In my life, I’ve been to two places where I thought I might be on another planet. The first was Wadi Rum in Jordan. As I wrote at the time, the only word I could come up with to describe it was “otherworldly.” And now I have another otherworldly place that is beyond my vocabulary:…
After driving well over 1,000 kilometers, starting in Antananarivo two weeks ago, we’re back in the capital city once again. We flew from Toliara Airport in the afternoon after enjoying three leisurely days by the beach on Madagascar’s southwestern coast. Today we did some touristy things here in Antananarivo, and this is the end of…
After almost two weeks of mostly nature and villages, constantly on the go, we arrived at the beach on Monday evening, and we’ve had two full days of relaxation. Never has that felt so good! This Madagascar beach is so pleasant! The weather has been cool and breezy, perfect for lounging around by the pool…
After several lemur-rich experiences, we spent a day at Isalo National Park, where the focus was on the gorgeous landscape. This was the scenic highlight of the trip (so far). The Bara people, one of eighteen official ethnic groups in Madagascar, reside in the area around Isalo. Isalo National Park was created in 1962. It is…
The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is the poster child for Madagascar. If you do an image search for “Madagascar wildlife,” you will find the ring-tailed lemur more than any other animal. The Wikipedia article on “Wildlife of Madagascar” has a photo of a ring-tailed lemur at the top. King Julien from the animated “Madagascar” movies…
Not everything on this tour of Madagascar is about lemurs. After we left Andasibe on Tuesday morning, we spent a few days of non-lemur-related activities. Yesterday we arrived in Ranomafana, and we got back to lemurs (as well as other wildlife), but we had two days of other stuff that was enjoyable, impressive, surprising, and…
On Saturday I flew from Réunion to Madagascar, arriving in the afternoon at Ivato International Airport. After spending the night there, we got an early start for the drive to Andasibe. We had three separate visits to Analamazaotra National Park to get a look at lemurs and other endemic species, both plant and animal. Here’s…
I had no idea what to expect on the island of Réunion. I don’t know anyone who’s ever been here, and I didn’t really do a lot of advance research. But what I’ve discovered is that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Or at least it’s one of the most…
My last two days in Mauritius included a day of rest, a speedboat tour of neaerby islands, and a visit to Aapravasi Ghat. I sorely needed the day of rest. Seeing Mauritius by boat was definitely worth doing. Aapravasi Ghat gave me a welcome dose of history.
Mauritius is small enough that you can drive from one side or one end to the other in about an hour. And based on the road signs I’ve seen, it is divided into two zones: “The North” and “The South.” On Friday I had a tour of “The North.” (The hotel where I’m staying is also…
It took from early afternoon Monday to early afternoon Thursday (albeit with a ten-hour time change), but I finally made it to Mauritius. I want to share a little about the journey and how I’ve settled in, and I want to take this opportunity to write just a little about Mauritius history.
Turkish Airlines offers a free hotel if you have a long layover at IST. I took advantage and I’m now at the Renaissance Polat Hotel enjoying a stopover in Istanbul.
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