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   MADAGASCAR: INTRO

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Madagascar: Intro

 Story


LORDS, LADIES & LEMURS:
A Magical Month in the Mascarene Islands

Introduction
Delicious Mauritius: easy to stomach and easy to forget.
~ One of the world’s top 10 beach destinations.

Magnificent Madagascar: hard to stomach and hard to forget.
~ One of the 10 poorest countries in the world.

Madagascar vs. Malagasy vs. Mauritius vs. Mascarene
Madagascar is the island, and Malagasy is the Republic of, the people, and the language. Mascarene are all the islands in the southeastern corner of the Indian Ocean, including Madagascar, Reunion and Mauritius. Please say “Madagascar-Malagasy-Mauritius-Mascarene” 4 times very fast.

Mora Mora
One of the first Malagasy phrases one learns on arrival is 'mora mora.' It means 'slowly, slowly' and more or less sums up the attitude of the Malagasy to impatient demanding travelers. Yes, practical preparations help in creating a memorable trip, but the most useful 'planning' is to get into the mora mora mindset. One can make an itinerary and attempt to stick to it, but unforeseen things like intestinal bugs, bad weather and miscommunications, even death, can slow one down. So we tried to be mora mora in the Mascarene.

Why, When and Where?
Madagascar is far, far away from the U.S., especially for Californians. In fact, it’s one of the farthest points from California that one can get. The shortest way to get there is to take 2 non-stop 12-hour flights. [But we took 4 flights.] So it is perfectly understandable that we were asked “Why Madagascar?” and "Why in October?" These two questions came before the tentative, “Where is Madagascar?” that we got from our worldly and well educated friends.

The Right Place at The Right Time
The flora and fauna were one reason we wanted to go. Another was to visit our friends WF (Bostonian) and R (Indian born, Malagasy bred, Francophone Canadian), whom we had visited five years previously in Cameroon (see 'Cameroon' on this site). WF and R were stationed in Mad and doing international development work. But they weren’t going to be there for much longer. So when invited, we realized that it was now or never. We elected to go in October to beat the rainy season, which starts in November. We landed just in time for the season’s first (early) rainstorm on October 22.

Weird and Wonderful
Now for all you curious geeks who simply must have the answers to scientific questions like, why are the plants and animals so weird in Mad? And why is Mad a haven for biologists, ecologists, botanists, primatologists, and other assorted scientists, as well as international aid agencies? Please click on the Much Mo' Info button (to your left) for background.

Vazaha Vosmers’ Communication Conundrum
The Malagasy language, which is related to an obscure Indonesian dialect, is hard to pick up from phrase books because the written form doesn’t really resemble the pronunciation. Example: One word that we heard a lot, “veZAH!” is spelled vazaha. It means 'foreigner', and was the number one conversation starter, especially with village kids. And now try pronouncing:

"Andrianampoinimerinandriantsimitoviaaminandriampanjaka"

It’s the for-real name of an 18th century king!

Fortunately, we travelers could get along with H’s French, since Malagasy are educated in French, plus a few words in Malagasy. W, who studied Français ages ago, improved his parlay too.

Troubled Landing
Our journey began in the capital city of Antananarivo (Tana for short), with a few days adjusting to the Malagasy time zone and taking in its sights. We were greeted at the Tana airport by R. He broke the sad news that WF’s mother was very ill and WF had had to go back to the USA to be with her. R was able to stay with us for 24 hours, which was enough to show us the ropes. Then he followed his wife to Boston. WF’s mother passed away while he was in the air (but he got there in time for the funeral). We were sad about the way things turned out. But there we were in Mad, and we determined to explore the country.

Trippin’
R took us to the Aventur travel agency, where we spent a few hours with Monsieur Eric Rabe to plan a 17-day road trip on the country's few good roads. We elected to make a counterclockwise loop, starting in the centrally located capital around the western, southwestern and southeastern parts of the country. Our voyage included a river trip, the Tsingy de Bemahara, Isalo, Andringtra and Ranomafana National Parks. We booked one internal flight to cut out 4 full days of four-wheel driving over rough, unpaved roads through the backcountry. R took us around, helped us buy necessities for the trip, and even managed to throw us a dinner party before he departed on the night flight to Paris.

A View To Die For
The next day was a Sunday, a good day to explore the hillsides of Tana on foot since there were far fewer cars on the road. R and WF’s house, which once belonged to the doctor of the king, was located high up on the crest of a hill, 900 yards down the road from the former royal palace, the Rova. During the reign of the cruel Queen Ravalona, Christian martyrs were hurled to their deaths from the nearby cliffs. [We hope that they too, were able to enjoy the spectacular view of the city as they were hurled.] We took in the Tsimbazaza zoo and botanical gardens filled with local species, the jacaranda-lined Lake Anatosy, as well as the magnificent Musée Andafivarara, which formerly housed a Prime Minister who married three queens in succession and was the real power behind the throne during the second half of the 19th century.

Center Stage
The Merina tribe, who came from Indonesia in the 13th-14th centuries, populates Tana and the surrounding area. In the late 18th century, the aforementioned warrior king Andrianampoinimerina (the short version of his name) moved his capital from Ambohinga to Tana, which became the most powerful of all the Merina kingdoms. During the 19th century, English and French missionaries competed with one another for influence over the monarch. Today there is both a Protestant (Church of England) and Catholic church in every town and sizeable village.

Pilgrim’s Progress
On Sunday, we were picked up by a young chauffeur named Tsetze in his neon green truck (the only thing missing was a dangling pair of foam dice). We went north to Ambohimanga, the former royal capital, which was a fortress-palace on a hilltop. Slaves were once sacrificed on a rock inside the entrance, and the many pilgrims who come to ask the blessing from royal ancestors still slaughter animals in the same spot. There was a large party of paysans singing, praying and making offerings while we visited; their singing was haunting, and their coarseness touching. The fortress was constructed using cement made from egg whites–16 million eggs were required to build the outer wall alone.

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