Blogs from Madagascar, Africa - page 40

Geo: -23.9831, 43.4513The Lonely Planet says Anakao is one of the best places in Madagascar so we remained faithful and left our madagascan companions for a night to take a look. It is undoubtedly beautiful but needs much more time than just one night to be fully appreciated. It's quite a chore reaching it, taking a bus then a boat and then a truck. We were automatically dropped off at 'La Reserve.' There were no bungalows left so we took the tent. I hate camping but the tent was in a wonderful location right on the beach. 'La Reserve' was a bit too isolated for our liking. It took 45mins to walk to the village, well 3hrs after we had paddled and searched the beach for shells. There were so many beautiful shells and it went ... read more

Geo: -20.4687, 47.3671This must be the ricksaw capital of the world! It's a wonderful and colourful place and the ricksaws create a fantastically relaxed and old-worldy pace of life. We had a go of course! Definitely felt rather strange and quite cruel especially as I'm three times the size of the average Madagascan passenger but sure I could get used to it! We visited the beautiful Lake Trivatia where 2 lovers whose parents forbade them to marry jumped together to their deaths. Madagascar's very own Romeo and Juliet! The lake is a stunning emerald blue, surrounded by fur trees. We walked around it follwed by a tribe of children trying to sell us rocks. Definitely showed how unfit British people are! We had our picnic by the larger lake next door. Just the first of our ... read more

Geo: -18.9201, 47.5237Madagascar has become my most favourite place in the world (sorry China!) with my most favourite people in the world living there! It is paradise! Sweet little houses, mountains, rainforest, cuddly lemurs, palm trees, perfect weather, desert and palm trees all in one. It's a world of its own. And the Madagascans are even better than the lemurs! Lots of waves and smiles and an amazing warmth. I went there to visit a long term penpal, Domoina. It was a bit of a gamble and Rebecca had already planned many escape plans but it couldn't possibly have been better. I just couldn't believe it had all worked out so perfectly.I've never been anywhere like Antananarivo, more easily known as 'Tana.'. It is a grotty higgelty piggeldy mess in the most wonderful way possible. Flying ... read more

Maybe, I'm being unfair. Cyclone season is late August till November. But it's rained. A lot! Madagascar is like no place on earth. Separated by a few hundred km's from the African mainland, it's unique. Evolution has taken its own course on this giant island - a high percentage of the islands flora and fauna is only found here. Added to which, the people and culture are unique. The nearest language related to Malagasy is spoken on Borneo, which gives some clue to the origin of the first inhabitants of this island. But, Borneo is a hell of a long way away! How the hell did they get here? Most of the people that do live here, are dirt poor. The UN estimates that 75% of the population lives on less than US$1 a day. So, ... read more

December 2001 Picture in your mind clear turquoise seas gently lapping over secluded white beaches, palm trees swaying in the light breeze, a yacht moored in the bay. Hot days and balmy nights, swimming, diving, fishing, snorkelling, or just strolling on the beach. Sounds like bliss, doesn't it? Of course it is, but this time I am not going to bore you with an account of how wonderful it is - ok, you’ve got me, of course I am, but at the same time I am going to tell you of about a few things that could have made this trip a disaster if we weren’t able to get things sorted and under control. We decided to do another trip to Madagascar, this time in December 2001. It made such an impact on us the first ... read more