Apparition
On the south west coast of Madagascar lies Belo sur Mer, a unique village in which boat builders still construct boats the way the European pirates did hundred years ago. It is the only remaining monument to the Veso boat building craft long forgotten elsewhere in the world. This shipyard was a shelter for pirates and is full of legends and mythic stories. Centuries ago, in the golden age of piracy in the Mozambique Channel, fleets of more than 300 Veso boats are said to have terrorised the islands near Madagascar. The Napoleonic wars brought European piracy to an end and many pirates retired to secluded spots along the Malagasy coastline where they lived out their lives in relative peace. My intention was to evoke the faith of sailors by framing this canoe in the foreground with the church in the background ... when Jesus carrying his cross appeared suddenly in my viewfinder!