http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Madagascar en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 09:58:19 +0000 Wed, 22 May 2013 09:58:19 +0000 December 2001Picture 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 doesn39t it Of course it is but this time I am not going to bore you with an account of how wonderful it is o http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Nosy-Be/blog-781700.html Tesiasi mano keliones. Afrika tai antrasis zemynas pasaulyje pagal plota ir gyventoju skaiciu po Azijos. Pries du metus lankyta Afrika ne daug kuo pasikeite. Pietu Afrika kaip ir buvo taip ir isliko pati civilizuociausia is visu kitu Afrikos valstybiu. Madagaskaro sala irgi buvo kazkada lankyta bet kiekviena karta leisdamasi i ta pacia vieta bandau atrasti kazka nematyto. Madagaskaras tai ne http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-770164.html Today is my niece39s birthdayRhiannon turns 21 today and the other night while I was skyping with the family she informed me that she doesn39t read the blogs that deal with bugs critters. I guess they creep her out. I was surprised to hear this because while they can be nasty cockroaches some are incredibly beautiful.Today I am posting this last blog from Madagascar in her honour http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-763237.html Hearing that people at home are getting hit with snow and wintery conditions I figured it would be a good time to send you pictures of the Malagasy flora fauna .No big lessons here... Just a chance for you to look see what I have been enjoying for the last week during my adventures.As usual I don39t know what half of them are but I can appreciate their beautyHope you appreciate them as we http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-763201.html I arrived in Sainte Marie an island in the northeast of Madagascar yesterday.There was a delay with my flight in Tana. What was supposed to be a 730AM flight was delayed to 4PM and then bumped up to 2PM. Apparently this is common since the only airline that does domestic flights is Air Madagascar. Since it is the only airline it apparently doesnt care too much about customer service. Good t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-762961.html Madagascar is home to about half the world39s 150 or so species of chameleonsChameleons are small to midsize reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colors. Contrary to popular belief a chameleon typically does not change colors to match its surroundings. Instead color is usually used to convey emotions kind of like the mood rings of the 197039s defend territ http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-762800.html Njato picked me up at 730AM no one sleeps in in Africa and we met Herman at the Analamazaotra National Park I know I can39t pronounce it either.We had to get there early because the morning is when the lemurs are most active.The National Park is a secondary forest that is 80000 hectares in size.According to Wikipedia A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has regrown af http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-762783.html When we were first arriving at Vakona after dark there were small groups of people along the side of the road with flashlights and lamps on their heads looking in the bushes. When I asked Njato what they were doing he explained that they were on a night trek looking for the nocturnal lemurs. It sounded strange to me at the time but 24 hours later I found myself with a flashlight in one hand http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-762728.html After lunch Njato took me to the Lemur Reserve at Vakona. The hotel owns and operates it. It serves a couple of purposes one it is a place where lemurs that have been injured in the wild can come to and live out the rest of their days being taken care of. Two it is a good place for both the young and elderly visitors to see lemurs without having to trek through the nearby forests. Once w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-762708.html On my fist night at Vakona Forest Lodge I fell asleep to the very large sounds made by some very small frogs.I awoke to the sounds of birds singing in an incredible surrounding. I had Bungalow 1 just off the main building. What a gorgeous place I was meeting Njato at 730AM. He brought a local man with him who apparently knows the national forest like the back of his hand. Which was helpful http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-762697.html 1998 Sightseeing around Nosy B. Our hotel room was right on the beach of Ambatoloaka. This was where Bossi was moored and where we first went on board. The room and bathroom was very basic with only a cold water shower which wasn39t too bad considering it was quite hot. They both needed a lick of paint and some maintenance but we would survive as it was only for one night. There was no se http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-761861.html 1998Nosy KombaHaving spent ten days on board Bossi with most of our decisions being made for us it was a bit of a jolt to now do our own thing where very little English is spoken. It was like having our safety net pulled out from under us. Komba didn39t quite have the pristine beaches we frequented the last ten days. No problem because we would be experiencing a different side of Madagascar. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Nosy-Be/blog-761058.html 1998After sailing south we headed back to Nosy B. We needed to stock up on fresh supplies water and drinks at the market in Hellville. It was not the biggest of markets but we watched Elize do the shopping for us. Lovely pawpaws pineapples bananas and some oranges amongst the fresh fruit and vegetables. A limited variety compared to what we are used to but still plenty to choose from an http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Nosy-Be/blog-760396.html 1998First day on board Bossi and we left our overnight mooring spot heading south of Nosy B. Our holiday had started and as the boat moved exhaustion took over from excitement and lack of sleep. Jacques and Philip took a catnap. That didn39t last long though because while we were moving we put fishing lures in the water and started trawling We decided to take turns to catch fish and Jacque http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Nosy-Be/blog-759428.html 1998Finally our trip to Madagascar had started. We flew from Johannesburg to Antananarivo. Flying over Madagascar we were disappointed to see how barren some areas were. This was of course due to the slash and burn technique used to destroy some of the rain forests for farming. Just before landing at Antananarivo we noticed some rice paddies just outside the city. When we arrived at Antananarivo http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Nosy-Be/blog-758149.html The year was 1998 and life was getting a bit hectic and we needed to get away and we could manage a two week break. Our sons by now were teenagers. Which destination could we choose Somewhere with a beach and sea was the general consensus. Mauritius No we felt it too commercialised for our taste besides Paul and I had been there already. But so many other suggestions turned out to be above ou http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/blog-757775.html Le peuple malgache est constitu de 17 ethnies groupes en deux clans distincts les Merinas et les Sakalaves. Les Mrinas sont issus de limmigration indonsienne et se sont installs sur les plateaux du centre de lle. Les Sakalaves ont les traits ngroides de leurs anctres africains et sont plus prsents sur les ctes. Apparemment les relations entre Mrinas et Sakalaves son http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Tsiribihina-River/blog-754492.html Madagascar EcotourismAmber Mountain is a pioneerRegarded as a place of meeting between the world of the living and the ancestral spirits the Montagne d39Ambre mountain was the first national park established in Madagascar before independence in 1958. Indices ceremonies such as the horns of zebu and coins bottles of honey seeds of white rice and tobacco powder demonstrated along the route of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Antsiranana/blog-753416.html Les Malgaches croiss lors de ce voyage sont tellement souriants accueillants et amicaux quil est difficile dimaginer ce qui se passe en ce moment dans le Sud du pays. Dans cette rgion aride o la misre est quelquefois extrme des bandes de voleurs attaquent les taxisbrousse pour dvaliser les passagers volent les zbus en paturge les zbus sont pour de nombreux paysans leur http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Sambava/blog-753291.html Javais prpar un calendrier pour ces premiers jours Mada.Je devais passer 3 jours sur lile et prendre un bateau pour Maroantsetra. Mais les ralits africaines me rattrapent le bateau part 2 fois par semaine seulement et celui de samedi est complet. Je vais devoir partir avec celui de lundi matin et donc rester ici 2 jours de plus que prvu de surcroit le voyage pour Maroantse http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Madagascar/Sambava/blog-749602.html