Madagascar Map

 

 

 

         Map of the Indian Ocean

latest picture: October 10, 2011

• click a picture to see details

001  September 13th, 2011: Liliana smiles!

We are on our way on a prop plane ATR72

of Air Austral from Mauritius to Tamatave

in Madagascar, the 4th biggest island in the

world, the land of Lemurs and Baobabs

002  The center of the port city of

Tamatave (Toamasina) on the East

coast of Madagascar greets us with

a lovely alley of palm trees

003  Reunion with our LandCruiser after

nine days of customs bureaucracy. The

truck with our container maneuvers to a

platform (wall) – the only possibility to

unload our car outside of the port (within

the harbor it’s anyway prohibited)

004  Children are posing for a picture in

front of a modest hut with the roof made

of leaves of the “Arbre de Voyageur“

(Ravenala madagascariensis) – the

“Traveler’s Tree” that grows in abundance

in this region. Its origin is in Madagascar

005  A little girl eats a bowl of rice

in front of her hut entrance – the

main diet of the Madagascans.

Hunger is an alarming problem as

the ‘Global Hunger Index’ shows

Madagascar on place 18 (WHI 22.5)

006  Coloring is fun. Not every child has

this privilege. Many never learn to read

and write because their parents cannot

afford to pay the yearly school fee of US$

25 per child. The literacy rate in Mada-

gascar stays at 70.7% (UNDP 2009)

007  On weekends, the wide sandy

beach of Tamatave (Toamasina) is a

favorite gathering place for families

008  A lady street vendor walks along

the beach of Tamatave looking for

people buying her homemade food

009  The white sandy beach of

Tamatave stretches along

the whole bay

010  An artisan is carving an artful

decorative structure from a root

of a “strangler fig tree”

011  A lady artisan works on a basket

with plants of the region. The bottom is

made of leaves of the “Arbre des

Voyageurs“, the “traveler’s tree”; the

walls are made from the Raffia palm

012  Handmade decorative sandals

and baskets at a craft center along

the road North of Tamatave

013  The radiated tortoise (Astrochelys

radiata) with its striking drawing prefers

hibiscus flowers to salad. It can weigh

up to 33 pounds. It is classified as

“critically endangered” (CITES)

014  A typical dwelling of the coastal

region of Tamatave. The roof is

covered with leaves of the “Arbre

des Voyageurs“, the “traveler’s tree“

015  A simple street eatery in Tamatave’s

port region. There is hot coffee, peanuts,

biscuits and some homemade food

016  On the road, direction South. We

pass a thatched village with a hardly

pronounceable name. Like this one,

a big part begins with the letter A

017  A pond, surrounded by lush

tropical vegetation, is a lovely sight on

our way to the highlands of Andasibe

018 A widespread palm in the East: The

fanlike “Traveler’s Tree” (Ravenala

madagascariensis) that got its name

from its capacity to store water,

quenching the travelers thirst

019  Emil enjoys breakfast at the lovely

setting of the Hotel ‘Feon‘ny Ala’ in

Andasibe. It borders the National

Park of Mantadia …..

020  ….. visitor at breakfast: A colorful

lizard licking our marmalade. The

craving for sweet is bigger than the fear!

021  The FJKM village church – Church

of Jesus Christ – in Andasibe is a monu-

mental building compared to the modest

village. This congregation is quite

widespread in Madagascar

Our first encounter with hand-tame lemurs at the Vakona Forest Lodge Sanctuary near Andasibe

022  The Black-and-White Ruffed

Lemur (Varecia variegate) is

critically endangered. Characteristic

is its dog like snout

023  Without warning, this Common

Brown Lemur (Eulemur fulvus)

jumps on Liliana’s shoulder.

It is active day and night

024  An adorable offspring of

the Lesser Bamboo Lemur (or gentle

lemur) (Hapalemur griseus) looks

a bit clumsy through the foliage

The Diademed Sifakas (Propithecus diadema) are big entertainers.

They move on their hind legs with arms aloft and can dance like ballet performers:

025  “These two tourists seem

really to like me?” …..

026  ….. “for a small piece of banana, I

am also ready to pose for a picture!” …..

027  ….. “Watch-out: I give

you a little performance!”

028  Much cared of by its parents, this

tiny Common Brown Lemur baby

(Eulemur fulvus) looks confidently out of

her mother’s belly fur (there’s no pouch)

029  A young Lesser Bamboo

Lemur (Hapalemur griseus) surveys

curiously from its tree “look-out”

030  The Black-and-White Ruffed

Lemur (Varecia variegate) wants

to show us how smart it is

031  How can pictures still be taken?

Two bold Common Brown Lemurs

(Eulemur fulvus) jump without

warning on Emil’s head and shoulder

and make themselves comfortable

032  “Indri-Indri” – Indri the king of the

lemurs – is to be found only in the National

Park of Andasibe-Mantadia. With its length

of up to 3 ft. it is (still) the largest of living

lemurs. Its territorial calls can be heard

as far as 2 miles away .....

033  ….. it can leap up to over 30 ft.

between tree trunks. It is foraging for

leaves – it eats at least 4 pounds a day –

and spends hours of resting afterwards

At the “zoo” of the Vakona Forest Sanctuary near Andasibe

034  A beautiful Purple Heron

(Ardea purpurea) stands

motionless in its territory …..

035  ….. a crocodile glides

soundlessly through the water

036  ….. a white-faced whistling

duck (Dendrocygna viduata) shares

its territory with the Purple Heron

037  The catlike “Fossa” (Cryptoprocta

ferox) is a predator endemic to Mada-

gascar. It feeds mainly on lemurs, is a

good climber and is known to follow

lemur families for days and surprise

them at night in their sleep on the trees

038  A Madagascar Tree Boa (Boa

manditra) in the small zoo of the Vakona

Forest Lodge near Andasibe. Its length

can reach up to 7 ft. It lives all over the

island, but mainly in the rainforest. There

are no poisonous snakes in Madagascar

039  Just how we like it: A peaceful

picnic at the lovely Vohitra jungle

river near Andasibe

040  Where life is still peaceful: The

tiny village of Andasibe, lying on an

altitude of 3’000 ft. – situated about

halfway between the port of Tamatave

and the capital Antananarivo

041  “The “Michelin train” (La Micheline)

is the rarest train in the world. The only

one left runs still in Madagascar, carrying

tourists through parts of the highlands

(here at Andasibe station). It was built

in the 30th by Michelin, is equipped

with rubber instead of the common iron

wheels and is known therefore as the

“Michelin train”. Does our antique Land-

Cruiser not look cute too next to it?

042  In our bungalow (6th from left)

at the Hotel Feon’ny Ala in Andasibe

each morning the “melancholy” call

of the “Indri”, the biggest of the still

living lemurs, is waking us up. Rarely

did we feel closer to nature as during the

day all of the tourists were “on tour”

Hidden “treasures” in the Mantadia National Park

043  The delicate, dangling

Bulbophyllum occlusum orchid

044  The “Blue Coua” bird

(Coua caerulea)

045  Fruits and seeds in their

shiny orange colors

046  After the climb through the Mandraka

Range between Andasibe and Antananarivo

we are greeted on about 4’500 ft. by the

typical Madagascan highland with its

scattered dwellings made of red bricks

047  Every corner, every inch is used

for planting rice. Rice is the main

diet of the Madagascans

048  The neatly arranged rice

fields demand hard work

049  The capital Antananarivo – named

shortly Tana – sits at an altitude of 4’183 ft.

On arrival, it greets us with a beautiful

evening glow. The ‘Eglise de Faravohitra’

towers majestically from one of the 12

(some talk even of 18) hills of the town

050  On the highest hill stands the most

important building, the “Rova”, the royal

palace. The interior is still closed to the

public, but the views are superb. The

building burnt down in 1995. The huge

writing “Antananarivo” remembers

somewhat Hollywood

051   Particularly lovely is the sight

over ‘Lac Anosy’ with its tree lined

shore, surrounded by the dense sea

of Tana’s houses

052  Fascinating and unique: Northeasterly

view to the Zoma market. On a flight of

steep steps wedged into the city’s seamless

sea of houses, everything imaginable and

unimaginable is on display …..

053  ….. old and nostalgic typewriters

are sold next to old sewing machines

and fresh bananas …..

054  ….. View in Southwestern

direction. The whole city center isn’t

car-free at all – the whole transit

traffic flows here

055  View towards the Northwestern city

056  The old venerable ‘Eglise

d’Amboninampamarinana’ close to

the ‘Rova” adorns one of the

many hills of the city

057  Who says that Antananarivo

is not an attractive city?

058  Townscape in the warm evening

glow – once more with the church

‘Eglise de Faravohitra’

059  The two pretty buildings in the

lawns are the Constitutional Court

(Haute Cour constitutionnelle),

situated below the Hotel Colbert

060  Wherever we look, churches rise

over the roofs of the city. It’s said that

there are 1’000 church towers

061  View from ‘Lac Anosy’ to the

“Rova”, the royal palace on top of the

hill. In the front (in the lake) is the

memorial column dedicated to the fallen

Madagascans in the two world wars

062  Until 1975 the “Palais

d’Andafiavaratra” was the seat

of former Prime Ministers.

Then it burned down

063  Egrets populate a blooming

Jacaranda tree

064  At the shore of ‘Lac Anosy’,

children entertain themselves

with jump roping

065  Sanitation at ‘Lac Anosy‘: These

are the prices for nature's call or

a shower (a shower costs 9 US¢)

066  October: The Jacaranda trees

at ‘Lac Anosy’ are in full bloom

067  Will they all fit into the “taxi brousse”

– the bush taxi? Probably they will! We

are really happy to have our own

mean of transport!

068  Neatly dressed church goers are

on their way home from the Sunday

mass. Madagascar’s population counts

20 millions, whereof 45% are Christians;

50% have their traditional religion

069  The double-storey red highland

houses between Antananarivo and the

90 miles more Southerly town of

Antsirabe fit wonderfully into the landscape

070  Still waiting for the rainy season to

plant the rice. Meanwhile zebu herds search

for some greens on the fallow fields.

Normally the rain starts mid-November

071  What are these people pounding?

After a closer look we see that it is not millet,

but stones that they are refining to get sand

072  The villages that dot the highlands

have all their distinctive architecture

according to its ethnic groups, like here

in the central highlands the Merina

073  A herdsman leaves with his zebu herd

the watering place, a woman does laundry.

In the villages there is no running water. It

has to be transported with jerry cans from

a public water supply that mostly works

only at certain times

074  It is a pleasure to drive on the very

good tarmac road through the hilly and

almost traffic free highlands towards

the West Coast at Morondava

075  Short of Miandrivazo we have a flat

tire – the 168th on our journey around

the world and the first one since we

bought 15 months ago new tires and

tubes in Jakarta in Indonesia

• Madagascar part 2: Miandrivazo-Morondava (Baobabs)-Antsirabe-Fianarantsoa-Ambalavao (Lemurs)
• Madagascar part 3: Ambalavao-Isalo N.P.-Tuléar-Ranomafana (Lemurs)-R.N.7-Antananarivo
• Madagascar part 4: Antananarivo-Ankadibe (Lemurs)-Andasibe-Manambato-Foulpointe-Tamatave