Salama Madagascar

Off we go

Off we go. Fontanarossa airport at 11.10. Unfavourable astral conjunctions put the departure at risk. After days of antibiotics for a troublesome infection, on Friday the 29th the temperature begins to rise until it reaches 39.5. Given the imminent departure and persistent fever, I insist on leaving, and the doctor tells me that everything is normal and in a couple of days I should be back on my feet. On Saturday the 30th we are therefore at the airport, ready to take the flight to Rome, with a good supply of antibiotics and antipyretics. Considering that the connecting flight to Paris is at night, we decide to take a hotel for a few hours at Fiumicino.

Antananarivo

Wake-up at 3.30, at 6.30 we leave Rome for Paris, and after about 2 hours of waiting at the airport at 11 we leave again (slightly delayed) for Madagascar. We arrive at Antananarivo airport at 23; we fill out visa forms, pay 20 euros each and after passing the temperature-gun test we enter Madagascar. Transfer to the Lokanga hotel with our guide Cristian. In the evening the hotel gives us a spectacular view of Antananarivo from above; inside, the neocolonial style appeals to us greatly.

Andasibe

Antananarivo has 4.5 million inhabitants out of Madagascar's total 25 million; the population has quintupled in the last 50 years; prevalently the origin is mixed Asian and African, but in the past there were also Arab influences, and today there is no lack of Europeans, especially French who have settled sometimes even permanently on the island while quite a few use it only for Holidays. Similarities, especially linguistic, with the population of Malaysian Borneo; the official language is Malagasy; French is widespread, then English and Italian due to our numerous associations present in Madagascar. 18 ethnic groups are present; 45% of the population is Christian, Muslims are present especially in the north of the country.

All the world is a village, in the semi-presidential Republic misrule is widespread, and the highest office has recently been occupied by a former DJ, who before his second term went to study for a few years in the USA; his presence in the country is confirmed by millions of t-shirts worn by supporters.. and not.. Breakfast at the hotel at 7.30. We rely on the tour operator for the exchange, and the money changer comes to us.. at home; 1 euro equals about 4000 ariary. Surprise on the tour price, we pay into the hands of our guide who also bills us the price of the flight almost double compared to what had been previously verified on the website.. and moreover a much higher figure than the one present on the internet for booking the same date; I ask the tour operator for explanations, who will resolve the problem in the days that follow.

Departure at 8.30 heading east, towards the Indian Ocean. We stop to take photos at the Queen's Palace before getting in the car. The traffic is considerable, very old vehicles circulate, and together with the fumes of the few industries they contribute to polluting the air. Taxibe are widely used, vans with rear entrance, always very crowded, into which men, animals and bicycles enter. On the taxi-brousse, the collective transport used outside the cities, you will happen to see live animals on the roof. The landscape outside the capital is characterized by woods and rice paddies.

After just about a hundred kilometers, stop at the Peyrieras farm, at 11.30, where we will become acquainted with the most interesting fauna of the humid forests of the east of the island: dozens of chameleons, geckos, crocodiles and butterflies for a walk of about 40 minutes; my wife will have fun touching every little animal, perhaps letting it scamper freely on her arms... Many species of flora and fauna of Madagascar (about 80%) are endemic, that is, they are not found anywhere else in the world; examples are lemurs, chameleons, frogs and baobabs. We continue the journey to the village of Andasibe; we pass through a narrow little street in the center of local commerce, quite a few children are playing, others very small are on the edge of the road and are learning to walk, others at not even 10 years old are already sellers and maybe you even see them smoking.

Lunch with 20000 ariary based on zebu in a typical place where we will also have lunch the next day. Malagasy cuisine is simple but excellent; prevalently based on meat or chicken, and vegetables (on the coasts of Madagascar we will also eat very fresh fish). The table service is very careful, the waiters are cordial and extremely attentive to satisfying every need of the tourist, you don't even perceive their interest in tips... At 14.30 visit to the Vakona reserve, where we can touch the lemurs, which literally jump on us, and we take a canoe ride to the Island of Lemurs. Afterwards we reach the hotel, and we have time to relax in the room and on the veranda of the main structure; as for swimming in the pool, too cold to venture.

At around 18 we leave for a night visit along the streets bordering the Andasibe park, near the old station; here we meet Alberto, the guide who will also follow us the next day. We then go in search of lemurs of the microcebus family, the smallest primates in the world, frogs, geckos, spiders and chameleons; while the park guide spots tiny beings 100 meters away, my wife and I close our match 1 to 1 with sightings of no. 1 night frog and 1 dragonfly. In the dark, nocturnal lemurs are found only because their eyes shine when illuminated even by a small torch. Dinner and overnight stay in comfortable bungalows at the Sahatandra Lodge.

Andasibe

Andasibe is a village of 8000 souls; talking with Alberto we learn that it was hit a few weeks ago by a cyclone, and that a good part of the families, including his, were forced to move away for several days and live on nearby heights with relatives, or as guests of the churches. Alberto, despite seeming like a young boy, is 44, has a wife, and children still of school age; he is a humble person, prepared, helpful, a great worker, and yet he is very poor like most of the Malagasy people. Poverty on the island is seen everywhere, but no one ever denies a smile. We learned of quite a few children who died this year not due to malnutrition, but due to measles; the families were unable to pay 12 dollars to vaccinate their children. Madagascar's economy is based mainly on agriculture, fishing and livestock breeding.

Private companies, quite a few foreign, exploit only the population and territory, leading to the growth of the cost of living to the detriment of the poorest. Traders are the workers most envied for their economic condition; indeed some have the possibility of reselling local products to tourists earning an enormous amount compared to the salaries of ordinary workers; a widespread practice of sellers is also that of rounding up prices, and what for us Westerners is the cost of a candy, for a Malagasy already represents a decent earning. Awakened at 6.30 by the cries of the Indri, the largest lemurs in the world, who live close to our hotel, we begin a day dedicated to the discovery of the humid forest. In the morning we follow a circuit of almost 4 hours, flat with excellent trails in the Analamazoatra special reserve, to observe Indri and other lemurs from a few meters away.

In the afternoon we go to discover instead another part of the Andasibe park, visiting Miaradia, a reserve cared for directly by the local community; the proceeds of the visit will go directly to help projects for the helpers of the village itself. Well-kept park, beautiful experience; we buy souvenirs in the local shop, although knowing that the prices are higher than in the markets outside the park.

Transfer to Ifaty

Departure in the morning for the return towards the capital, Antananarivo, where we have lunch. Then we continue to the airport, where we say goodbye to Cristian and our driver leaving a generous tip; the domestic flight to Tulear departs on time at 16. At 17.40 we land on time, but an unwelcome surprise is the loss of a piece of luggage. Waiting to welcome us is the new guide Tahina, who takes care of the paperwork for the claim. Only the next morning will he confirm that the luggage will be handled by the Isalo hotel (where we will stay on the evening of the 4th) since 3 other couples of tourists staying at the Relais were left without luggage. After almost 2 hours at the airport, we move and travel 30km in about 45 minutes. Dinner and overnight stay at the La Mira hotel in Ifaty. The hotel staff will provide us with a personal hygiene kit, since it remained in the lost luggage.

We book snorkeling for the next day (boat excursion guided by Vezo fishermen plus rental of fins and masks for 2 at 30 euros).

Coral reef in Ifaty

Breakfast at 7. Excursion to see the coral reef at 7.30. In 45 minutes we arrive at the reef, very rich in fish and corals. We snorkel for about 1 hour, then return toward land under sail (1 ed.) unfurled. My kind wife, a diver of proven experience, enjoys the excursion so much that she criticizes the entire setup of the vacation, finding herself underwater among the fish much more at ease than on the surface with yours truly... Time for a shower and we leave for the visit of the Reniala park where we will be able to observe a flora characterized yes by the very strange bottle baobabs but also by incredible succulents and medicinal plants. Reniala is the fallback choice for those who do not have the possibility of visiting the Avenue of the Baobabs in Morondava; from the naturalistic point of view, probably the choice is right; from the point of view of image....

the postcards of the very famous avenue have nothing to do with the photos taken today.. alas... Afterwards we leave Ifaty to head into the "savannah" of southern Madagascar; we will initially cross the city of Tulear which is crossed to the south by the Tropic of Capricorn; we have a quick lunch in a characteristic place on the beach with excellent and abundant swordfish at just 5 euros (!!). We leave again at 14.30 and will stop only in a village to buy water and take photos of some children. In the late afternoon we will reach the Relais de la Reine, a splendid stone hotel set in a breathtaking panorama; we admire the sunset on the road leading towards Isalo, but it is well covered by clouds. In many hotels during the vacation we were the only guests, but in Isalo there seems to be a full house. We order lunch for the next day's picnic at 55,000 ariary.

We have dinner and stay overnight at the Relais de la Reine.

Isalo Park

Morning dedicated entirely to the visit of the Isalo park, the Grand Canyon of Madagascar. At the visitor center we meet Remì, who will act as an additional guide for us. Right before the park entrance there is a school and we go down to give some pens and some notebooks brought from Italy and take some photos (but we immediately realize that if we want to please more children we have to go shopping...). The Malagasy school system has improved in recent years, but still cannot cover its entire territory. About 30% of the population is illiterate. Nestled in the little valleys of the Isalo park, splendid natural pools and waterfalls welcome us. We choose the most demanding tour which takes us to the top of the plateau before descending and taking a swim in the freezing waters of a small lake under a waterfall. Picnic in the park. We manage to see ring-tailed lemurs from very close.

Right after lunch we leave the park. We return to the car and find our luggage again, which Andri went to retrieve at the hotel. At 14.30, after buying pens and notebooks for an entire school, we leave for Ambalavao Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel Betsileo Country Lodge; the only guests of the structure, we enjoy a Jurassic Park landscape.

Anja and Ambalavao

At 8 we visit the splendid Anja park, a short distance from the Lodge, a park managed by the local community and which hosts a very large population of ring-tailed lemurs. As promised by Tahina the day before, we visit a village at the entrance of the Reserve, and to welcome us we find a school class with children lined up in 2 rows ready to receive their gifts. We witness the preparation of food, we enter a dwelling to verify the conditions in which the locals live, we pose for the ritual photos.... Once out of the reserve we move on to visit the historic and artisanal center of the city of Ambalavao (we admire the workshops of paper and silk artisans), then we get back on the road to reach Fianarantsoa for lunch, and enjoy the deserved break in a restaurant with a splendid view of the city.

In the afternoon, a long transfer to reach the city of Ambositra, capital of the Zafimaniry people; the only stop at Ambohimahasoa, to stroll through the local market, in what is perhaps the least touristy place we will visit in the entire vacation, in which moreover we will not feel safe and will find distrust from the locals even simply for lending themselves to our photographic shots. Although we arrived before sunset in Ambositra, Tahina advises us against strolling around the hotel. In many cities of Madagascar it is not advisable to go out in the evening, especially if you are tourists and therefore easy prey for ill-intentioned people; although delinquency is not a widespread phenomenon, it is good not to trust appearances too much!!! Dinner and overnight stay at the Artisan hotel.

Ambositra and Antsirabe

After breakfast Tahina takes us for a walk in the city center. It's Sunday and therefore a day of celebration. We find fervor in the streets of the center, with young people and elderly all dressed up, often in grotesque clothes, conspicuously enormous or with excessive colors, some going to mass, and some simply enjoying their own "Saturday in the village" Sunday version.... After a visit to the very numerous shops of sculptures, wood engravings and inlays that characterize the city of Ambositra, we climb into our jeep and set course for Antsirabe. We have lunch in Antsirabe in the company of Giorgio, the manager of the tour operator MyMadagascar; he entertains us by telling us about his life as a Westerner in Madagascar, and helps us understand the many contradictions of this land.

After an excellent lunch and a good coffee we visit a workshop producing objects in zebu horn, then we leave again towards the capital. The last stop we make along the route is to buy souvenirs at some stalls of raffia sellers. In the late afternoon we set foot again in Antananarivo and have dinner at a restaurant with a splendid view of the city. After 20 we head to the airport, where our plane for Europe will be waiting for us. Outside the airport we warmly say goodbye to Tahina and Andri, and with our tip we try to contribute to the purchase of the car costing a good 1000 euros that will allow our guide within the next 2 years to make the leap in quality in his profession...

Inside the airport instead we find time to argue with the money changer who, with the excuse of language, of misunderstandings, of accounting tricks, will not let us leave without having extorted from us what he demanded on an amount of about 40 euros, all in front of a soldier who kindly turns his back to us, and who will not intervene to help us. We then run into the checks of the zealous stewards and stewardesses of Air France and we are forced to stuff into the checked baggage a wooden head bought in Ambositra weighing several kg, since it is not possible to carry it in the cabin; when they ask us to leave in the hold also our first aid kit, which around the world has always remained well kept in the backpack I carry on my shoulder, the Italian protest against the entire French nation will erupt....

After hours of waiting and delays, after 2 at night we leave for Paris; we fall asleep hoping not to find in Rome only the "shards" of our Malagasy wooden head....

ITALY

At 11 we land in Paris, at 16 we are in ROME.... the wooden head is safe... we prepare to change terminal and embrace ALITALIA again!!!