們只付了 8,000 Ariary (約 4.3 美元)!

週一我們決定上餐廳吃午餐, 看看當地人吃什麼. 首先, 他們發現食材不夠... 然後, 有隻流浪狗蹲踞一旁, 牠身上密佈的跳蚤, 活躍爬行在剩毛不多的裸皮上, 牠一抬腿抓癢, 我便有跳蚤四處奔飛的想像, 我們趕牠不走, 老闆也置之不理... 最後, 我的湯有蒼蠅, 悅彤的有螞蟻. 雖然不可思議地便宜(每人50美分到1美元), 但 Marie 和我決定, 今後還是自己做菜吧.

可憐的法國義工們, 完全吃不慣住不慣, 有些只等回家. 也有些很能刻苦的, 有位叫 Vincent 的年輕人, 會說點英文, 他已經待了五個月, 再一個月就回法國, 他和另外幾位做的是有機農場, 這是他們農技系的論文計畫. 我們瞭解了堆肥的過程, Vincent 解釋著: 當地農民所買的種子, 經過基因改良, 但只能種一季, 果實所生的種子沒有生產力; 因此, 他們採有機方式, 幫助農民盡量回到傳統作物, 如此一來, 他們便不必每季花錢買種子.

我們和 Oberon 共渡了一週, 結識了許多法國義工, 臨走時, 悅彤跟他們討了一株番茄, 一株九層塔秧苗. 養了隻黃金鼠, 又加了個農圃, 現在, 我們的船越來越不可思議了...

Holger, Liping & Aurora Ulani

Catamaran DHARMA BUM III

+261334078800 Airtel/Zain

+261348172664 Telma/Internet

Manumpana, Madagascar

16°41.69'S 049°45.04'E

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Finally! My novel is available in the shops!

Hi guys!

Finally! My novel is available in the shops. While the price is unfortunately high everywhere, I get the biggest percentage at CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/3632152

List Price: $18.57

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About the author:
Holger Jacobsen learned sailing with an optimist dinghy as a child. He did a very short stint on a German cargo ship in the Baltic sea and he first stepped aboard an oceangoing yacht in 1987. He has been hooked on the yachtie lifestyle ever since. He is currently sailing around the world together with his wife Gloria Yeh Liping and daughter Aurora Ulani.

Double Trouble at Sea

Authored by Holger Jacobsen

A novel (tough realistic fiction) playing in the milieu of yachties and cruisers engaged in long term ocean voyaging

Publication Date:: Oct 08 2011
ISBN/EAN13:: 1463600291 / 9781463600297
Page Count:: 232
Binding Type:: US Trade Paper
Trim Size:: 5.25" x 8"
Language:: English
Color:: Black and White
Related Categories:: Fiction / Sea Stories

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The second one is Amazon.com and it will take a little while until it is available elsewhere...

http://www.amazon.com/Double-Trouble-Sea-Holger-Jacobsen/dp/1463600291/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318484461&sr=1-1

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Double Trouble at Sea [Paperback]

Holger Jacobsen (Author)

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Product Description

A novel (tough realistic fiction) playing in the milieu of yachties and cruisers engaged in long term ocean voyaging

About the Author

Holger Jacobsen learned sailing with an optimist dinghy as a child. He did a very short stint on a German cargo ship in the Baltic sea and he first stepped aboard an oceangoing yacht in 1987. He has been hooked on the yachtie lifestyle ever since. He is currently sailing around the world together with his wife Gloria Yeh Liping and daughter Aurora Ulani.

Product Details

Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (October 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1463600291
ISBN-13: 978-1463600297
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!, September 3, 2011

pjPonzo (Ontari-ari-ari-O) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Double Trouble at Sea (Kindle Edition)

Although this is fiction, the author (with wife and child) has sailed on a catamaran for years. That makes for excellent reading, even if you're not a yachting enthusiast.
I found the author on youtube, searching for HolgBig3. A fascinating trio. I suspect that this book is a reflection of their adventures on their catamaran ... with fictional insertions :^)

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