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Atsinanana Region

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    • TravelerSummer Of Yes
      Day 114

      Departing Paradise, Again

      November 1, 2023 in Madagascar ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

      The more gorgeous places I find, the more gorgeous places I leave.

      This is a recurring theme of course.
      I've enjoyed Ony more than I expected. I'm usually a seashore kinda guy but due to how close we are to the Indian Ocean these lakes are all white-sand and spectacularly blue, and they have rainforest!

      Wonderful.

      I had a moment in the morning that stands out as one of the most peaceful, fully-present moments that I've enjoyed in a while. I had the sounds of lemurs and birds; the very distant crashing of waves; a light breeze rustling palm fronds; and the sweet silence of almost no thoughts at all.

      I'll miss this place.      Read more

    • TravelerFebruary 2023
      1
      Day 13

      Chameleons in Toamasina

      February 13, 2023 in Madagascar

      Some of the village kids in Madagascar make money by letting tourists like me pose with chameleons.

      Another group of kids had some cute little animals in a bucket with a hat nearby for tips. Do you know what type of animal they are? I wasn’t able to find out.

      Chickens wandered all over the village and I was surprised by how long their legs are.      Read more

    • TravelerFebruary 2023
      1
      Day 13

      Pangalanes Canal

      February 13, 2023 in Madagascar

      Today we docked in Madagascar’s main seaport, Toamasina, and explored the area nearby.

      “Toamasina” means “it’s salty” and there’s a funny story behind the name. Many years ago, a man who had grown up in the highlands of Madagascar visited.

      He was thirsty after his long voyage, so he took a big swig of seawater only to exclaim, “It’s salty!” Somehow the name stuck.

      Our guide for the day was a fellow named Lachaka, which means “destiny” in Malagasy.
      The first part of our tour in Toamasina was a tour down the Pangalanes Canal.

      While a man steered the boat from the stern, a third guy stood on the bow keeping an eye out for any debris that might get tangled in our outboard engine along the way. (Even so, the boat broke down a couple of times during our trip.)

      Lachaka explained that the section of the canal we were on was man made during the colonial period and that, “Many, many workers died while digging here. Conditions were very bad, like slavery.” (This is a familiar refrain for canals of the world, alas.)

      These days, locals rely on the canal for fishing and trade. For many, this waterway is their main avenue for travel.

      Lachaka taught us how to say “hello” in Malagasy. People were quick to wave and return our greetings as we floated by.

      By the way, even though people do laundry in the canal, the women holding the sheet in these photos are using it to fish.

      Other things that piqued my interest included boats with sails made from rice bags, as well as the voluptuous carving on the prow of a ship.

      And while we’d been warned to keep an eye out for crocs, I did not expect to see a pink one today!      Read more

    • TravelerFebruary 2023
      Day 13

      Toamasina Market

      February 13, 2023 in Madagascar

      Armed soldiers stood at many intersections in Toamasina, a sight that always makes me uneasy.

      The local market was big and bustling. I noticed men with t shirts labeling them as security patrolling the perimeter outside.

      When a young girl approached us with a basket of green oranges, one of the guards chased her off, while brandishing his billy club. I hadn’t planned to buy any, but I felt sorry for her nonetheless.      Read more

    • TravelerFebruary 2023
      Day 13

      Toamasina Dancers

      February 13, 2023 in Madagascar

      The people of Toamasina have interacted with sailers for centuries and it was easy to see and hear the European influence in their local culture.

      Once again, our ship was met with lively dancers. We also saw dancers during our fruit buffet, and while walking through the local village.

      It was a hot and humid day full of bright colors and new to me cultures.      Read more

    • TravelerMadagaskar 🇲🇬
      1
      Day 2

      Tag 1 & 2 - Antananarivo - Ankan'y nofy

      April 16, 2023 in Madagascar ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Die doofen Franzosen! Niemals über Paris fliegen, wenn ein streik in Aussicht ist. Also eigentlich nie.

      9 Stunden Autofahrt für 300 km. Wegstrecke sind auf Madagaskar normal.

      5 umgekippte Lkws auf der Strecke zwischen Antananarivo und ankan'y nofy. Das dauert, bis die einzige strasse wieder frei ist.

      Moskitospray und sonnencreme sollten immer ins Handgepäck, falls die Koffer nicht ankommen.      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerFebruary 2023
      Day 13

      Blessings from the Chief

      February 13, 2023 in Madagascar

      The downpour continued as our boat pulled ashore so Lachaka suggested wearing life jackets in lieu or raincoats.

      A small crowd of locals met us as we disembarked. If they thought we looked silly in our life jackets, I couldn’t tell. Some were hawking goods, but most seemed to be there out of curiosity.

      Before we could interact, Lachaka directed us to a forested path that offered shelter from the rain. Between that and the life jacket, I was pretty cozy. It was so hot and humid that none of us felt chilled.

      After carefully wandering up a slick hill, we were ushered into a hut. (It reminded me a lot of our backyard tiki hut, actually.)

      Inside, two men sat at a table. Lachaka explained that the man in the hat was the village chief and part of his job was greeting all visitors.

      The chief spoke to us in Malagasy and I did not understand a word. According to Lachaka’s interpretation, however, not only did he welcome us to his village and extend blessings to us and our families back home, but he even offered blessings to our deceased ancestors, as well.

      After these words, the chief blessed us by dipping a tree branch in water and flicking water droplets on us.

      Lachaka told us that the hat on the table was there in case we wanted to leave a tip, and many of us did so.

      As I mentioned before, Madagascar has 18 different ethnic groups. Lachaka and the members of this village are part of the Betsimisaraka people.

      Betsimisaraka means “the many inseparables,” and mainly live on the eastern side of Madagascar.

      As coastal peoples, they have interacted with Europeans for a long time, and integrated many things into their own culture.

      As we wandered the village, we saw people pounding rice (to de hull it), and cooking meals over small charcoal fires.

      I don’t usually carry any money ashore, but a little voice told me to take a bunch of ones this morning. I’m glad I did, because so many people in the village had hats out for tips.

      I noticed a well for the village that was donated by Muslims and it reminded me of our other guide’s “Hakuna Matata” remark about how the people of Madagascar are comfortable cherry-picking from any religion that appeals to them.

      Our visit ended with a fruit buffet and live song and dance. Everything was delicious, but my favorites were the mango and the little bananas.      Read more

    • TravelerAfrican Indian Ocean
      Day 55

      Toamasina

      January 12 in Madagascar ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Back to the east coast of Madagascar and it's raining. We got a shuttle bus, which was a bone shaker, into the town and we were dropped near a big market. Lots of rickshaws and tuktuks and the roads were very rough.
      Millie and I hired a tuktuk to go to the Pangalanes canal. Amy and Phil got a bicycle rickshaw. We got a canal boat and sailed up the canal. There were lots of canoes carved from tree trunks, people spear fishing in the canal and bamboo barges. Lots of cargo transported on the canal. We stopped at a small settlement. There was a fruit stall beside the main road selling bananas coconuts and sugar cane. We sampled the sugar cane.
      When we left the boat we swapped to the cycle rickshaw . Millie had a go at driving the rickshaw but it was hard work.
      They took us to a grotty beach so we asked them to take us to a better one. The Tuktuk driver was pushing the rickshaw which helped our progress.
      The sea was too rough to swim but Millie went in. There were fishermen pulling a net up the beach. Also a big wreck near the beach.
      Afterwards we went back to the market and I bought some t-shirts, fridge magnet tuktuk and turtle.      Read more

    • TravelerSummer Of Yes
      Day 112

      Village Jaunt

      October 30, 2023 in Madagascar ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

      Shortly after arriving at my hotel I met three delightful guests who are from France but live in Antananarivo and took a vacation.

      We all enjoyed saying hello, then they invited me to join them in a walk to a local village. The walk was about 6km (3+ miles) round trip on spectacularly pretty beaches and through brush. We bumped into a few groups of people who looked to be using branches to corral fish into a big net- a technique I've seen several times in Africa. Based on the fine mesh of the net, I suspect they are catching really small fish, which is probably not all that sustainable... But this is mere conjecture on my part as we didn't see them when done, only when beginning.

      Their bashful smiles and giggles amongst themselves makes me think that maybe they don't see a lot of people who look like the four of us. "Vazaha" means stranger around here, and usually means of European extraction, sorta like "Gringo" in Latin America - not necessarily a perjorative term.

      The village was almost entirely built of thatch huts. Most looked pretty solid, some a bit squalid, not so different from any village anywhere: some folks invest more in their surroundings than others.

      When we arrived we were greeted by a growing number of curious children, and eventually a friendly guy in his ~20s named Ndrina Fabrice, who was visiting his parents. So we sat on the beautiful beach, chatted with our new friend, and played with the kids - who slowly got past their bashfulness; some candied peanuts really helped.

      The local store/bar sold beer at ambient temps (~30° / 85°) and to my surprise... I've acquired a tolerance for it. I suspect that setting and company makes a big difference and still *prefer* my beer chilled. But when in off-grid Madagascar, one adapts.

      We eventually said our bonsoirs and headed back to the resort with a beautiful sunset lighting our way.      Read more

    • TravelerSummer Of Yes
      Day 114

      Tamatave

      November 1, 2023 in Madagascar ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

      To fill some time, I grabbed a city tour in Tamatave and I'm so glad that I did!

      Tamatave is the 2nd largest city in Madagascar with about 275,000 people. It has a quaint slightly worn around the edges French Colonial feel, pleasantly warm weather, and is the shipping capital of the country.
      It is also 17,709km from Mountain View, CA - where I spent the first few months of my life.
      I've come a long ways, baby!

      The furthest possible distance on earth is about 20,000km: Someday. In the mean time.... Any which way I travel I am "going home" from here, which matches my general state of mind: I am ready to get closer vs further from friends and family.

      Rolien, my guide, did a great job of showing me around fairly quickly so that I could catch my plane. We jumped in/out of a tuk-tuk (Harivoby did a great job of driving us) for a great combo of motorized and pedestrian touring. I love a good tuk-tuk.

      Highlights for me were watching kids play and watching adults play, too. The former were focused on football (soccer) and a hoop and stick, also a group of young women doing a dance routine together.

      The latter were playing a game like bocci, under the speckled shade of old banyan trees.

      We saw some ruins, some dilapidated parks, a very nice alameda, and the partially completed "Miami" project: a huge waterfront project aimed at imitating its moniker with fitness areas, public restrooms, restaurants, basketball, skate park... All to drive tourism. It is a bold move and a major expense that could really change the feel of Tamatave. I hope it works for the city and its inhabitants.

      The tour also included a nice market where I would have liked to pick up some souvenirs, but my backpack overfloweth already.

      The raw-meat-on-the-counter wasn't my favorite, but I did like the fruit/veggie area very much.

      Got to the airport with time to spare. I skipped lunch/dinner, but had some trail mix and... I've been overeating for days so it's probably a good thing.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Atsinanana Region, Atsinanana

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