Veloma Madagascar

To be posted much later as I leave wifi for a few days…

I’m waiting for my flight to Kigali, Rwanda to depart, and I’m sad to leave this beautiful country but excited to get to the mainland. When I began planning this trip ten weeks in Africa felt like a good chunk of time, but now that I’m almost halfway through I feel like it’s not enough. The timing is not right for something longer, but I sincerely hope that at some point Russ and I will be able to travel abroad for three months or longer. I won’t go on a rant about the insanity of the conservative vacation policies in the U.S., I know I’m preaching to the choir, but it really is one of the main reasons I’ve met so few Americans during my travels. The amount of time needed to travel farther distances and spend any meaningful amount of time there makes it virtually impossible for a typical American to travel without just hitting the highlights. That was the jist of our trip to Vietnam and Thailand last year, how could we see more than just a few cities and day trips in two weeks? Especially given the challenging and time consuming nature of travel in the third world. I feel so fortunate to have more time on this trip, but even now, I feel as if I’m only scratching below the surface.

After spending time in Tana and Andasibe I’m glad that I was able to see a different aspect of Madagascar. Nosy Komba was such a magical place that it was hard to fully appreciate the reality of Malagasy life. The pristine water, reefs and marine life, the lush flora and magnificent views from every angle - it was hypnotizing. It was difficult to contemplate being unhappy there, even though I’m certain that there are many people who are, who feel trapped by their circumstances and cannot fathom how to change them. But after seeing more of Madagascar I do believe that those who live on Nosy Komba are luckier than most. Opportunities are certainly limited and island life is not easy, requiring trips to Nosy Be for supplies, without electricity and living in huts or shacks that could easily be demolished in a single storm. But drinking water from the mountain is clean and abundant, natural resources from the sea and the island provide food, crime is nonexistent and the air is clean. 

My observations in Antananarivo and en route to Andasibe proved very different. I spent one full day in Tana and glad I hadn’t planned for more. The chaos of the city is overwhelming, even to a former New Yorker. The traffic and congestion is shocking and given that I’d estimate less than 2% of vehicles to be new enough to pass emissions by U.S. standards, the air pollution is sickening, literally and figuratively. I started my day with a taxi to the Rova, the former palace of the early rulers of Madagascar. The palace burned in a fire in 1995 but the exterior which was made of stone still stands as do most of the tombs. It is located on the highest hill in the city and from the grounds you can take in the sprawl of Tana in every direction. I was immediately greeted by one of the freelance guides who insisted that I need only pay him if I am satisfied at the end of my tour. I was impressed by his English and let him and his partner show me around the grounds. They were quite knowledgeable about the history of the palace and the early rulers and were curious about America and my thoughts about my travels in Madagascar. They pointed out the area below one side of the grounds, just 30 or 40 meters below was a slum of shacks, squatters they told me. The shacks were not dissimilar to many of the shacks in the village of Ampangorina but here they were in a city, with no access to water or beaches, or forests. We discussed the education in Tana and the large difference in the education available in private schools versus public schools. I informed them we had that challenge in the U.S. as well, but I’m certain that our public schools do not compare to ours. They indicated that the average class in a public school was 70 to 80 children, which is not terribly surprising given that the tiny village of Ampangorina could have almost 40 students when attendance was good. They showed me the inside of a room used for entertaining guests and explained the nuances of meeting royalty: how to enter the room, where you would be seated based on your status and so forth. We discussed religion, both of the men were Protestant, but understood agnosticism when they asked me about my beliefs. I enjoyed my time with them and was happy to pay them well for my tour and wish them well. 

I had decided to follow L.P.’s recommended walking tour of Tana - it doesn’t hurt that I was already at the highest point so I could take a stroll down the hills, exploring the various neighborhoods on my way back to the hotel. My guides advised me to put my purse and camera inside my backpack for my walk so I heeded their advise and was probably slightly paranoid but better to be extra vigilant then not. Beside a few small children who followed me for a while begging for change, most people would offer a smile. I saw a group of men running hill repeats on the steepest section of road I walked and I had to give them credit, it was a brutal hill to run up and down. It was perfect weather and I was fortunate that the roads I traveled were not too heavy with vehicle traffic so the walk was pretty spectacular. Each turn of the road led to magnificent views of the city and I was able to get a good flavor of life in the upper and middle class areas of Tana. I was able to navigate fairly well from my recollection of the drive but at a certain point when I knew I was fairly close to my hotel I got a little lost. I saw a restaurant that looked promising for lunch and had what might have been the best caesar salad ever, and of course got directions. I was correct in that I was only a few blocks from my hotel. I wandered around the market area near my hotel for a while; you could find just about anything. Most of the vendors lining the street sold clothing or household goods or cellphones but I passed shops for electronics, furniture, beauty supplies and so on. The sidewalks and streets teemed with people and after a while I just wanted to relax and enjoy some quiet so I returned to the hotel.

Sakamanga might be the most interesting hotel I’ve ever stayed at; it came highly recommended by L.P. and I made my reservation well in advance because it is nearly always full. Their property is like a maze, with interesting hallways, corridors and a beautiful garden around a pool nobody swam in. The walls are decorated with all kinds of tools, objects, art and artifacts so no matter where you are, you feel like you’re in a museum. The rooms were lovely, I stayed three nights- it was supposed to be one night before and after my trip to Andasibe but I opted to extend my first visit so I could spend time in Tana. I had a different room each night and they were each as unique as the hotel itself. The last night I was even upgraded to the suite on the top floor since another guest needed to extend in the room I had reserved. I didn’t have a view but the suite was as large as a good sized apartment and had a bath and a shower and a hairdryer! I dried my hair just for the hell of it - it’s probably the only chance I’ll have to do so in Africa. The restaurant at Sakamanga has been busy every night I’ve gone - which was essentially every night I’ve stayed there. There was a highly recommended upscale French restaurant across town I was curious to try but after my first dinner at the Saka I decided there was little point in hiring a taxi each way (since walking at night is quite dangerous in Tana) to go across town when I could just pop into the restaurant for some fantastic food. The food was fantastic, I really enjoyed the opportunity to drink a little wine and the service was impeccable.

What about my return trip to Tana? Did I take the taxi brousse again? You bet I did. I opted for a taxi to Moramonga again because I realized that the local taxi brousse routes were a little less … shall we say organized? Essentially the taxi stops virtually anywhere along the route to pick up or drop off and the limit to the number of people they will pick up is pretty endless. All the vans that I had seen people climbing in and out the back doors were on local routes and those people who I had seen hanging out the back door as the van bumped along? They were normal passengers, just squeezing their way in. So I was content to take my taxi to the Moramonga station and then hop on a taxi brousse back to Tana. This time around it was like a deluxe ride! The van had a small aisle which provided reasonable legroom, headrests that were actually high enough to prevent whiplash should a crash occur AND the music was played at a normal ambient level. So I guess it’s luck of the draw. I’m fairly certain I’ll be taking similar transportation in Tanzania and curious to see how it compares.