MADAGASCAR: DISCOVERING THE GREATH SOUTH
The high-class, most refined atmosphere of the Cafè de la Gara in Tana are already a memory now, especially when compared to the simplest kind of accommodation offered down here, on the way to southernmost Madagascar.
Everything has to be enjoyed “mora mora” (“Step by step”) just as a local motto recites, and while the landscape is constantly and slowly changing all around us, everybody is gradually taking it all in. The physical beauty of the land is unquestionable.
Everyday we travel for miles and miles, thus having very little time to stop and think about ourselves and our loved ones back home.
We’ve now reached a Mars-like landscape, where reddish sands are everywhere and even on our clothes. Or hearts have turned “reddish” as well, already full of so many unforgettable sights, memories and sensations.
Young children greet us everywhere we go, asking us for some sweets and candies – their smiles another unforgettable sights and a memory worth pure gold. We simply allow the clean air to fill our lungs, gaze with wonder at an extraordinary landscape, and communicate with this wonderful Malagasy people in the universal language of kindness, curiosity and kinship. We are always welcomed with open arms and harmless gazes of curiosity. Surrounded by people who make you feel at home in their home. Whether it be a waiter in a local restaurant, a small child pushing his brother down a slope, clinging to a hollowed out turtle shell, or a one-toothed man of eighty years of age seeing to his crops, there’s always a shared feeling of kinship, and never uneasiness.
But Madagascar is also a wonderful place, with the most untainted and intriguing fauna and vegetation. For example, Lemurs - also known as the avahi lemur - rangeing from 11 to 20 inches in can only be found in Madagascar.
The biggest predator of all is the Fosa, which is like a small puma and may be as long as 1.50m tail included.
After all, who cares about the occasional lack of electricity or fresh water: if you wanted to live and breathe all this most exceptional natural beauty, you should absolutely give some luxuries up!
