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Published: April 10th 2016
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Madagascar has been my dream destination since Childhood, hours of Nat Geo and Attenborough documentaries on Sunday Nights, lemurs leaping, chameleons changing colors, that red earth, that wildness....
Finally getting to that place, the one you've wanted to forever, can be an ecstatic experience or a total downer, depending on how you find it, how you envisioned it, how you dreamt it would be, how you planned it.
So I didnt. I planned skeleton style. Madagascar is a hard country if not impossible to plan anything in from outside the country as I found out so I adopted a well, lets see what happens here attitude to the trip. I had accommodation, a dive buddy, a vague list of the ''things to do'' and did some research on the history and while I knew it was cyclone season I prefer travelling in off season plus it is the most prolific time to see wildlife as the fruit such as mango they eat have ripened and new lives come into the world.
Other than that I had a sense of humour, a bikini, my dive gear and a friend - a first for me, travelling with someone. I must
say, I rather enjoyed it.
You get to see your friends bitten by chameleons, which means you didnt get bitten by a chameleon and no one laughed their head off while you attempted to free yourself from the jaws of an angry chameleon. This is a cultural thing I believe, Marna is from the US, I am an Aussie, we know to keep away from the bitey end of pissed off reptiles.
But Im getting ahead of myself here. Getting to Amboatalaka was a hassle in itself. I chose to fly Air Austral direct to Nosy Be rather than risk Air Maybe, er Air Madagascar which turned out to be a wise move in retrospect. Our flight from Reunion was at a civilized hour, nice enough flight, our first view of madagascar was wow..the tidal flats and colours of the ocean from the plane as we landed were stunning.
Fascene Airport is best described as a corrupt moshpit in a sauna. Marna had to pay for a Visa on arrival, which apparently had come in a few days before but was not on the US travel advisory yet. So she was sent back to the end of
a cue while I faced the next hurdle, shoving a filled out health form with all your details (including your mothers maiden name) to another woman behind a glass box with everyone else on the flight trying to get their arm in the slot in her cubicle at the same time. I worked out no one was going to let me in so I pushed in and did it African Style. I noticed a lot of those forms had 10,000 ariary notes in them too. Through the moshpit onto collect my luggage (still hoping Marna would get through) where even the Pilot was waiting pissed off with his tie gone and shirt unbuttoned leaning against the wall, I finally saw Marna make it through and thought we were home and hosed.
Following the exit signs hoping our driver from our Air BnB was there one rather large very African Police man said something in french and I looked at him and said "Englaise?" to which he said Happy Valentines Day.
Travel Tip no #376 - Do NOT kiss African Cops.
But....I did. Hey, I'm a friendly person!. Next thing hes asking where I am staying and scribbling
his phone number and asking that I have dinner with him that night, Valentines Day...more demanding than asking actually. Great, i've been in the country less than an hour and I am wanted by the police.
We puffed out of the airport to find the host of our AirBnB waiting and there he was, beaten up old car which was almost luxury by Nosy Be standards. The cars here have been here since the 70s by the looks of it. Almost every vehicle we went in had cracked windscreens or doors that had to be tackled shut. We avoided the swarms of money changing dudes to get safely in the car and headed off to Amboatalaka.
Amboatalaka is what some guides refer to as a ''nightlife'' hence ''seedy'' area but its a great village when you get to know it for what it is. Yes, there are plenty of beautiful Malagasy girls with Fat Elderly french and italian men but the sex tourism here has changed. The child exploitation has largely disappeared thanks to a no holds barred effort by the government and hotels. The fact that two men were lynched and burnt a few years ago after
Eden Residence
It does look much better in that pic with the pool full. being dragged through a village and beaten to death probably has a lot to do with that disgusting practice disappearing.
Whilst trying to work out if I could bum a lift on a yacht to Mayotte Island I found a couple of older South Africans living on their yacht at the marina (not the port but Malagasy taxi drivers dont speak much english but try their best). They explained as did 2pac, the local hustler we hung out with later, that the girls are the ones who have the money and the families are actually proud of the girls for being beautiful and smart enough to snare a rich foreigner. The lady yachtie who gave english lessons to supplement their pension said there was no judgement and the girls had given up the habit of getting pregnant to lure the foreigner into educating the child in Europe but they still got pregnant anyway after Cyclone season because when it had done nothing but rain violently for two weeks there's only a few things to pass the time.
We personally found Amboatalaka to be great fun. Surprisingly or perhaps because of the working girls, who managed to sashay along
the way only women of color can in sky high heels on cobblestone streets, there was some great fashion there - I actually bought clothes!
I worked out you could walk around in your underpants quite easily because well, they look just like a bikini any way and you are going to get wet if not by rain by sweat as it is 97% humidity and no one is interested in a couple of old white tourists. Its just too easy to slip on a singlet and your underpants and stroll down to the preachermans shop to get your Zebu milk for the day, and far cooler. Amboatalaka was our base for the first week in Nosy be, and while having some amazing adventures its a great base for its proximity to Nosy Taniky, Nosy Komba, Lakobe and Nosy Verona. The people are friendly, the restaurants are surprisingly good, there is a chemist and a supermarket and while you quickly realise you are in Africa, I do believe we met the heart and soul of Madagascan in the people of Malagasy.
Just dont steal anyone's pantaloons.
We were picked up from the airport without any hassle, got to our residence to find it beautiful but far from ready - that oh so inviting looking pool in the brochure was empty and in a state of advanced disrepair and our bungalow had nothing, not even a teaspoon. Still, the service was good and breakfast the first day was great.
Until our hotelier and his lover had a screaming foot stomping domestic which resulted in both of them leaving and us having to eat bananas for breakfast for the next three days. Luckily Marna had bought some from a beachside vendor while we were waiting for our Langouste to be cooked for lunch and our local shop was very familiar with us. I like to make an entrance. I did in his shop, kicking a bit of wood at the doorway and splitting my toe open resulting in copious amounts of blood flowing everywhere. It was impressive to say the least and how we met 2pac, the local hustler, who would become a handy person to have around and a source of endless amusement and frustration for the rest of our stay in Amboatalaka.
Amboatalaka you were such a great intro to Africa.
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RENanDREW
Ren & Andrew
What an intro!
Loved this post Cindy. We moved to West Africa when I was little and on my second day there I picked up a baby chameleon...the little shit hissed at me so ferociously that I fell backwards. Learnt fast to stay away from the bitey end :) Looking forward to the rest of the blogs!