Madagascar (not the movie)

 

 

Continuing the trek through our bucket list of travel destinations - with priority given to places we will likely never have the time, money or energy to do in the future - we recently spent two weeks in Madagascar. The movies not withstanding, it is one of those places everyone has heard of but nobody really knows anything about - which is why we went there.  It is a fabulously unique island with endemic flora and fauna not seen elsewhere is the world; an amalgam of geological, geographic, ethnic and cultural histories that are not so much a blend as a series of overlays with varying degrees of concentrations.  The island was once part of the large supercontinent, Gondwana, which included most of the southern hemisphere, which continued to separate until ultimately Madagascar broke from East Africa. The result is a geographically isolated island on which many species of animals and plants flourish; notably lemurs (not found anywhere else in the world), baobab trees (only two species found elsewhere - one in Africa and one in Australia), a variety of chameleons; unique plants; and several climate zones.

Other notable features are the people and the food. The Malagasy are a rainbow of polished earth tones from Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian and African roots.  And despite colonial rule by both the British and the French, a notable absence of white.  Unlike so many African countries, they are unified in a common language - Malagasy - despite tribal origins which are still recognized.  The language is agglutinative which essentially means as "stringing together as many grammatical units as possible".  A single word can have multiple prefixes, suffixes stuffed with linguistic units in between.  One word can be longer than our entire alphabet.

And the food!  The food reflects not only the above but is where the French seemed to have some lasting influence. Rice, however, is a staple at every meal for the Malagasy and rice fields are found in every nook and cranny of the capitol as well as open rural spaces.  Most plots are family-owned subsistence plantings.  The best rice is exported.

The zebu, a cattle-like creature,
is ubiquitous. 
In the countryside populations zebu serve as banks: money is invested in the purchase of a zebu and wealth is measured by the number of zebu owned. Ironically it is both a beast of burden and a sacrificial animal.  On the practical side, once sacrificed, it is eaten.


The planning logistics took longer than the actual vacation.  There are only a handful of tarred roads, distances are long and in-country flights served only by one airline: Madagascar Air, more appropriately known as "Mad Air".  Of our five flights only one took off on time; the others were from two - twelve hours late.  We used a local tour company and drivers, a must unless you have unlimited amounts of time and patience it.  So...by air, boat and four wheel drive, here is the quick and dirty of our two week tour;

Flight from the capital, Antananaviro ("Tana" to you laymen - and that would include me) to Morondavo a decent size town on the west coast. Start initial leg of two day travel to the Tsingy via Baobab Allee, Kirindy State Park, ferry across the river to overnight in Belo Sur de Tsiribihina, and and onward to two days hiking the Petit and Grand Tsingy.  Needless to say, no crowds at the Tsingy.






There are 7 babobob species in the world.  All
7 are found on Madagascar.  One of the seven
is found in parts of Africa; one is found in
Australia.

 

Kirindy Reserve is known for its abundant wildlife. We were able to see four species of lemur - Rufus Brown, Red-fronted Brown, Virreaux Sifaka and the elusive Mouse, pictured below.

 



Onward to Belo Sur, a town I believe exists only because it is the end point of so-called ferry.  It was, however, a beautiful hour or so ride down the river.  Belo is a rather bustling one dirt road town.  This was one of our "Peace Corps" stays; cold water and edible food, no electricity after 7 pm and bad wine (but cold beer and foosball).

Up and out the next morning for the arduous drive to Tsingy De Bemaraha, a road best characterized as sand tracks from zebu-pulled carts.  Landmarks are a grass hut ... or a grass hut.  This part of the country looked quintessentially sub-Saharan African: black population, cane houses, and very arid. 

The Tsingy are limestone formations that were created by seismic shifts, first being underwater then pushed upwards.  The sharp peaks were created by acid rain and erosion.  A Frenchman created a "path" through by attaching steps of stone with pitons to the sides of the rocks.  Steps = a place to balance the ball of your foot, hence the need for harnesses.  It was an unparalleled experience and despite the time and effort required to reach it, well worth it.  Over, under, around, etc.

  



 











Retraced our journey back through Belo Sur (where we had one of the best of the meals of our entire trip (who would have thought!) while waiting for the ferry - to Tana where we immediately got into a car for the drive south, minus two hours in rush hour traffic to an electronics store to purchase a camera battery (I will refrain from pointing any fingers at who packed the camera).  A quick overnight in Antsirabe, unmemorable except for the fact that it was close to freezing and there were no blankets or heat - almost enough to qualify for a Peace Corps experience, except the hotel did have hot water - and on to Ranomafana for more hiking and lemur sightings.  We also happened on the equivalent of a county fair in the local village.  The ring toss was over bottles of soda and beer (beer being the big prize) and the game of chance employed a bicycle tire as the spinner.  And there was a local wine tasting.  We bought some - and are now using it as cooking wine.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                  

 Ranomafana is mid-altitude rainforest and home to twelve species of lemur.  While we were able to see four (Golden, Greater bamboo, Red-fronted brown and Mouse) picture proof was hard to come by due to the density of the foliage.  We also had a guide who prided himself on going off-trail.  Guides are preceded by "spotters", young men who search for lemurs and other wildlife.  They are very good - and they have cool t-shirts.

 

On to National Park #4 - Isalo, a polar opposite from where we had just been: sandstone rocks and canyons, dry plains, and hot days!

 

There are extraordinary rock formations, similar to the Red Rocks area of Arizona.  However, there are also deep canyons that are almost tropical with small sand beaches and lush vegetation.  Some lemurs, though not the primary attraction and great hiking.  The hotel was world-class: gorgeous setting, French-trained chef, homemade ginger rum and only four guests.  A true indulgence and we were duly grateful: hot water, electricity, blankets AND good food and wine. 

Carl and our intrepid guides.  Ironically, the "darkest" was
most worried about the desert sun - hence the umbrella hat.
To the credit of Madagascar, tourism in the national parks
is tightly controlled.  The public cannot just wander in.  A
local guide must be hired at each site which both helps protect the
environment and provides local employment.  And these guides
were really good!  They need to take an exam and at most
parks there was at least one guide conversant in your language of choice.

 

 

Lunch by a river in one of the canyons and map of the park trails
(WARNING! Trails are actually longer than they may appear)





 

                                                                          

*One month, one week, two hours and counting...and I am not talking about how long it takes to create an island but how long it takes to create a blog.  I am investing one more hour and then it is what it is.  If you would like to see the rest of the 535 pictures you will just have to wait...

Continuing west, we drove to Tulear to catch a flight back to
Tana, stopping at an open air paper-making factory,
a small silk factory and a community-owned park,
Anja, developed by the local people to gain
income and home to many Ring-tailed lemur.  

What was to be a two day trip to yet another national Park at Andisabe became a one-day trip thanks to the timing - or lack thereof- of Mad Air.  Andisabe is home to the Giant Sifaka Lemur.  We also got in a quick stop at a family-operated chameleon farm.

 

 



 Random photo gallery:

 

Tana Tour - old Royal Palace and new Royal Palace built by French

 

 





 Lifestyles and architecture

 

 

 

 



 

Lemurs!

 



 

 

 

 

 

Tombs



Many tribes have strong belief in an afterlife and bury  their dead in large tombs that essentially are small houses.  In some parts of the country these were elaborately decorated, in other places less fanciful.  Each tomb "house" = one person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the home front - we are being invaded by "birds".  And I use "birds" in a very loose sense of the word.  These are massive creatures which actually make one believe that birds are descendants of dinosaurs.  They have taken to roosting on the beams of our verandah and leave droppings the size of cow pies. I have even seen small bones remains - really!  When home, I attack with a broom and primeval screams, but they find their mark when I am not there playing defense.  The security personnel have it wrong: we don't need electric fences and barbed wire to protect us from people; we need it to protect us from "The Birds".





So, off into the sunset I go until the Mozambican internet gods deem we meet again.





Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!

Mozambican Construction: How to build a road in 100 easy steps!