Madagascar is perhaps the most exotic island in the Indian Ocean, to which I was lured by the unique nature of the island, baobabs, whales and, of course, lemurs, which can not be found anywhere else in the world, but only on the island of Madagascar. It was one of my most awaited trips, but that's why the trip gave a lot of experience for the future.
There are beautiful exotic places we visited and I wrote already about them, but today I want to talk about other, about poverty of this country that simply cannot be ignored or unnoticed.
The country is very poor, but benevolent. And the poor are all there, and therefore probably goodhearted are all of them. Paradox - when I was there, I wanted nothing more than to get out of this powerty, and now, the further I live, the more I want to go back to Africa coast. Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world.
People behave accordingly. Everyone is looking how to earn money from tourists, and it's very tiring, but these people are friendly, helping each other. They still live in a world where when they get sick, instead of going to the hospital, they rely more on village moss... where wealth is measured by the number of cows, and where the greatest happiness for the family is to have 14 children - 7 girls and 7 boys. This is a place where people has not any mobile phones and live in poor shanties without toilets and electricity... Where you are more afraid of hitting a chicken on the roads than a playing child... An island that leaves no one indifferent...
Literally every 100 meters you can meet some curiosity. For example, there is a stand where fresh newspapers are attached with clothespins, and people read the news from the front pages only (and a newspaper costs only 10 cents). There are special people on the streets (we called them among ourselves telephone operators) with several mobile phones from which you can call for money.
But the most memorable, of course, is the local market. Madagascarians eat everything. From dried and fried everything what moves, aloe leaves to the usual baguette. Everything is very poor, dirty and not hygienic, so we ate only in our hotel, and mainly vegetables and fruits. If to eat outside, it's cheap - $10 or less per person per day is enough.
On the way out of the hotel we came across a typical local laundromat. Laundry is washed right in the dirty river, the washed things are turned inside out and laid out to dry ... on the dusty ground. Such is exotic.
In fact, dirt, beggars are everywhere. White man in their concept is rich. Polluted beaches, streets. There are no 5 stars hotels as we used in Europe and other countries. Constant interruptions in water, electricity, flies and a high risk of getting malaria. There are many places where mosquitoes breed. You must be constantly smeared with repellents. But if you settle down in Nosy Be, there the chance to get a malaria is very low. But we still used medicine daily.
"Is it safe on the island?" my mother kept worrying during the trip. Really safe! Of course, just like everywhere else, it is advised not to leave things unattended and for the sake of everything, not to wander around corners at night.
Right next to our hotel is a village called Ambotoloaka. We walked its streets calmly and did not seem too interesting to anyone, maybe only the souvenir sellers were more active. Everyone is busy with their own business - who sells fruit, who repairs a scooter, who feeds a child, and who sizzles zebu meat on the grill. There was a line of women at the beauty parlor waiting to have their African braids braided. There are also a few stalls where you can buy the excellent local (and really tasty!) Dzama rum. But never leave your drinks even for a few seconds on the table, look what can happen.
In fact, you need to think over your route there and be prepared for unforeseen situations.
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Thank you for reading. You are always welcome to check my posts.
All photos are original.
With love
"Do what is right, mot what is easy nor what is popular" - R. T. BENNETH.