North to South: en route towards the heart of Madagascar

Travelling down from north to south the scenery is changing, revealing another type of Madagascar; little wooden shacks turn into tall, red huts made out of mud and brick houses and the landscape transforms from forests and lush vegetation to dry and hilly savannah with rice paddies dotted all over. Most noticeaby, the climate has changed as we descend towards the centre part - it is getting colder and colder and I wonder whether I have brought enough warm things to wear! You can even tell that we are in a new area with the greetings we hear switching from 'balatsara' to 'salame', and the cuisine in the local 'gargotes' seems heartier and simpler with the coconut rice, prawns and exotic fruit that we became accustomed to in the north giving way to soups, beans and meat with little fried cakes as a dessert. So it seems there is a whole new Madagascar and style of malagasy living to be discovered as the trip progresses, and I am eager to embrace it all!

Madagasikara

Balatsara! I vo vo!

These are the greetings you hear while visiting the biggest, and most likely the most fascinating island in the Indian Ocean. It is actually an immense island-continent filled with a rich variety of different landscapes, cultural diversity and a great amount of  natural beauty.

So far a whole two weeks has flown past in the north of the country sailing the paradise islands of Nosy Be, visiting the 'capital' of the North, Diego Suarez, and travelling down the entire length of the northern mainland in local style - taxi-brousses.

Nature-wise, the most famous in Madagascar is no doubt the lemur. Endemic to the country, there are dozens of different types of lemurs to be found on the island. That said, it is hard to choose one's favourite as even after just two weeks there have been quite a few candidates to pick from; is it the lively Maki Macao found on Nosy Be's sister island Nosy Komba, tame enough to climb on top of your shoulder in search of a treat? Or is it the tiny and big-eyed lepilemur that almost undetectable, camouflages inside the hollow of a tree to sleep during the daytime? Perhaps so far, the favourite of the trip might have been the fluffy white Sifaka lemurs, also known as the "dancing lemur" which were spotted leaping high above from treetop to treetop at the Ankarafantsika National Park this morning.

As of for now, no pictures can unfortunately be shared with you since the access to good computers has been minimal on the trip! But the verdict is yours to decide, once you can take a look at the wonderful creatures for yourselves as well!

Until then, wish me a safe trip as the adventure continues southwards early in the morning, once again in taxi-brousse... More on that later!

Veluma!
(Au revoir!)